Dear Supporter,

Welcome to the Napa Sierra Club's May/June, 2021 Newsletter.

News from the Chair:

Greetings. As you may know, water security is going to be one of the biggest issues facing us in the near and long-term future. Our Water Issues Team, led by Roland Dumas, is finalizing our comment letter to the Napa County Groundwater Sustainability Plan Advisory Committee.

Biking through the Carneros (see article below). Photo credit: Nick Cheranich

The Winegrowing Emissions Team is preparing a memo with findings about Ag (vine) burning. Please read the terrific essay below, which clearly explains the issue.

Also, our Political Committee has prepared and sent out a detailed questionnaire for County Supervisor candidates from District 1 and District 3. Candidates will be asked several questions pertaining to their views of the multiple environmental issues facing Napa County. Based on their answers, as well as other factors, the Executive Committee will vote on which candidates to recommend for endorsement to the National Sierra Club for the primary election in June 2022.

And finally, congratulations to our student interns Emily Bit and Alisa Karesh, co-presidents of the Napa Schools for Climate Action (S4CA). They planned and carried out a highly successful creative-piece climate action contest entitled, “Our Future Is in Your Hands.” The contest, which attracted more than 75 countywide student entries of artwork and written pieces (including one video game), used the theme, “How do you feel about climate change?” Several members of the community, including two members of our Executive Committee, judged the student work. The S4CA also raised over $2500 in prizes for the contestants (the Napa Sierra Club being one of the contributors). We hope to see several of the incredible artistic/activistic pieces published soon.

Want to get involved? If you would like to learn more about what we are doing and would like to attend a Napa Sierra Club meeting, please do! Our next Conservation Committee meeting will be July 13, 2021 at 6:30PM. Just click on the RSVP button below. Thank you.

– Nick Cheranich, Executive Committee Chair
 

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland to Canadian parents who returned to Canada when I was very young and I was raised just outside of Toronto. I’ve been fortunate enough to live in Britain (Liverpool), Switzerland (Geneva), and France (Dijon) but since 2001 I’ve been firmly rooted in Napa.

I did my undergraduate degree in political science at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and my graduate work in political theory at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. I was destined to become an academic. Instead, I spent over thirty productive years in the wine business, finishing as CEO at Clos Du Val winery here in the valley.

In 2007, I opened Tillerman Tea at the Oxbow Public Market – tea has been a longtime interest for me. I retired in 2013 but soon reopened Tillerman Tea (I was just plain bored in retirement) as an online business, focusing exclusively on tea from Taiwan. Until COVID came along, I would make twice annual pilgrimages to Taiwan to seek out new teas.

Since living in Napa, I have been active in a number of social causes in our community, most notably, immigrant rights through my continued participation on the steering committee of Napa Valley Rapid Response, and the quest for universal single-payer healthcare in California and the United States. I serve as chair of Health Care for All – Napa County. I am also a telephone counselor for the North Bay Suicide Prevention Hotline.

Connie is my wonderful and patient wife and we are blessed with four grown children.