Now through July 19: The Story of Plastic

 

Plastic is flooding our Earth and is a danger to health; land, sea, and air creatures, the environment, and our climate. During PLASTIC FREE JULY, learn more about the issues and what we can do by watching the award-winning film, The Story of Plastic, online between now and July 19. Then join us on Tuesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. for a Zoom conversation about what we can do reduce plastic use and pollution in our communities. 

Register at tinyurl.com/CRSCPlasticFilm to receive the links.

Learn more about plastic problems at our Plastic Facts page.

July Newsletter

During Plastic Free July, the Coulee Region Sierra Club and other local organizations are hosting an online screening of The Story of Plastic, an Emmy Award-winning documentary by The Story of Stuff Project.

CRSC screened this film when it first came out in 2019, but the issue is still with us and the Sierra Club and several other national environmental groups have specific plastic initiatives as the industry promises big increases in plastic production in coming years.

Sign up at the link for access to the film on Vimeo  and to the local film discussion on Tuesday, July 19 at 7 p.m. on Zoom. tinyurl.com/CRSCPlasticFilm

APPLY BY AUGUST 1 for the $300 CRSC Environmental Stewardship Award for high school students. Learn more: tinyurl.com/CRSC-Students 

 

The annual Black River Family Canoe Camp will be held July 16-17! This kid-focused trip on the Black River brings young families, adults with kids, and the young at heart together to play, explore, hike, cook out, and sleep in tents on a sand bar. Preregistration and screening are required. Participants must provide all their own water craft and gear, food, clothing, drinking water, etc. Learn more about it and how to register at tinyurl.com/2022-BRFamCanoe

Plastic Free July Ideas     How can YOU make a difference during Plastic Free July? Here are some suggestions from My Plastic Free Life (myplasticfreelife.com/plasticfreeguide)

Carry and give out reusable shopping bags. Bonus points if they are made from already used fabric like old t-shirts!

Give up bottled water and other beverages sold in plastic containers. Give friends steel water bottles. Ask others to stop using and vending plastic bottles.

Carry your own reusable foodware for potlucks and dining out. Give homemade picnic kits as gifts. Ask event organizers and restaurants to use reusables. 

Look for alternatives for food wrapped in plastic. Make and bring your own meals. Prefer unwrapped vegetables. Shop at farmers’ markets for unwrapped foods.

Give up frozen meals. Almost all are wrapped in plastic.

Return plastic berry, tomato, and fruit containers to the vendors to be reused.

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Next month, we will highlight La Crosse’s Juneteenth event and how planners and organizers worked to incorporate sustainable, reduced plastic policies and practices. 

MORE JULY EVENTS

July 2: Meet Me on the Bluff with Park Naturalist. 9 a.m. Perrot State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59836

July 2: Deep Time Hike - Geology of the Driftless. 10 a.m. Wildcat Mountain State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57756

July 2: Wildlife in Your Backyard. 7 p.m. Perrot State Park dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59846

July 3: How Animals Communicate. 10 a.m. Perrot State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/59851

July 4: Mitchel Red Cloud Pow-Wow. Black River Falls. tinyurl.com/BRFPowWow

July 9: Storyteller Terry Visger. 7 p.m. Wildcat Mountain State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57761

July 9, 16: Friends of the Black River paddling events tinyurl.com/frndsobrpaddling

July 14: Habitat Restoration at Cassville Bluffs. 10 a.m. tinyurl.com/MVC-071422

July 16: Guided Tour of La Crosse Blufflands. 10 a.m. Cty FA. mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events

July 19: Prairie Wildflower Hike 6:30 a.m. Black River Falls area. tinyurl.com/fobr-hiking

July 22: Night Sky Viewing with La Crosse Astronomical Society at Wildcat Mountain State Park. www.lcaas.org

July 23: Moth Mania with Ted Wilson, Viterbo University. 7 to 9 p.m. on Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration land on St. Joseph Ridge. strive2thrivecr.org/event/nocturnal-pollinators-insects-moths

July 22: Night Sky Viewing with La Crosse Astronomical Society at Perrot State Park. www.lcaas.org

July 24: Bugs in the Garden with Nick Nichols. 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. WisCorps Garden at Myrick Park. strive2thrivecr.org/event/bugs-in-the-garden

July 30: Habitat Restoration at Boscobel Bluffs. 9:30 a.m. mississippivalleyconservancy.org/events

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 28 - POTLUCK!

 

EVERYONE WELCOME!

BRING THE KIDS!

DON'T NEED TO BE A MEMBER TO ATTEND!

 

CLICK HERE FOR PARK MAP

The park is also accessible by bike from the La Crosse River Trail.

