Sunday, June 1, 2025

June Newsletter

 

JUNE 24, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. CRSC SUMMER POTLUCK at Goose Island Shelter #3     Make or buy some delicious food to share, grab a beverage and your personal picnic kit (plate, utensils, cup/bottle), and bike, carpool or drive to Goose Island Shelter #3 on Tuesday, June 24. Bring your bug stuff, too! Starting at 5:30 p.m., we’ll talk, eat, share news about current Sierra Club campaigns, and enjoy another summer along the river together. If you are driving, consider offering a carpool ride - use this link: https://groupcarpool.com/t/iv3yuq to add your vehicle or to seek a ride, or call 608-315-2693. You do not need to be a Sierra Club member to attend, though the Sierra Club is doing some pretty important work and welcome new talent and energy! Join here: https://tinyurl.com/CRSC-joinus

JUNE 20 - ACTION GATHERING     Join CRSC members and friends on Friday, June  20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. learning about important environmental issues and taking action together to make a difference. We’ll watch a short Sierra Club video and then learn what we can do to work toward shared goals. Plus, there’s pizza! This month’s topic - the Endangered Species Act. Questions? Call 608-315-2693 or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com.

JUNE 28 - 10 to 11:30 p.m. - HOLLAND SAND PRAIRIE HIKE     Enjoy an easy one mile hike exploring a local sand prairie and state natural area, mostly flat rolling hills with mowed paths. Learn about sand ecosystems, how they are managed, and the actions that are employed to maintain them. Bring binoculars, bug spray, sunscreen and water. No dogs allowed. The Holland Sand Prairie State Natural Area, 7780 County Road MH, is an easy bike ride from Holmen and a short drive from La Crosse. The entrance is near the intersection of Garden Street and Cty MH (43.970013,-91.294566). If you can offer or need a ride, check out http://www.groupcarpool.com/t/w3i8x9 or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call or text 608-315-2693. Outing will only be cancelled if there is severe weather.

JUNE 21 - VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES     On Saturday, June 21 between 2 and 7 p.m. at the LA CROSSE JUNETEENTH Celebration, volunteers are needed to help  staff the bike corral - easy and fun! Make your own shift any time between 2 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. Also on Saturday, June 21, La Crosse’s first Miyawaki Forest will be planted at Summit Environmental School. This forest is a Youth Climate Action Fund Project. If you like to plant and take immediate climate action, this opporunity is for you! Email, call, or text to get more information or to sign up: CRSierraClub@gmail.com or 608-315-2693.

JULY 12 - VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY     CRSC will table at the July 12 Youth Outdoors Fest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pettibone Park. We are looking for a few volunteers to help staff the table. If you can help, please call 608-315-2693 or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com!

MEET THE BOARD - KATHY ALLEN     Kathy grew up in Winona, Minnesota and earned her undergraduate degree in Biology from Knox College in Illinois. She earned a Master's Degree in Conservation Biology from UW-Madison. 

Kathy credits her childhood exploring the woods around her grandparents’ farm with her life-long love of nature and the natural world. “I was in awe of everything I saw and experienced in the natural world, and loved it.” Her environmentalism led to a desire to protect nature so it will be here for future generations to explore. Beyond this, she realized that protecting the environment is also critical to the health and survival of humanity.

The climate crisis is Kathy’s number one environmental priority. There are so many different facets to the issue it can be overwhelming, but she’s mostly focused on the transition from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy. 

Reducing fossil fuel use also means cleaner air and water, and  protects lands and wildlife from the impacts of extraction and transportation. She’s made efforts to reduce her own fossil fuel use - driving an EV, getting rooftop solar, adding a heat pump and heat pump water heater to her home, upgrading sealing and insulation.

In the community, Kathy has also worked on the campaigns to get the city of La Crosse, the county, and the school district to set clean energy goals. She’s a member of the school district's sustainability committee that just completed their climate action plan. 

In 2016, Kathy led organizing efforts for the first of four annual La Crosse Climate Action Fairs that highlighted local businesses, organizations, and speakers helping people change their energy habits and make their lives and our community more sustainable. In 2018, she was elected to the CRSC Board and became CRSC Board president in 2020. 

In 2022, Kathy was award with the Sierra Club- Wisconsin Chapter’s Merit Award, “for her dedication to protecting the environment, combating climate change, and promoting clean energy.” Her work within the Sierra Club includes participation in the Wisconsin Chapter's Clean Energy team on retiring existing coal plants, stopping new fossil gas plants, and encouraging utilities to invest in clean energy. 

