Concerns and Issues About Sierra Nevada Group’s Future
Our local group, the Sierra Nevada Group (the Group), has a long and significant history since its establishment around 1983.
We have, however, found the over the last several years there has been a general lack of members moving into local activist and leadership positions. This has led to a diminishing of Group activities and burnout on the Group's current activists.
At the time of the Group’s original organization, there were really only the local Sierra Club and the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL) providing a voice for environmental issues. River issues, which were a driving force in the founding of the Group, have been consistently and competently addressed by SYRCL in the years since. The Group has since played a much broader role in the community, from forest issues to land use, particularly during the Nevada County General Plan update of the 1990's.
We have added our voice to numerous local issues in support of the many environmental groups that have sprung up around local issues, but activists have tended to join and participate in the more specific organizations rather than through the Group.
We find ourselves again looking at both a role for the local Group, and Sierra Club members interested and willing to take on a more active role, whether it is organizing local events, outings, supporting Chapter issues, political positions or other related activities.
We invite your input, in fact, we are in need of your input as we either redefine the local Group's mission, or face the possibility of disbanding. There are current activists willing and eager to work through transitioning into a reinvigorated local entity for our next 30 years, but they need to hear from and meet with folks interested in making those next years a reality.
SCHOLARSHIPS
2022 Scholarship Recipients
Vanessa Richards plans to attend UCLA majoring in Biology. Teanna Dummet will attend UC Berkeley majoring in Physics. Both of our scholarship recipients graduated from Ghidotti, received 60 Community College credits in addition to their high school diploma, plus, were active in the community including the Youth Sunrise Movement.
2021 SCHOLARSHIP
Maya Upton
Maya Upton, a student of Nevada Union High School, received our $1,000 scholarship. We were pleased to honor Maya due to her extensive record of local environmental and athletic involvement, and her future career advancing environmental objectives. She will be attending the University of Utah.
2020 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Austin Armstrong and Kamis Monohan
Austin Armstrong, a student of Forest Charter, received a $1000.00 scholarship in honor of Thomas Walker Kerns. Mr. Kerns was a relatively young man with a great love of and advocate for the natural world and wilderness, so we find it fitting that this one time scholarship goes to Austin as he pursues a career in Environmental Studies and Outdoor Education.
Kamis Monohan, received our annual $1,000 scholarship. She plans to obtain a biology degree and pursue a career in Environmental Conservation.
2019 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Jacob Crook
2018 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Anya Cooper-Hynell
Anya Cooper Hynell has been an admired member of the Sierra Nevada Group Management Team during her Junior and Senior years at Nevada Union High School. We are very happy to award Anya a scholarship to study Environmental Engineering at UC Santa Cruz. Anya attended Conserve School for Environmental Stewardship in Wisconsin, completing the program with an incredible enthusiasm for the preservation of nature and community involvement. She became a leader in Eco NU, and founded the NU Outdoor Club. In addition to her academic achievements, Anya was on the Varsity Cross Country and Nordic Ski teams, as well as on the Track team. She was also on the Leadership Team of the Social Justice Club, the Interact Club, and on the Policy Debate Team. As a member of the Management Group of the Sierra Club, Anya was an impressive facilitator of the public program on the Rights of Nature. She completed the Trip Leader Training Course, organized and led her first trip, and took the initiative to organize an Equipment Swap Day. Anya was honored at the Annual Mother Lode Chapter Awards Banquet in Sacramento.
2017 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS
Junet Bedayn and Erika Wolf
Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, our local Sierra Club was able to award a second $1,000 scholarship in addition to the scholarship we have given for years. A selection committee winnowed over 20 applications down to Junet Bedayn and Erika Wolf, both Nevada Union graduating seniors.
Both Junet and Erika have been involved with the high school’s Environmental Committee of Nevada Union, (ECO-NU). Junet participates in activities ranging from student government to the Nordic Ski Team to the Scottish Fiddlers. She has held leadership positions in the Social Justice Club and the school’s Policy Club among others. She is planning a ‘gap year’ before taking on college with the intent of studying public policy with a concentration in education and environmental advocacy. Junet’s application essay states, “I want to be engaged with a community that is not intimidated by the complexities of our current world, but excited by the opportunities for change that await us”.
Erika is heading off to Sterling College in Vermont with plans to study ecology, outdoor education and related environmental fields. School activities included the Outdoor Club, Social Justice Club and the Gay Straight Alliance. She has volunteered with the Sierra Streams Institute and SYRCL while being an avid runner and volunteer with running events. Erika credits the ‘right mindset and determination’ as essential in completing any given task. In one of Erika’s letters of recommendation, it was stated that, “She bristles with inner knowing and confidence! Her situational awareness of others around her is sharp. She looks for things that need to happen, for the greater good of the team, and pays attention to help all succeed.”
We are pleased to recognize the efforts and accomplishments of these graduates, as we wish them well and look forward to hearing of their continued successes as they move into the larger world.
2016 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Delphine Griffith
We are pleased to announce that our 2016 scholarship has been awarded to Delphine Griffith.
Delphine was chosen by the scholarship committee headed by Jim Olsen for her scholastic and community service accomplishments, including her volunteer work with WCCA. The Sierra Club scholarship is competitive for students planning to major in an environmental field of study. Delphine inspired the scholarship committee, as a light and hope for the future of our world and its wild places, including right here in her home Wolf Creek Watershed.
Her passionate interests are Environmental Studies, Music and French. She is truly a gifted student, lover of the outdoors and a Celtic harpist. Delphine has chosen Sarah uLawrence where she can continue to follow her desire to help create a more sustainable, green and eco-friendly world.
2015 SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Zach Rohde
The Sierra Nevada Group is pleased to announce that Zachary Rohde was chosen as our 2015 Scholarship recipient. He graduated from Ghidotti Early College High School as well as completing an A.S. degree in Natural Science from Sierra College. To accomplish his goals he sacrificed his summer holidays to earn 61 units toward that degree over those four years. Zachary plans to major in Biology at Sonoma State University.
For his senior high school project Zachary completed a fifty hour internship with Sierra Streams Institute, a watershed monitoring, research and restoration group in Nevada City. The healthiness of our local river, the South Yuba, was in part determined by Zach’s job of counting, sorting and separating into species the 700+ macro-invertebrates that inhabit the river.