 

  Bring some food to share AND, if you can, your own dishes and utensils.

The club will supply beverages and horseshoes for kids and adults.

We will be by the river, so bring bug repellent if you need it.

 

Please consider signing up at groupcarpool.com/t/qi75cg to drive or ride with others

or call 608-315-2693 and leave a message if you need a ride.

Wednesday, June 8 - Welcome the e-bus

Please join the MTU and the City of La Crosse for an open house to roll out the new electric buses at 10 a.m. at the La Crosse Center!

Moving our public transit system to electric fuel will have a significant impact on our community's carbon emissions. And, as upgrades are completed at the city's wastewater treatment plant, soon, the fuel for these buses will be generated by gases released during the treatment process. 

Transportation emissions are the top of all sectors, with everyday travel by fossil-fueled cars and light trucks making up the majority of sector emissions. Moving your travel to any bus, but especially to an electric bus can help our city reach its zero carbon goals.

Come on down to the La Crosse Center to see and learn about the new electric buses.

June Newsletter

 

Tuesday, June 28, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Summer Potluck Get Together
Shelter #2, Veteran’s Memorial County Park, Highway 16 just west of West Salem

After a long break, we are happy to invite you to our annual June potluck get together on Tuesday evening, June 28 starting at 5:30 p.m. We’ll meet this year at Veterans Memorial County Park in Shelter #2.

Please bring some food to share and, if you are able, your own plate and utensils. The club will supply beverages. The shelter is near the river, so bring your bug spray, too! We’ll have horseshoes (adult and child), as well as information about upcoming events and environmental news.

If you are driving, consider using this link to sign up to ride or drive with others: groupcarpool.com/t/qi75cg or call 608-315-2693. The park is also accessible by bike using the La Crosse River State Trail (milepost 5 on the trail - five miles east of Medary/two miles west of West Salem).

You need not be a member to attend! Bring friends and family if you wish.

June 1: the Biggest little Farm     Join the Wisconsin Sierra Club Water Team in an online screening of the award-winning documentary about one family’s epic odyssey to attempt to farm while reawakening the land. This screening is free and open to all. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. Please register for the link at tinyurl.com/WISC-BigLittleFarNm

June 20:  Solar Show and Tell   Join Solar on La Crosse Schools on Monday, June 20 from 4 to 6 at Northside Elementary/Coulee Montessori, 1611 Kane St., La Crosse, to learn about the plan to install solar panels on the school in 2022 and how solar on schools is a win-win-win for our schools, our communities, and our planet. Learn more at SolarOnLaCrosseSchools.org.

May Garden Crawl     A small but enthusiastic group toured community gardens on La Crosse’s north side on May 24 guided by local garden leaders, Tamra Dickinson and Todd Huffman. Tamra met the group at Logan High School to introduce us to the community gardens funded with a grant from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration. With the help of Logan High construction students, concrete block and half-barrel beds grow a variety of greens, herbs, flowers, and vining edibles. A storage shed is now under construction, too. We visited the Northside Elementary/Coulee Montessori gardens near Gilette and Charles Streets next. Tamra shared some of her favorite heirloom seeds. See the list at tinyurl.com/TamrasFavSeeds.

We made an unscheduled stopped at the urban home-stead of Willie and Kate Bittner. Though we arrived without an appointment, they were eager to show off their garden, chickens, rain barrels, fruit trees, solar shed and more! Our last stop was the Kane Street Community Garden. Todd, who retired last year as the garden's coordinator, gave us a tour of the grounds.

Community gardens don’t need to be large to have a big impact. To learn more about these and how you can help, visit facebook.com/KaneStreetCommunityGarden or LaCrosseNeighborhoodGardens.org  or sign up to help care for the GROW La Crosse school gardens at GrowLaCrosse.org/volunteer-2 Learn to start a community garden: tinyurl.com/startacommgarden.

June 22: Right to Harm     On Wednesday, June 22 at 4:30 p.m., the film Right to Harm will be shown at the Platteville Public Library hosted by Grant County Rural Stewardship. The film exposes the devastating public health impact industrial animal factories have on many rural communities in the U.S. Learn more at tinyurl.com/GCRS-HarmFilm

Sign Up: Family Water Outing     Mark your calendars and get out the water toys and  camping gear! The annual Black River Family Canoe Camp will be held July 16-17! This kid-focused trip on the Black River brings young families, adults with kids, and the young at heart together to play, explore, hike, cook out, and sleep in tents on a sand bar. Preregistration and screening are required. Participants must provide all their own water craft and gear, food, clothing, drinking water, etc.

