We are Bay Area Sierra Club leaders and are honored to be featured in Spotlight.

To preserve, enjoy and protect the environment, we focus on education at our monthly meetings, learning more about our diverse and unique local ecosystem as well as far-reaching global issues.

Some recent highlights included Mark Kramer, chief naturalist at the Armand Bayou Nature Center. He recently gave two talks about the Center’s residents, one on urban alligators and the other on ospreys and the breeding pair of bald eagles. 

Sarah Flournoy and Dawn Monachino of the Houston Audubon Society brought Skeeter the owl and a falcon. As with Mark’s speech, they spoke on the raptors among us.

The Galveston Bay Foundation briefed us on the state of the bay.

Several of our members presented programs:

Mary Demeny, master gardener, gave us a demonstration of organic edible backyard gardening for our area. 

Another prominent speaker, Steve Allen, retired NOAA meteorologist, presented his recent paper on the future of energy.

Doug Peterson kept us updated on the progress of Exploration Green in Clear Lake City.

We also borrowed talent from Houston Sierra Club.  Brandt Mannchen presented a white paper on Ike Dike, and Jim Williams led a discussion on energy. 

A couple of times a year, we hosted a screening of an environmentally important film.

Additionally, we had a children’s project at Exploration Green’s Earth Day celebration.  At other events we had a table.

Though this awareness and outreach, we hope young people will develop a passionate connection to our shared earth.

We invite all of you to join us at any of our meetings on the third Wednesday of the month.   All Houston Sierra Club members are invited to our Vegetarian Covered Dish Holiday Party at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday December 20 at our monthly meeting place, the Bay Area Community Center in Clear Lake Park at 5002 NASA Parkway, 77586.

Submitted by Bay Area Sierra Club leaders Linda King, Peter Bowman, Doug Peterson, Candy Anderson, and Michael Newton