From: Juniper Group News <[email protected]> on
behalf of Gretchen Valido <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 4:09 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Juniper Group Sierra Club Summer 2015 Newsletter
Juniper Group Sierra Club Summer 2015 Newsletter
Greetings!
With the Waldo Campout coming up next month, I’d like to share some personal Waldo experiences and reflections. With space still available at the group site, I invite you to take the plunge and join us for a memorable, Waldo Wild weekend! -- Aug. 28-30, Waldo Lake Campout at Shadow Bay Group Camp. Wild beauty, forest hiking trails, depth-of-field views, biking, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, star-gazing—there’s a whole lot of Nature packed into this weekend. The Waldo Weekend Campout is coming up, and we hope you’ll join us. From Bend it’s less than a twohour drive through scenic countryside. Maybe you’ve never heard of Waldo Lake, which would not be surprising. Yet it’s an Oregon gem, the second largest natural lake in the state after Crater Lake, with stunningly clear, deep water that is arguably the purest water on the face of the planet. Pretty cool, right? Because the lake sits within national forestland, what you experience there is a sense of peace, a balm and antidote to daily routine. You feel away from it all. You feel the immense presence of Nature in the tall trees and scattershot boulders patterned in chaos, in grasses gracing the shoreline, in iridescent blue dragonflies helicoptering among rocks, in the night-lit sky quilted with infinite stars. From atop the Twins or Fuji Mountain, you see buttes and forested ridges rippling into the horizon, backstopped by the Cascades and a big sky. It touches a wordless place inside you.
We've got hikes planned ranging from easy to difficult so you can stretch long muscles and explore an unknown trail. Or, bob and paddle in the lake in your canoe, kayak, innertube, or motorless sailboat. Another asset of the campout is its people! We’re there in common purpose, many of us finding new friends and sharing a compelling desire to protect this large swath of 76,000 acres. Pot Luck Saturday night lays out a diverse spread of savory and sweetness—just good yum. Then the program will update you on the progress of our Keep Waldo Wild conservation campaign and we'll hear a talk by a local forest ranger, followed by campfire time as twilight fades. If you play an instrument, this is a good time to share your music.
Bring your tent or camper and expect to share a campsite with other campers. Families with children are welcome, and also a limited number of well-behaved dogs. For a more complete description of the campout, please link here to our website. Here's how to sign up for the Waldo Weekend Campout:
REGISTER for the campout with the Reservation Form found on our
website, click here.
Cost for the weekend is $20 per adult and $10 per child under 18, payable by
check to the Juniper Group Sierra Club mailed to 16 NW Kansas, Bend 97701.
After you email the reservation form, you'll be contacted by our Campsite
Coordinator with more details. This year we’re also asking for an optional donation to support the Oregon Chapter’s local work, including the Waldo conservation campaign. We look forward to spending a memorable weekend with you! Please contact me with any questions. Please note that non-supervised activities such as biking, canoeing, swimming and kayaking are undertaken at your own risk and are not the responsibility of the Sierra Club during the Campout. PROGRAMS
-- Wednesday, Sept. 16 – VOLCANOES AND HYDROLOGY, WATER IN CENTRAL
OREGON, presented by Daniele McKay, Ph.D., Vulcanologist and Adjunct Instructor at OSU Cascades. Dr. McKay studies the physical volcanology of cinder cone eruptions and the potential hazards these eruptions pose to Central Oregon communities. She’ll explore Central Oregon’s fascinating vulcan geology and how it affects our complex water systems. -- Wednesday, Oct. 21 – SHARING THE EARTH: CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY,
presented by author and ecologist George Wuerthner, who will discuss the critical role that parklands and wildernesses play in the conservation of biodiversity. While some assert there is no need for protected areas, the overwhelming scientific evidence suggests that protected landscapes work better than any other land management to conserve Nature. The talk will discuss some of the critiques of protected areas and give examples from around the world of why protected areas are the best mechanism we have for sharing the Earth with other life. Member and Supporter General Meeting will be scheduled in the fall: to talk about what work the Juniper Group and Oregon Chapter are doing, our aspirations, volunteer needs, outings and leadership development. This will also be an open discussion and survey to hear from you about issues important to you and what program format/content you favor. We look forward to your input and suggestions.