She loves the Jane Goodall quote, "You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” Kathy truly shows up to make a difference in many ways and says she’s realized that sometimes you can make a difference just by showing up!

CONSERVATION LOBBY DAY     CRSC board member Ned Gatzke attended the Conservation Lobby Day hosted by Wisconsin Conservation Voters on May 6. Participants discussed priority issues:
•    Reauthorize the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program
•    Support increased funding for statewide remediation of PFAS, lead, and nitrate contamination
•    Support changes to energy planning to ensure a clean energy future
•    Support a constitutional amendment that would allow citizens to propose and approve laws and constitutional amendments through referendums
•    Support replacement funds to continue life-saving substance use treatment and services

REFUGE STRONG     CRSC tabled at the May 14 Refuge Strong event hosted by Friends of Pool 7/8 to support the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge programs, facilities, and staff. The drastic and, often, illegal cuts to important research and staffing threatens long-term studies and improvements. The group heard from speakers about these challenges and what can be done to address them.

APPLY NOW! HS STEWARDSHIP AWARD APPLICATION DEADLINE IS JULY 1!     CRSC will award $300 to a high school junior or senior who has demonstrated leadership, action, public engagement, and understanding of the importance of environmental stewardship. Applications are due July 1! Students residing in Crawford, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau and Vernon are eligible to apply and applicants do NOT need to be Sierra Club members! The application consists of an environmental résumé and portfolio and a short essay. Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/CRSC-Students or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call 608-315-2693 for more information about this grant. CRSC Environmental Education Grants and High School Stewardship Awards are funded in part by donations to the club from the Paul E. Stry Foundation, membership dues, calendar sales, and individual donations. 

GROW SOLAR LA CROSSE!     La Crosse county residents may take advantage of reduced solar panel costs during the Grow SOLAR La Crosse group buy and education program. Offered by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, the cities of Onalaska and La Crosse, and La Crosse County, property owners in La Crosse county can pool their buying power to secure significant discounts that make installing solar more affordable. Grow Solar Power Hour information sessions are scheduled for June,July, and August. It’s possible that solar incentives will end soon, so if you’ve been thinking about solar, act now.

LA CROSSE ENERGY UPGRADES     City of La Crosse homeowners and landlords may be eligible for a free Focus on Energy home energy assessment and free or low-cost home energy improvements through a City of La Crosse partnership with Green Homeowners United. Eligible households may get help with sealing, insulating, appliance and HVAC upgrades, and more. To have an expert help you find out if you’re eligible for the grant, call or text Jack at Green Homeowners United:  (608) 616-0470 and mention “La Crosse energy assessment” or visit https://www.greenhomewi.com/lax

NATIONAL TRAILS AND PRAIRIE DAY, JUNE 7, 8 A.M., LOWER HIXON TRAILHEAD    Celebrate National Prairie Day and National Trails Day with the City of La Crosse, Friends of the Blufflands, The Prairie Enthusiasts, and the Outdoor Recreation Alliance for a guided hike through Hixon Forest. Pick up litter as you hike, and stop at Lookout Prairie to admire the view and learn about the importance of our native prairies. Choose from a 2.5-mile out and back, or 4.0-mile loop and help leave the trails better than we found them! Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/HikeLaCrosse 

JUNE 3 BOOK CHAT     On Tuesday, June 3 at 7 p.m., join the League of Women Voters in welcoming Sonja Trom Eayrs to talk about her book, "Dodge County, Incorporated: Big Ag and the Undoing of Rural America."  In a compelling firsthand account of one family’s efforts to stand against corporate takeover, Dodge County, Incorporated tells a story of corporate malfeasance. Trom Eayrs tracks the changes to farming over the years that ultimately gave rise to the disembodied corporate control of today’s food system. She argues that far from being an essential or inextricable part of American life, corporatism can and should be fought and curbed, not only for the sake of land, labor, and water but for democracy itself.
Watch online at this link: https://tinyurl.com/LWV-DCITalk

KICKAPOO VALLEY RESERVE 25TH ANNIVERSARY REDEDICATION CEREMONY & RECEPTION. JUNE 7, 1 to 4 p.m. at Kickapoo Valley Reserve Visitors Center. EVERYONE WELCOME!

MORE JUNE EVENTS

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