The Sierra Club Catoctin Group (SCCG) encompasses Carroll and Frederick Counties. The Catoctin Group offers many opportunities for citizens to engage in outings, environmental issues and projects. There is literally a niche for anyone who loves the outdoors and wants to protect its myriad resources. The geography and 1,100 square miles of these two counties offers innumerable choices to explore, enjoy and protect nature.
A monthly Executive Committee meeting of the SCCG, open to the public, is usually held virtually on the third Tuesday of the month, at 7pm. We encourage anyone interested in our group to attend and we welcome your input on our activities. See the Calendar (Events, Meetings, Outings) to sign up to receive a link for the meeting.
We’d like to hear about your interests so we can best connect you with related issues or programs. If you have any questions or would like to get involved, we encourage you to send us an email at catoctingroup@mdsierra.org.
Membership inquiries may be sent to the Membership Chair at catoctingroup@mdsierra.org.
Wanted: Outings Chair!
The Sierra Club Catoctin Group, which includes Frederick and Carroll Counties, wants to
reactivate our outings activities and is seeking a volunteer to serve as our Outings chair. Our
two counties offer countless opportunities to explore the mountains, forest, streams, rivers, and the historic C&O towpath. Citing the Sierra Club motto to “Explore, Enjoy & Protect the Planet," the Outings chair will help people connect with the outdoors that we so passionately care about.
If you are interested in becoming the Outings chair for the Catoctin Group, please
contact, the Chair, Kerri Hesley, at kerri.hesley@mdsierra.org. Training for an outings chair is available 2-4 times per year by the Maryland Chapter. Contact Pat Soffen at Patricia.soffen@gmail.com to learn more about the outings program and how to become an outings leader!
Catoctin Group Upcoming Events
See our Calendar page for more details and to register for Events, Meetings, and Outings with our group.
Questions? Send us an email at catoctingroup@mdsierra.org.
Upcoming Meetings
Our next Executive Committee meeting is Tuesday, December 17 at 7:00pm online. Everyone is welcome to attend! Visit our Calendar page to register for the meeting link.
Catoctin Group Holiday Gathering!
Sierra Club Catoctin Group hosted an enlightening presentation at our holiday gathering on December 4 at Attabloy Beer in Frederick. Alison Wexler led the discussion on Eating for Health and the Planet: How to Adopt a Climate Friendly Diet. It was encouraging to see how even small changes that anyone can do will make a difference.
See our Calendar page for more information on all our events.
2024 Group Accomplishments
This past year has been a busy one for the Catoctin Group as we spent much of our efforts trying to reach out to the community to increase engagement with our group.
We set up tables at many Frederick and Carroll County events, such as for Earth Day, Environmental Symposiums, Frederick Pride and In the Streets.
Our main focus this year has been promoting passage of a Beverage Container Deposit bill, which we hope to see passed in the upcoming legislative session. If you would like to help get this bill passed, please contact your state legislators and let them know!
We participated in trash surveys along the waterways and roadways to demonstrate the amount of beverage containers that never get recycled but should be. Jurisdictions that have beverage container deposits in place see a large decrease in the amount of waste in the environment. We need such a bill to protect our beautiful state.
We surveyed grocery stores in Frederick City to provide follow-up data on the city's Plastic Bag ban, as well as to add to the statewide data. We used the information to help show its effect on plastic bag, paper bag and reusable bag use. A future goal will be to implement a similar ordinance to encourage everyone in Frederick (and eventually Carroll) County to bring reusable bags and eliminate all Single Use Plastic Bags. Working towards that goal, we gave out sturdy, reusable canvas shopping bags at food banks in both Frederick and Carroll Counties, so that everyone can have access to an alternative to single use bags.
We also participate in Lobby Night every year in February, which gives us a chance to present the Sierra Club priority bills to our state legislators. We would always love to have more people participating in that, so get in touch if you are interested in helping promote environmental legislation.
In the summer, several of us participated in tours of the Reichs Ford Frederick County Solid Waste facility, and had a presentation from the Carroll County Solid Waste Bureau Chief about the future of waste and recycling in Carroll County. Both were fascinating and very informative!
We ended the year with a social outing at Attaboy Beer in downtown Frederick, with a presentation on Eating for Health and how to adopt a Climate Friendly diet. Much to inspire us for the coming year!
For 2025 we have scheduled several outreach events, and will be adding more outside activities and social outings. See our Calendar of planned activities, and check back for updates. We’d love to have you join us!