January 2021 Great Falls Group Cascade |
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Significant Events Calendar
Jan 4 - Volunteer Action for the Environment
Jan. 6 - Virginia Legislative Preview
Jan. 7 - Virtual Advocacy Workshop and Training
Jan 9 - Fairfax Delegation Pre-2021 Session Public Forum (register Jan. 4-6)
Jan 9 - Virtual Green Breakfast
Jan 13 - Fairfax County’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council (EQAC) Public Hearing
Jan 21 - VCN Conservation Lobby Day
Jan 27 - Reintroducing Red Wolves to Virginia webinar
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Have something you'd like to say? Send comments or questions to the editor.
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Volunteer Action for the Environment |
Virtual Meeting
WHEN: Mon., Jan. 4, 5-6 pm
WHERE: Zoom link sent after RSVP
DETAILS: Join us to learn and to share ideas to protect the environment. Let's plan for our 2021 approach to the Green New Deal Virginia, clean transportation, improving building codes to reduce greenhouse gases and make our new homes more energy efficient, and more. We will discuss issues and work on strategies and actions. Come be part of the solution!
SPONSOR: Sierra Club/Great Falls Group
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Source: Green New Deal Lobby |
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CECAP Working Group Meetings |
OEEC convened meetings for the two Working Groups, the Energy and the Transportation and Development subgroups, on Dec. 1 and 2, respectively. There was a detailed gathering of information using Mural, which let participants add over 750 items to a virtual whiteboard. But improvements need to be made in interactions with OEEC staff and among members regarding strategies, and in allowing enough time to work on all the sectors that were combined into the two subgroups.
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Power for the People Virginia |
Recent posts from Ivy Main's blog on energy-related matters in Virginia
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Ivy Main, Conservation Co-Chair &
Renewable Energy Chair
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Volunteer for Community Advisory Group for the Fairfax County Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan
Fairfax County has requested a Sierra Club representative, due by Jan. 21, for the Community Advisory Group which will be providing guidance on developing the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CARP). This plan will help the county better understand and prepare for the threats that climate change poses to its residents, businesses, infrastructure and local government operations. We need community input in many ways for this plan to be successful.
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Pipeline Organizer Wanted - Half-time Position
The Sierra Club Virginia Chapter is hiring an organizer to build on our already active Stop the Pipelines campaign -- a grassroots movement to defeat the Mountain Valley Pipeline and oppose new fracked gas pipelines in Virginia. As an organizer, you will be the key connector between the Sierra Club, partner organizations, and our community of supporters. Immediate action is recommended if you are interested. The Virginia Chapter hopes to have this half-time position in place by March 2021.
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No School - Blake Lane Park |
On Wed, Dec.16, Providence School Board Member Karl Frisch held a virtual meeting on relocating the planned Oakton/Fairfax school to the Falls Church area. He claimed that Blake Lane Park had been taken off the table as a possible location by the Board of Supervisors.
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Reintroducing Red Wolves to Virginia |
WHEN: Wed., Jan 27, 6:30-7:30pm
DETAILS: Richmond-based journalist Stephen Nash has been looking into proposals to reintroduce red wolves, Canis lupus rufus, to Virginia. In the 1970s, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service caught the last 17 known representatives of this critically endangered species. Today, only a handful of red wolves remain in the wild in coastal North Carolina, and 200 or so are in captive breeding facilities, including nine at Roanoke's Mill Mountain Zoo.
Nash is the author of the award-winning books Blue Ridge 2020, Virginia Climate Fever, and the most recent, Grand Canyon for Sale.
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Photo source: Stephen Nash |
He is a visiting senior research scholar at the University of Richmond.
SPONSOR: Sierra Club Great Falls Group
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Seedling Sale - Native Shrubs and Small Trees |
WHEN: Online ordering for the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District's Annual Seedling Sale opens on Tuesday, February 2, 2021.
WHERE: Fri, Apr. 16, 9am - 4pm, and Sat, Apr 17, 9am- 12pm pickup at Sleepy Hollow Bath and Racquet Club in Falls Church.
SPONSOR: Fairfax County
The plants in each package clean our water and air, prevent soil erosion, provide valuable habitat, and add beauty to your property. No day-of or extras sales this year.
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Source: fairfaxmasternaturalists.org
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Support Asked for Bill to Curb Invasive Plants |
Delegate Dave Bulova and/or Senator Marsden are submitting bills in January to mandate a study exploring options for phasing out the propagation and sale of invasive plants in Virginia’s horticultural industry, which may include legislation to be brought the following year to the 2022 General Assembly.
Please urge the members of the related committees to support these efforts. The legislative session is short. Email/call in the first week of January.
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English Ivy covering dead tree.
Source: Living Streamside
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Home Energy Conservation During COVID |
Have you been wondering what you can do around your home to conserve energy and save money during COVID? Ross Shearer is writing a short series of articles about what almost anyone can do. The first one is on electric lighting energy conservation with other informative articles, to follow.
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Was this article useful to you?
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LED Light Bulb
Source: Wayfair
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Volunteer Issue Chair and Committee Positions Available
Volunteering with your local Sierra Club puts the 'Think Globally, Act Locally" mantra in action. Climate change has become an existential issue; we can do our part to make our community cleaner, healthier, and more equitable for all. Please read further to see what you can do.
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Could Your Community Environmental Issue Benefit from a Letter to the Editor?
Letters to the editor (LTEs) raise public awareness on issues. Often the editorial page, with its LTEs, is the most read section of the paper. Elected officials ask their staff to read LTEs to learn what issues are important to their constituents. Could your community benefit from an LTE in either a local or Richmond paper? Let the GFG LTE Writers Group know and they will help you. Please contact Linda Brown.
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Checking and Updating Your Sierra Club Contact and Membership Information
Are you not getting your Sierra Club communications -- or maybe you're getting too much? Or do you just want to see if your membership information is correct? Go to My Account on the Sierra Club National website to address these issues and, if needed, update your info.
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The Great Falls Group Needs Your Assistance in Reorganizing
The Sierra Club Great Falls Group is exploring reorganizing and renaming itself. What this means for you is that there are opportunities for you to get involved, use your skills, and make your voice heard in your local and regional area. We need your help and ideas on how to accomplish this. This can be a fun activity and a way to get to know your Sierra Club community members. We are still ramping up this activity.
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Sierra Club
Climate and Energy
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Ways to Stay in Touch with GFG |
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Send comments or questions to the editor.
Thank you!
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