New Zealand - everything you ever wanted to know!

John Sevenair will show a presentation on his trip to New Zealand at the May 20 monthly meeting of the New Orleans Group of the Sierra Club.

Byron Almquist will be the speaker for the June 10 meeting. His program, "Canoe Exploration" will discuss the history of canoeing in the U.S.

Where: Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main gate and behind Audubon Statue. Parking is plentiful and safe.

When: Sunday, May 20 and Sunday Jun 10.
Doors open for refreshments 6:30pm. Program 7 to 8pm.

For more info, email Charlie @ cptragopan@aol.com
or call (504) 307-0187 with any questions.

The program is free and open to everyone, especially YOU!

Sunday, April 15. SIERRA CLUB PROGRAM

"Healing the marshes of the Louisiana Delta"  Scott Eustis from the Gulf Restoration network will discuss a recent GIS (Geographic information system) effort to evaluate the impact of spoil banks to the interior wetlands of Louisiana. GIS is a tool for discussions with landowners and trustees to restore these areas.

Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main public entrance and behind statue of Audubon.  Parking plentiful and safe. Call (504) 307-0187 with any questions.  The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30 P.M.  Program 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 11. SIERRA CLUB PROGRAM

City of New Orleans Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs:
Charles Allen will speak about the programming activities of the New Orleans Mayor's Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs, including the restoration of Bayou Bienvenue in the Lower 9th Ward, and the "greening" of Mardi Gras!

Put Charles and the City on the "HOT SEAT"!! Invite all of your friends!

Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main public entrance and behind statue of Audubon. Parking plentiful and safe. Call (504) 307-0187 with any questions. The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30 P.M. Program 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

New Orleans Group Program - Verdi Gras "The Greening of Mardi Gras" - Sunday Feb. 12

"VerdiGras: Lessons We Are Learning As A Part of Greening Mardi Gras" Holly Groh (co-creator of Verdi Gras, along with her husband Kirk) will speak at the Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Verdi Gras is an inclusive carnival krewe dedicated to inspiring others and ourselves in creating and supporting a greener, cleaner Mardi Gras for all - with a spirit of creativity and fun, and reducing our dependence on foreign throws and throws in general.

On Saturday Feb 11, Verdi Gras will have recycling bins along St Charles Ave between Amelia and Toledano Streets, collecting beads, aluminum, and cardboard during the Pontchartrain Parade!. Verdi Gras is looking for volunteers to man the recycling stations. Email Holly at: kandhgroh@yahoo.com if you would like to be a part of this exciting program. Then come to the Sierra Club program on Sunday Feb 12th to hear all about it, and start planning for next year!!

Enter gate to far right of main public entrance and behind statue of Audubon. Parking plentiful and safe. Call (504) 416-8710 with any questions. The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30PM. Program 7 to 8PM.

PS: bring some beads to recycle!!

Sunday January 15th. NEW ORLEANS GROUP PROGRAM

The Mississippi River Delta: Is There Hope?

With the release of the 2012 Draft Master Plan for Coastal Restoration and Hurricane Risk Reduction, it is time to assess our prospects for restoring a functional delta and insuring the very future existence of our communities. Nothing less is at stake.

David Muth is a New Orleans native who has spent a lifetime in the Mississippi River delta and on the Louisiana coast, studying its geology, ecology, plants, wildlife, history and culture. He took his degree in history at University of New Orleans and became professionally interested in the connection between culture and environment in the context of the delta. He worked for 30 years with the National Park Service at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve in south Louisiana, eventually managing its natural and cultural resource programs. At the beginning of 2011, he joined the Mississippi River Delta Restoration Campaign as the Louisiana State Director of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF).

The campaign is a joint effort among NWF, Environmental Defense Fund and the National Audubon Society, along with local partners like the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and the Nature Conservancy of Louisiana, to bring about comprehensive, systemic restoration of the Mississippi River delta. They are working to find and seek consensus and national support for an ecologically sound and sustainable program to restore the flow of the Mississippi River to its dying delta, and to do so in a way that preserves the communities and culture of coastal Louisiana to the maximum extent possible.

Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main gate and behind statue of Audubon.  Parking plentiful and safe.  Call (504) 307-0187 with any questions.  The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30 P.M.  Program 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Free Trees!

Entergy Corp. has joined with the Arbor Day Foundation to provide free trees to residential customers in Louisiana, aiming to conserve energy through "strategic tree planting," to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Customers are required to care for the trees and plant them in spots expected to reduce their energy consumption. Customers can determine the most strategic planting locations using a tool that allows them to map a house, select a tree with energy saving potential, view the best energy saving locations to plant and recieve an estimate of the expected annual savings.

To Sign up, go to: www.Entergy.com/arborday

Sunday, November 13. New Orleans Group SIERRA CLUB PROGRAM

"Birding Argentina from Buenos Aires to Iguazu Falls". Joelle Finley, well known birder and traveler, will speak about birds and nature in Argentina. Audubon Zoo, Dominion Auditorium. Enter gate to far right of main gate and behind statue of Audubon.  Parking plentiful and safe.  Call (504) 307-0187 with any questions.  The program is free and open to everyone. Refreshments at 6:30 P.M.  Program 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Come celebrate and get your hands dirty on National Public Lands Day!

The Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve Barataria Preserve in Lafitte, about 45 minutes south of New Orleans, will be welcoming volunteers to do a variety of projects, from trail clearing and trash pickup to aquatic invasive species removal. Volunteers must report to the Preserve headquarters at 9am and the project lasts until 1pm, but the park is open until 5pm for folks who would like to stay and enjoy the afternoon. Interested Sierra Club members will meet at 8am at the Wal-Mart parking lot on Tchoupitoulas Street to car-pool to the park.

More information about the project is on the attached press release from the National Park Service. If you plan to meet and car-pool with other Sierra Club members, please RSVP to me at tcolleen526@gmail.com by Wednesday, Sept. 21 - all volunteers must register with the NPS by Thursday, Sept. 22. I will register the group.

WHAT: National Public Lands Day volunteer project, Barataria Preserve
WHEN: 8am - 2pm, Sept. 24
WHERE: meet at Wal-Mart, Tchoupitoulas St., to car-pool to Barataria

IMPORTANT: Wear long pants and long sleeves and closed toed shoes or boots, and bring insect repellant, sunscreen and work gloves.

Barataria Preserve is a 20,000 acre national park with bottomland hardwood forest, swamp and marsh habitats suffering from land loss from a variety of causes, and the Sierra Club New Orleans Group has recently designated the preserve as a top priority for awareness, programs, and projects. We hope you can join us to spend a morning at this treasure that is in our backyard and give back to nature as we all get some good exercise doing physical labor!

We look forward to seeing you!

Colleen Morgan
Chair, Sierra Club N.O. Group
504-701-1880 cell

Press Release:
http://xa.yimg.com/kq/groups/10557624/1418558135/name/National%20Public%20Lands%20Day%20at%20Barataria%20Preserve%202011.pdf

It's not too early to start thinking about Holiday gifts

With the dog days of summer behind us and the holidays approaching, it's time to treat yourself to some beautiful photography by ordering a Sierra Club Wilderness Calendar.

2012 Engagement Calendars are $13.95
The most popular nature calendar ever published. Stunning images of flora and fauna. Week-by-week format with 57 full-color photographs. Comes in a mailing box. Spiral bound, measures 6 1/4" x 9 1/4".

2012 Wilderness Calendars are $12.95
A bestseller for thirty years -- over 8 million sold. All the grandeur of the North American wilderness. Comes in a mailing box.

There is a limited supply, so order SOON!!!
email James at guilbea@attglobal.net
or give him a call at 504-780-1007.