This year’s leaders will be Carol and Kevin Olson and Beth and Justin Piggush. Learn more about it and how to register at tinyurl.com/2022-BRFamCanoe 

Responsible Investing for Positive Climate Action     by Nancy Hartje          With rising gas prices, there is already a strong push to open U.S. oil reserves and increase domestic oil production. While these measures may eventually lead to lower gas prices, the situation also presents an opportunity to, once and for all, wean ourselves from reliance on fossil fuels.

One concrete action we can take as individuals is to put our money where our values are and make sure our financial decisions and investments are not supporting fossil fuels. A group that can help  is Third Act, www.thirdact.org. Their website has many resources for taking actions which positively impact climate change. Check out the “Align Your Money With Your Values” link.

Another valuable site is AsYouSow.org which promotes corporate responsibility by providing investment and retirement scorecards using filters, including  Fossil- Free Funds, Deforestation-Free funds, and other social or environmental justice filters. Use the “Invest Your Values” link.

Check it out, and let your money work to advance your values and shape a better future.  

More June Events   June is RIDE TRANSIT Month! Pledge to ride public transit at least five times during June.

6/ 3: Wisconsin Women in Conservation Spring Gathering from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. www.wiwic.org/event-details/south-west-spring-conservation-gathering

6/ 4: Wildflowers of Savannah Oaks at 10 a.m. Greens Coulee, Onalaska. Register: tinyurl.com/MVC-060422

6/ 4: Robinson Creek Paddle (Jackson County) at 11 a.m. tinyurl.com/0604RobinsonPaddle

6/ 4-5: Wisconsin state lands Free Fun Weekend. Admission fees, trail passes, fishing licenses waived. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57206

6/ 4-12: Jackson County Bike Week Challenge. www.jacksoninaction.org/jcbikeweek

6/ 7, 14, 21, 28: Frog Walk starts 15 minutes after sunset at the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. tinyurl.com/KVR-JuneFrogs

6/ 8: Learn about “The Blufflands: A Plan for Conservation and Recreation Throughout the La Crosse - La Crescent Region” at 6 p.m. in Room 432 (basement) of the La Crosse County Administration Building, 6th & State Street.

6/ 8: Wisconsin Chapter virtual volunteer night from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. tinyurl.com/WISC-June22Vol

6/11: Plant ID Walk starts at 9 a.m. at Kickapoo Valley Reserve tinyurl.com/KVR-PlantID611

6/11: Using the iNaturalist app at Wildcat Mountain State Park at 10 a.m. wisconsin.gov/events/57716

6/12: Sierra Club Outing Leader Training from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. in Madison. Must register:  tinyurl.com/WISC-LdrTraining0622

6/15: Kickapoo Pearls Revisited at 6:30 p.m. at Kickapoo Valley Reserve. tinyurl.com/KVRPearls

6/24: Dark Sky “Out All Night” event. Middle Ridge. www.lcaas.org

6/25: Geology Hike at 10 a.m. at Wildcat Mountain State Park. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57726

6/25: Raptors at 7 p.m. at Wildcat Mountain State Park ampitheater. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/57751  

6/25: Cranberry Blossom Day at the Wisconsin Cranberry Discovery Center. www.blackrivercountry.net/event/cranberry-blossom-day/

7/ 1: Crawford Stewardship Project “Love the Land” party and fundraiser from 5:30 p.m. to midnight at Soldiers Grove Park. www.crawfordstewardship.org/will-you-join-us/

For Wisconsin Chapter water outings, please visit tinyurl.com/WISC-WaterGroup

STOP LINE 5     We have some Sierra Club STOP LINE 5 yard signs available. If you would like one, please email us at CRSierraClub@gmail.com OR call 608-315-2693 and leave a message for a call back. 

CRSC Education Grant Report     COVID-19 caused many delays and schedule disruptions, including environmental education plans funded by CRSC last year! But, we are happy to report that grant recipients Amoreena Rathke and Mariah Bigelow, art teachers at Northside Elementary School and Coulee Montessri, have been able to complete their activities!

“During 2020, we were able to create the pottery and start, propagate, and care for more than 650 plants just prior to the quarantine. But the other part, a sale hosted by our fourth and fifth grade students, could not take place, because many classes were being held online.

“This May we were finally able to hold the plant sale. Our students have been propagating, starting seedlings, and learning about more than 700 plants, and the sale took place at the school on May 13 and 14.

“We will use the proceeds to purchase playground equipment while reserving some to invest in seeds and plants for next year.

“Thank you so much for your support for our students! We will send pictures soon.”

