Time to give ourselves a pat on the back: let’s highlight everything the Sierra Club’s been getting done across Wisconsin!
The Tar Sands Storytelling Project opened on April 26 in Neillsville at the Clark County Cultural Arts Center. This collaborative, grassroots art exhibit created by ten Wisconsin artists is a beautiful exploration of tar sands oil and pipeline infrastructure in the context of the global climate crisis. So far, 700 people have seen the art on tour and organizations are booking the exhibition well into the rest of this year.
Can you support more projects like these by donating $5, $25, or $50 today?
State Budget Actions: In April, we recruited members to attend and demonstrate support at four public hearings held across Wisconsin in one of our largest, most coordinated pushes regarding the state budget to advocate for clean air, clean water, public lands and conservation and public transportation. In total, 44 people testified on environmental issues and an additional 39 testified on public transportation. Several of the testimonies on transportation were given shout-outs on Joint Finance Committee (JFC) members Chris Taylor, LaTonya Johnson and Evan Goyke’s Twitter accounts.
We also held a Budget Week of Action from April 29 to May 3 after the hearings to solicit public comments and phone calls to the JFC about the key issues we care about.
The Conservation Congress resolutions passed! In recent weeks, the Sierra Club launched a campaign, Wisconsin Loves Parks, to restore and enhance state park general revenue funding to the level of five million dollars per year, allowing the parks to increase staffing and make up for years of neglect. Restoring $5 million costs less than a dollar per resident and is well worth it as a step towards renewing this amazing public resource that helps fuel our tourism economy. The Conservation Congress Spring Hearing results were announced April 16 and demonstrate that conservationists across the state are in favor of restoring critical state park funding.
Wisconsin Loves Parks On May 11th, we held a day of action to protect and restore the funding for our Wisconsin State Parks. In six state parks and forests, people participated in hikes and prairie restoration projects. Nearly 20 people met at Governor Dodge State Park to hike to Stephens’ Falls and gather edible plants and mushrooms with an experienced forager. At High Cliff State Park, Rep. Amanda Stuck was among the 20-odd volunteers who helped search for and remove garlic mustard, an invasive plant. Other groups hiked at Havenwoods State Forest and Kohler-Andrae State Park, and a hike held at Wyalusing State Park was joined by the Bold Betties, a women’s outdoors group. Last but not least, visitors to Mauthe Lake State Park got a real treat: spotting an active eagles’ nest about a quarter mile into the hike.
100% Clean Energy Commitments: Madison Metro School District and UW-Green Bay student government recently adopted 100% clean energy commitments, initiatives that the Sierra Club helped support. Eau Claire County became the first county to commit to 100% clean energy, and the city was the second community in the state. The cities of Fitchburg and Monona also committed to 100% clean energy. As our Legislature has stalled progress, local groups continue to lead on committing to getting 100% clean energy.
Will you support the movement for 100% clean energy with a donation today?
Earth Day Events Local groups held several Earth Day events, with lovely volunteers: the Chippewa Valley Group, Coulee Region Group, Four Lakes Group, Fox Valley Group, Great Waters Group and Southeast Gateway Group all held and participated in Earth Day events, including educational hikes, river cleanups, conferences, and hosting speakers and storytellers.