New Orleans chosen as a Bicycle Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists

Washington, DC – September 14, 2011 – The League of American Bicyclists announced a new round of Bicycle Friendly Community (BFC) designations that includes 11 new communities at the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, Nev. "The League congratulates all of our BFC winners for implementing successful, long term bicycle plans and programs that provide quality of life improvements for their citizens," said League President Andy Clarke. "Cities are choosing investment in bicycling, even in tough economic times, as a key to building the places people want to live, work and visit." There are now 190 BFCs in 46 states.

We are proud of the roadmap that the Bicycle Friendly Community program provides for communities to build strong BFCs," said Bill Nesper, Director of the League's Bicycle Friendly America program. "We are especially pleased to see so many communities improving their award level." New Orleans, La. has seen its number of bike commuters increase by more than 150% in the last five years. The city, which had received Honorable Mentions in three previous rounds, implemented the feedback we provided and received the bronze designation this time. New Orleans was recognized for their large biking population, bicycling education programs, a bicycling network that has tripled in length in the last three years and the strong bike culture seen in events like the NOLA Bike Bash.

2011 Fall Bicycle Friendly Community Winners
11 communities were awarded the BFC designation for the first time:
Bronze level: Conway, Ark., Goshen, Ind., New Orleans, La., Omaha, Neb., Reno Sparks Nev., Saint Paul, Minn., Santa Fe, N.M., Sheboygan, Wis., Shorewood, Wis., The Woodlands, Texas, West Windsor, N.J.

About the Bicycle Friendly America Program
The BFC award recognizes a community's commitment to improving conditions for bicycling through investment in bicycling promotion, education programs, infrastructure and pro bicycling policies. The BFC program is revolutionizing the way communities evaluate their quality of life, sustainability and transportation networks, while allowing them to benchmark their progress and work toward improving their bicycle friendliness. The application to become a BFC is rigorous and an educational tool in itself. The renewal process and four levels of the award – platinum, gold, silver and bronze – provide a clear incentive for communities to continuously improve.

The BFC program recognizes communities that promote bicycling and provides technical assistance in the form of a roadmap to help cities build great communities for bicycling. The League has identified projects, policies, programs and plans that most effectively improve cycling conditions and make up the foundation of a bicycle friendly community. All of these bicycle friendly elements are clearly described in the League's Bicycle Friendly America: The Blueprint. Communities are using these building blocks.

To learn more about building a Bicycle Friendly America, visit http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bicyclefriendlyamerica/
The League of American Bicyclists promotes bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation, and works through advocacy and education for a bicycle friendly America. The League represents the interests of America's 57 million bicyclists, including its 300,000 members and affiliates. For more information or to support the League, visit www.bikeleague.org.

Group Program this Sunday the 11th

"Reintroducing Whooping Cranes to Louisiana". Sara Simorski from the LDWF will talk about the whooping crane reintroduction at White Lake. The talk will discuss the history of whooping cranes in LA, the work and effort it took to get this project started, what has happened with the first group of birds that was released – how it went and what they and the biologists are doing now and also touch a little on future plans for the project."

Also, Harvey Stern will present a 20 minute power point about his trip to Panama after the whooping crane program.


Go to our Meeting Location page for the where and when:
http://neworleanssierran.blogspot.com/p/meeting-location.html

Sierra Club Picnic at the Audubon Zoo Education Center

Sunday July 17, 2011
5pm-8pm

The Sierra Club's (New Orleans Group)  annual picnic in Audubon Park will be held near the Dominion Auditorium, inside the Zoo perimeter, where we have our monthly meetings.  

Park in the Audubon Zoo Parking lot and enter through gate upriver (to left of main entrance).  There will be a Sierra Club banner near the gate.

Sierra will provide the grill, hamburgers, vegi-burgers and hotdogs plus some non-alcoholic drinks.  If you require other beverages, please bring your own.

We are asking everyone to bring a covered dish with a favorite side or snacks. Also, bring your plates, cups and utensils to help the environment. Bring chairs etc.

If you have frisbees or other entertainment join in the fun.  This will be an opportunity to socialize, and talk about the greening of New Orleans.

Guests are welcome.