Bluffland Conservation     The Bluffland Coalition is dedicated to protecting regional blufflands as natural treasures and to expanding bluffland recreational opportunities available to the public. The Coalition is made up of local units of government and local non-profit organizations. This unique arrangement was developed in 2016 and documented in “The Blufflands: A Plan for Conservation and Recreation Throughout the La Crosse - La Crescent Region”.

There will be a series of meetings to understand this plan and its importance to the region. The first meeting is Wednesday, June 8, at 6 p.m. in the La Crosse County Administrative Building Room 430 (Basement). People interested in local bluffland conservation are encouraged to attend.

Support School Climate Action     Local climate activists are pressing the La Crosse School District to create a climate action plan and commit to using 100% clean renewable energy by 2050 or sooner. Other schools in Wisconsin have taken these steps. It will ensure district plans do not increase carbon emissions or work against the city’s goals of reducing community emissions.

If you live in the School District of La Crosse and have not yet signed the petition, please do so now at tinyurl.com/LaXSchools-ActOnClimate.
 

May 24 - Community Gardens!

 

Join us on

Tuesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. at the Logan High School north parking lot

Local food production can reduce carbon emissions and alleviate food insecurity. On La Crosse’s north side, a Seeding a Legacy of Healing grant from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration supports a cluster of four small neighborhood gardens to help provide food, community, and self-sufficiency experience and education. The much larger Kane Street Community Garden has produced an average of 30,000 pounds of healthy, organic produce per year since its founding in 1998 with mostly volunteer labor.

We’ll learn about and tour these gardens with our guests, Tamra Dickinson and Todd Huffman.

There is no registration required. We will START AT THE LOGAN HIGH SCHOOL NORTH PARKING LOT, drive or bike to the cluster of gardens, ending at the Kane Street garden.

Masks are optional for this outdoor activity. Social distancing is recommended.

May Newsletter

 

TUESDAY, MAY 24, 5 p.m.  Kane Street Garden - Why We Need Local Food Systems     Local food production can reduce carbon emissions and alleviate food insecurity. The Kane Street Community Garden has produced an average of 30,000 pounds of healthy, organic produce per year since its founding in 1998. Under the direction of the garden staff, hundreds of volunteers help with weeding, watering, planting, and harvesting each season.

We’ll volunteer for an hour and then, CRSC member, Todd Huffman, who recently retired as the Kane Street Garden Coordinator, will tell us more about the garden and its importance in the community.

The garden is accessible via the #5 MTU bus. If you would like to carpool, please use the groupcarpool.com site. Please wear appropriate clothing. In case of rain, we will skip the volunteering and go straight to the program. For more information about the garden, please visit LaCrosseHTF.org/The-Kane-Street-Community-Garden

MAY 7 MIGRATORY BIRD DAY     May 7 is World Migratory Bird Day. Land use changes and the climate crisis are threatening vulnerable migratory birds. It’s important for us to learn about how we can protect these beautiful fellow travelers.

The Mississippi Valley Conservancy will host a Mother’s Day Migratory Bird Hike on May 7 at Sugar Creek Bluff near Ferryville. You must register in advance at tinyurl.com/MVC-0507Birds  The La Crosse Audubon Society will host a Migratory Bird Day event at the Myrick Park Center from 6:30 to 11:30 a.m. including a bird-banding demonstration, bird walks at 6:30 and 9:30 a.m., bird-related activities for kids, and more. See couleeaudubon.org/html/events.html

CELEBRATE WISCONSIN MAY 17     Celebrate Wisconsin food, drink, and grassroots activism at the Wisconsin Sierra Club’s annual virtual house party, Locally Grown, Nationally Known. Special guests Diane and Kevin Cain, from Cain’s Orchards in Hixton, will talk about running a sustainable orchard and protecting nature and wildlife. Attendance is free, but donations will be welcomed throughout the evening.  Learn more at tinyurl.com/WISC-LGNK22

APRIL EARTH FAIR     We hope you had an opportunity to spend Earth Day appreciating our amazing natural world and considering how we can do more to protect the precious Earth we all call home. In La Crosse, CRSC tabled at the April 24 Earth Fair with information about our programs, events, activism, and priorities. In addition, the National Sierra Club sponsored more than 200 Drive Electric Earth Day events around the country including one in Viroqua and one at the La Crosse Earth Fair. In addition to electric bikes and cars, the new La Crosse electric bus was on display. Within about a year, the buses will be fueled by electricity generated from methane gas from the city’s wastewater treatment plant. 

