By Greg Gorman, Skylands Group Conservation Chair
The rolling hills and lush valleys of northwestern New Jersey known as the Skylands are bordered by Delaware River to the west and the megalopolis of greater New York City to the east. Home to the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge, and various state and municipal parks, the Skylands boast excellent hiking and biking routes, including a portion of the Appalachian Trail. But the area's beauty and serenity are threatened by the adverse impacts of climate change.
When the People’s Climate March on September 21 in New York City was announced in early May, the executive committee of the Sierra Club's Skylands Group and New Jersey Chapter stepped forward. The initial goal was to generate volunteer lists for the event. Signup sheets for interest in the march obtained 40 signatures at the annual Newton Day Festival in early June, long before the exact date of the march had even been established. The festival gave us a prime location on the main street where we set up a table with our signup list. (That's me with fellow Skylands Group activist Dave Alcoek at the festival in the photo above.)
Skylands Group chair Susan Williams and vice chair Edgar Sheperd reached out recruited Kim Latham, organizer for the local community sustainability group Transition Newton, and Wendie Goetz, a local activist, poet, and artist, to join the group. I received training as an organizer by working with Christine Sadovy of the Club's New Jersey Beyond Coal Campaign, and I am the designated Newton Bus organizer.
Once our Eventbrite page was established, group treasurer Jeri Dougherty reached out to the Unitarian Fellowship and others to obtain early donations and ticket sales. This helped to finance our advertising and flyer campaign. Skylands Group volunteers Noren Haberski and David Alcoek helped develop the flyers and identify organizations to collaborate with. By mid-July our team had gelled.
Let’s be clear-- we were novices tackling a project of this magnitude. For instance, when I set up the Eventbrite page with the help of Nicole Dallara, the New Jersey Sierra Club's outreach coordinator, I didn’t know to change the account information. My first check went to the Kansas Bus Organizer! We took a guess as to how many flyers and posters to distribute. We grossly underestimated the need and end up paying a slight premium for multiple orders. We suffered growing pains.
Our plan was to spread the word about the People’s Climate March and establish contacts with other local organizations to help promote the event and our bus to New York City. We distributed posters and flyers to local businesses. We were invited to the New Jersey Farm and Horse Show Green Day for the first time ever to promote the Skylands Group and the Newton Bus. We attended and spoke at various venues, including local farmers' markets and Green Meets with the Foodshed Alliance. In addition to phone and email, social media like Facebook was a major organizing tool.
By mid-August the date of the march was set, and at this writing it looks like we will fill at least two buses, each holding 55 people. We were successful in obtaining a subsidy to offer half-price tickets to students and seniors, and a number of donations came in so that we could offer five free tickets.
Marvin Feil, another core member of our team, helped promote the march at the local community college. Our phone bank team stands ready next week to solicit ticket sales. We'll be raising more funds and promoting the march at our regular monthly meeting of the Skylands Group.
Thanks to all the volunteers who contributed their time and energy to promoting the People's Climate March and the organizing expertise of the Club's national and state-level staff. We are confident that we will fill our buses and carry on stronger than ever in the fight to address the root causes of climate change.