Dear friends,
We still aren’t together in person for the most part, but 2021 showed us that by sticking together through the pandemic, we can make a difference in our communities and state! A heartfelt thank you to staff, volunteers, contributors, community, and partner groups who not only helped us do big things for community wellbeing and environmental protection but kept us grounded, inspired, and encouraged in our daily efforts.
Please join me in celebrating all that we've accomplished in 2021. There is simply too much to capture.
Here are 10 highlights from this challenging year:
1. Engaged hundreds of Marylanders to lobby for environmental policy. We mobilized over 300 people for Lobby Night at the 2021 General Assembly, holding meetings with 120 elected officials to advocate for our environmental agenda. We had 41 district captains and at least one meeting in almost every district. During the legislative session, we testified on over 100 bills! Our advocacy supported the passage of dozens of bills expanding transit and electric buses, removing subsidies for dirty energy, funding to plant 5 million new trees in Maryland, and much more.
2. Passed the Transit Safety Investment Act. Campaigned with a large coalition of environmental, transportation, education, disability rights, business, and community-based groups for the Transit Safety Investment Act. This legislation will address the Maryland Transit Administration’s maintenance backlog by funding its capital needs through fiscal year 2029 to ensure that people can safely and reliably use the state’s public transit system. The bill passed the General Assembly last session and recently passed into law by veto override!
3. Launched new fund to ramp up campaign against Hogan’s toll lane proposal. In 2021, we established the Sierra Club Foundation Smart Growth Defense Fund and raised $100,000! The Fund allowed us to retain legal counsel and technical expert support in the fight against Gov. Hogan’s toll lane highway boondoggle. In November, we submitted 184 pages of legal and technical comments on the I-495 & I-270 expansion project, signed by over 50 groups and the City of Rockville.
4. Protected natural places in Maryland. Our Natural Places Committee mounted effective campaigns to bring attention to threats and help protect both the Mattawoman Creek watershed (Southern MD) and Guilford Woods (College Park)! The fight continues but together we made a big impact!
5. Mobilized communities across the state support of zero waste. We advocated at the state, county, and municipal levels to ban plastic carryout bags, reduce single-use plastic, expand food waste composting, promote producer responsibility for the end-of-life of products, close incinerators, and require a chain of custody for artificial turf playing fields. We collected data across the state documenting the high use of single-use plastic and the impact of local policies on reducing it.
6. Moved two steps closer to making Maryland coal-free. Sierra Club led the charge to pass legislation to transition Maryland off coal. While the bill didn’t pass, these efforts have paid off. Two coal-fired power plants closed and two more announced earlier retirement dates. We are now shifting focus to supporting communities as they navigate environmental remediation and transition to new energy sources and new uses for the sites. We continue to call for additional air quality monitoring, with a huge victory in St. Mary’s county with the launch of Breathe Well St. Mary’s
7. Championed a huge expansion of offshore wind. Sierra Club continued to rally for offshore wind, turning out to testify at hearings and sending in hundreds of letters of support. In December, two projects totaling over 2 gigawatts of offshore wind were approved by the state's Public Service Commission, blowing past the 1,200 megawatts minimum and setting target operational date of no later than 2026! Our Ready for 100 team organized at the local level to get 7 communities and 10 city mayors in Maryland to commit to transition to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030.
8. Got ready to elect environmental champs in 2022. Starting in July we launched a fundraising campaign for our Political Action Committee, endorsed candidates in city elections and made some early endorsements of environmental champions, bolstered our political social media presence, and worked with MD League of Conservation Voters & Clean Water Action to prepare candidate questionnaires!
9. Grew our community partnerships. We know we cannot win the challenges ahead on our own. In 2021 we focused on strengthening our collaboration with other groups, especially community and frontline groups. We helped form a new pro-transit Transform Maryland Transportation coalition. We came together with dozens of groups, including CCAN, NAACP, LCV, Maryland Legislative Coalition and others to collaborate on a bold climate vision for the coming year. This year we designed and implemented the Maryland Sierra Club Equity Grant Program and awarded grants totaling $10,000 to 11 groups, among other initiatives of our Growing For Change Task Force. We are stronger together!
10. Invested in and grew our volunteer leadership. Despite the pandemic, we continued to train and engage hundreds of new volunteers. We held 13 “new volunteer” orientations, and dozens of environmental education events and trainings. On a monthly basis, we held executive committee meetings, MD Sierra Film Club panel discussions, volunteer orientations, political committee meetings, endangered species workgroups meetings, as well a wildlife and plant corridors workgroup meetings! Additionally, Sierra Club volunteers received a number of recognitions and awards for social media, outings, and all-around organizational administration; most recently Chapter Chair Rosa Hance was recognized with the 2021 Sustainable Growth Leadership & Service Award from the Maryland Department of Planning!
And those are just a few of the dozens of accomplishments we made together in 2021. Please consider a donation today to help us make next year even better.
Together we are making a difference! Let’s go even bigger in 2022 and pass the Maryland Environmental Human Rights Amendment and a bold package of climate policies, stop harmful highway boondoggles, revitalize parks and preserve natural places, and elect environmental champions all up and down the ticket!
Don't forget to register for lobbying your legislators with us at mdlobbynight.com and invite folks you know to join.
We are grateful for YOU and all you do.
Onward!
Josh Tulkin, Chapter Director
Rosa Hance, Chapter Chair