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Anniversary Year Activities

This anniversary year list will be updated throughout the year, so check our website often for the latest info!

For information about all activities in your area, check for your local Sierra Club volunteer group here.

Saturday, Jan. 28, Noon—Wilderness outing to the Mason Tract along Au Sable River near Grayling, led by the Crossroads Group. The Sierra Club has been fighting to protect this beautiful natural area from damaging oil and gas drilling for several years.  We’ll cross-country ski if there’s snow; otherwise it will be a hike.  To sign up, contact Lorne Beatty at 810-632-7766 or email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

Thursday, Feb. 16, 7-9 pm—Screening of Gasland at GVSU’s Loosemore Auditorium, 401 Fulton St. W, Grand Rapids. Free. This Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning film by Josh Fox, offers a first-person account of the filmmaker’s quest to find out more about deep hydraulic fracturing – a.k.a. “fracking.”  This brutal but increasingly popular method of extracting deep-seated natural gas has come to Michigan in recent years and has caused earthquakes and flaming faucets in other states. The Sierra Club is pushing for a moratorium on the practice until its environmental impact is completely understood. This screening is cosponsored by the Sierra Club’s West Michigan Group and Grand Valley State University’s School of Communications.  For more information, email gail.philbin@sierraclub.org.

Tuesday, Feb 21, 7:30-9 pm— The Politics of the Environment – 2012, at the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor. Free. The first in a statewide series of discussions of electoral politics and legislative issues in 2012 will affect the quality of Michigan’s air and water. Mike Berkowitz, Michigan Chapter Organizer, and Richard Barron, Michigan Chapter Political Committee Chair, will speak about the year's upcoming races. Find out how to make a difference in local, state and national elections. Non-members welcome; refreshments provided. For details, email ritalmitchell@gmail.com.

Saturday, Feb 25, 2012. Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act by skiing the McCormick Tract near Peshekee River, one of the areas designated as wilderness by the Act. We will start on the west side of the wilderness area near the Peshekee River, ski towards Deer Lake, and then select other lakes as destinations depending on conditions and the ambition of the group. Trails are not groomed and much of the trip will be off-trail so backcountry ski gear is recommended. Bring a trail lunch. Meet at 10 AM at the Lutheran Church just north of M28/US41 immediately after crossing the Peshekee Grade Road. Contact John Rebers at jrebers@gmail.com to sign up for the trip and to confirm final plans - the destination may change depending on condition.

Sunday, March 4, 11 am – 2 pm — Presentation about Food and Factory Farms at Furnace Design Studio, 25331 Trowbridge, Dearborn. Speaker is Lynn Henning, Michigan Chapter Water Sentinel and winner of the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America, who was recently featured in an article in O Magazine. Lynn will talk about her work battling the polluting factory farms that surround her small family farm in south central Michigan. For details, contact gail.philbin@sierraclub.org

Tuesday, March 6, 6-8 pm—Ah, Wilderness!  The 25th Anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act at Oshtemo Public Library, Meeting room 101 7265 West Main Street, Kalamazoo. Free. A presentation by Anne Woiwode, director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, that takes a behind-the-scenes at the making of a historic piece of legislation that protected 90,000 acres of old growth forests, spectacular dunes and remote lakes in Michigan in 1987. The law created 10 now-familiar wilderness areas:  Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania. The remarkable victory came only after a suspense-filled, 10-year political battle that Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, recounts in detail. Sponsored by the Southwest Michigan Group of the Michigan Chapter. For details, email williamstrong@sbcglobal.net.

Thursday, March 22, 7 pm—Lynn Henning, North America's Environmental Heroine at East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Rd., East Lansing.  Free.  A presentation by Lynn Henning, Michigan Chapter Water Sentinel and winner of the 2010 Goldman Environmental Prize for North America, who was recently featured in an article in O Magazine. Lynn will talk about her work battling the polluting factory farms that surround her small family farm in south central Michigan. Sponsored by the Central Michigan Group of the Michigan Chapter.

Thursday, April 5, 7-9 pm—Another screening of an environmental film (TBA) at Loosemore Auditorium, 401 Fulton St. W, Grand Rapids. Free.  A joint presentation by Grand Valley State University’s School of Communications and the Michigan Chapter’s West Michigan Group.