HIGHWAY CLEANUP     By Pat Wilson     The Coulee Region Group contributed to the Earth Fair Marsh Cleanup by doing the spring cleaning on our adopted roadway--River Valley Drive. We had a great turnout enabling us to cover almost the entire section. We collected 21 bags of trash plus two tires. The photo shows just part of the haul; there were six more bags that wouldn’t fit on the truck.

Thank you to the cleanup gang: Kathy Allen, Carol Miller, John Papenfuss, Nancy Hartje, Marty Sellers, Maureen Kinney, David Bange, and Bobbie and Pat Wilson.

Our next group cleanup will be in July.

SOLAR SCHOOLS BIKE TOUR      On Saturday, April 23, CRSC members joined students, parents, teachers, and others for a bike tour hosted by Solar on La Crosse Schools (SOLS). The tour began at Hamilton Elementary School which holds almost 100 kW of solar panels. The riders continued to City Hall to learn about the City’s climate action planning and how solar installations on public facilities help reduce carbon emissions. With a beautiful loop through the La Crosse River marsh, the group headed to Summit Environmental School, home of the first solar installation sponsored by SOLS, a stand-alone solar powered marquee sign. The final stop was Northside Elementary School, home of the next full solar installation expected to be completed later in the year. For more information about this initiative, visit SolarOnLaCrosseSchools.org.  

CLUB OPPORTUNITIES!     The Wisconsin Chapter Sierra Club is seeking two people to join its Executive Committee Board. This is an important leadership position that will help the club set priorities and policies. ExComm members attend monthly meetings (online option available) and should plan to join at least one of the chapter’s teams. For more information, please email us at CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call Pat at 608-788-8831.

Would you like to help lead official Sierra Club outings? The Wisconsin Chapter is offering online Outing Leader training over two days, May 18 and May 25. To become a leader, in addition to completing the two training sessions, you must co-lead an outing with a veteran leader and acquire Basic First Aid training (on your own). Sign up for the two training sessions at tinyurl.com/WISC-LeaderTraining. To learn more, please email us at CRSierraClub@gmail.com or contact Pat Wilson, a certified Sierra Club outings leader, at 608-788-8831. 

MORE MAY EVENTS

5/3: Wisconsin Chapter book club meeting about the book, Grain by Grain: A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs, and Healthy Food. 7 p.m. ONLINE Register: tinyurl.com/WISC-BookClub0522

5/3 and 5/10: Myrick Marsh Bird Walks at 6:30 a.m. Meet at head of main trail. couleeaudubon.org/html/events.html

5/5 and 5/12: Hixon Forest Bird Walk at 6:30 a.m. Meet at parking lot. couleeaudubon.org/html/events.html

5/6-8: High Cliff State Park Camp and Service Outing in Menasha. SIGN UP BY 5/3. tinyurl.com/HCSPOuting

5/7: Astronomy Day at Riverside Park in La Crosse 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 8 to 10 p.m.  LCAAS.org

5/11: Wisconsin Chapter Virtual Volunteer Night 6:30 p.m. tinyurl.com/WISC-VolNite0522

5/11-14: Forest Management Tree Planting at Kickapoo Valley Reserve

5/14: Moonlight Hike, Wildcat Mountain State Park. 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. Meet at amphitheather Parking Lot. dnr.wisconsin.gov/events/55976

5/14: Plant ID hike at Kickapoo Valley Reserve 9 am to noon KVR.state.wi.us/Events/Calendar

5/14: Wyalusing Birding Field Trip sponsored by the Coulee Region Audubon Society couleeaudubon.org/html/events.html

5/15 Total Lunar Eclipse viewing in La Crosse from 9 to 11 p.m. in Crowley Park, La Crosse.  LCAAS.org

5/18 “Reinventing Power” virtual film screening. 5:30 p.m.  tinyurl.com/WISC-PowerFilm

5/21: Bumblebee Conservation with Susan Carpenter 9:30 a.m. KVR.state.wi.us/Events/Calendar

For Wisconsin Chapter water outings, please visit tinyurl.com/WISC-WaterGroup

SUPPORT SCHOOL CLIMATE ACTION!     Local climate activists are pressing the La Crosse School District to create a climate action plan and commit to using 100% clean renewable energy by 2050 or sooner. Other schools in Wisconsin have taken these steps. It will ensure district plans do not increase carbon emissions or work against the city’s goals of reducing community emissions. If you live in the School District of La Crosse and have not yet signed the petition, please do so now at tinyurl.com/LaXSchools-ActOnClimate.

HELP with our newsletter! Write regular updates about environmental events and activities outside of La Crosse! Also, we are seeking one or two people to help put the newsletter together every month. Please email CRSierraClub@gmail.com