Earth Day, April 22, 5-9 pm: 25 Years of Michigan Wilderness With the Central Upper Peninsula Sierra Club at the Marquette Federation of Women's Clubhouse, 104 West Ridge Street, Marquette. Bring a dish to pass and a beverage (wine or non-alcoholic beverages only). If you have pictures or slides of Michigan Wilderness, bring those to share. We will have projectors for electronic photos and 35 mm slides, and a table to display prints. Questions? Email jrebers@gmail.com.

Tuesday, Apr. 24 6:30 pm—Screening of Gasland at Spring Lake District Library, 123 E. Exchange St., Spring Lake. Free. This Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning film by Josh Fox, offers a first-person account of the filmmaker’s quest to find out more about deep hydraulic fracturing – a.k.a. “fracking.”  This brutal but increasingly popular method of extracting deep-seated natural gas has come to Michigan in recent years and has caused earthquakes and flaming faucets in other states. The Sierra Club is pushing for a moratorium on the practice until its environmental impact is completely understood. This screening is cosponsored by the Sierra Club’s West Michigan Group and the Spring Lake District Library.  For more information, email gail.philbin@sierraclub.org.

Thursday, April 26, 7 pm--Martha Bates, acquisitions editor at MSU Press, discusses the film "John Muir in the New World" at East Lansing Public Library, 950 Abbot Rd., East Lansing.  Free.  In honor of the 120th anniversary of the founding of the Sierra Club, the Central Michigan Group of the Michigan Chapter presents excerpts and a discussion of this beautiful, biographical film about the life and times of the iconic Sierra Club founder, John Muir, and a group reading of one of Muir's books. For details, email markmuhich0@gmail.com.

Thursday, May 3, 7:30 p.m.-- Ah, Wilderness! The 25th Anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act at the Birmingham Unitarian Church, 38651 Woodward Avenue, Bloomfield Hills. Free. A presentation by Anne Woiwode, director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, that takes a behind-the-scenes at the making of a historic piece of legislation that protected 90,000 acres of old growth forests, spectacular dunes and remote lakes in Michigan in 1987. The law created 10 now-familiar wilderness areas:  Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania. The remarkable victory came only after a suspense-filled, 10-year political battle that Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, recounts in detail. Sponsored by the Southeast Michigan Group of the Michigan Chapter.

Friday-Sunday, May 18-20 – Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness Hike and Campout in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act. The Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness is part of the 90,000 acres of old-growth forests and pristine dunes and lakes protected by the historic Michigan Wilderness Act 25 years ago.  It encompasses about 3,500 acres between Ludington and Manistee including three miles of dunes on Lake Michigan and 20 miles of trails in dunes and forests. For details and to register, call Lorne Beatty at 810-632-7766 or email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

September—A variety of events celebrating the month the Michigan Chapter was founded 45 years ago in 1967.  Watch this space for details.

Saturday, Sept. 8, 10 am—Au Sable River Cleanup and Tree Planting starts at Gates Au Sable Lodge, 471 Stephan Bridge Road, Grayling. The Sierra Club has been fighting to protect this waterway from damaging oil and gas drilling nearby for several years.  This popular annual gathering involves planting cedar saplings and maintain previously planted cedars in the morning followed by an afternoon barbecue and optional overnight camping. For details, contact Lorne Beatty at 810-632-7766 or email lorne.beatty@michigan.sierraclub.org.

Tuesday, Oct. 16, 7:30 pm— Ah, Wilderness!  The 25th Anniversary of the Michigan Wilderness Act at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, 1800 N. Dixboro Rd, Ann Arbor. A presentation by Anne Woiwode, director of the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, that takes a behind-the-scenes at the making of a historic piece of legislation that protected 90,000 acres of old growth forests, spectacular dunes and remote lakes in Michigan in 1987. The law created 10 now-familiar wilderness areas:  Big Island Lake, Delirium, Horseshoe Bay, Mackinac, McCormick, Nordhouse Dunes, Rock River Canyon, Round Island, Sturgeon River Gorge, and Sylvania. The remarkable victory came only after a suspense-filled, 10-year political battle that Woiwode, who was a young environmentalist at the time, recounts in detail. Sponsored by the Huron Valley Group of the Michigan Chapter.