POLLINATOR POWER
Native wild pollinators are vital in pollinating our flowers, vegetables, fruit, and nut trees, and their natural habitat is disappearing. Juniper Group volunteers have made Native Bee Blocks to help these quietly beneficial insects find a good nesting place in your backyard. We’ve had rave reviews of their success! Buy a home for wild pollinators while supporting our Keep Waldo Wild campaign, just $18, great for Father’s Day and gifts. Spread the joy—to support Monarch, other butterflies and pollinators, we’re offering a packet of Showy Milkweed (asclepias speciosa) seeds and a combination packet of Blue Flax, California Poppy and Hollyhock flower seeds, $5 for the two packets. Learn more about native bee blocks and how to order them at our Native Bee Block web page. Email [email protected] to place an order. It’s a win/win/win.
COMMUNITY EVENTS
-- Now until tomorrow, Sunday, July 12 – Bend 2030 Online Transportation
Survey. The online community survey, available through July 12, addresses Bend’s transportation challenges and was designed primarily in response to the ideas put forth by 175 attendees at the April Bend 2030 Transportation Forum. They said they wanted investments in street maintenance, more and safer bike lanes, a more complete sidewalk grid, and a more robust transit system. Forum attendees also said they were willing to pay for these improvements. This online survey will test whether the larger community agrees. The survey closes very soon, so please take a few moments to fill it out, which will help Bend become stronger. -- July 17 – Songs for the Environment and Social Justice. Environmental singer Dana Lyons teams up with labor singer-activist Anne Feeney in a concert “Teamsters and Turtles—Together at Last” on Friday, July 17, 7:30 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship’s new building, 61980 Skyline Ranch Road, Bend. Suggested donation $1520, but no one turned away. Doors open at 7 pm. For more info contact Michael Funke, [email protected]. CAMPOUTS
-- Aug. 28-30, Waldo Lake Campout at Shadow Bay Group Camp. Our fifth year! See introductory paragraphs at the beginning of this newsletter. Camp at Shadow Bay Campground at Waldo Lake for a nature adventure in one of Oregon’s most treasured places. Reservations are open for the Waldo Lake Campout Aug. 28-30 on our website, here. -- Sept. 25-29, Fall Color Tour, sponsored by Sierra Club’s High Desert
Committee. The high desert areas around Steens Mountain are spectacular to explore as the aspen turn to brilliant shades of yellows and golds. Join us as we meander through the area and enjoy the last warmth of the season and the color displays. The exact location of the hikes has not been determined yet, but we will head to the general area around Steens Mountain and Hart Mountain. To register, contact: Borden Beck 503-706-3634 or [email protected]
-- Oct. 2-4, Forest Camp, Ochoco Mountains Campout--postponed. This campout has been postponed until next year due to a conflict with opening day of deer hunting season. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS
The deadline for nominations for the Juniper Group Executive Committee is -July 15.
Elections will be held in the fall. If you are interested in running, contact the Elections Elections will be held in the fall. If you are interested in running, contact the Elections Committee by ---July 15 by writing to: Sierra Club Elections/Nominations Committee, c/o Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend 97701. Include your name, address and phone number, e-mail address, qualifications, and statement of why you are running. Current Sierra Club membership is required. Candidates can also run by gathering petition signatures. The Nominations/Elections Committee will interview/screen candidates and prepare a slate of candidates for three ExCom seats of two-year terms). The officers are selected by the elected Executive Committee. The election will be by electronic voting on Surveymonkey or other secure voting site. Online voting is in conformance with current club policy; it saves resources, results in higher voter participation, and our group no longer has a paper newsletter. If you are not already on the email list, please sign up with your email address. To request a paper ballot, write to Sierra Club Elections/Nominations Committee, Environmental Center, 16 NW Kansas, Bend 97701. QUOTES, FOOD FOR THOUGHT
I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order. ~ John Burroughs
What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet,
Long live the weeds and the wildness yet. ~ Gerard Manley Hopkins, Inversnaid Without the ants the rainforest dies. ~ Anonymous As you sit on the hillside, or lie prone under the trees of the forest, or sprawl wetlegged by a mountain stream, the great door—that does not look like a door—opens. ~ Stephen Graham, The Gentle Art of Tramping
The universe is made of stories, not atoms. ~ Muriel Rukeyser
You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather. ~ Pema Chödrön
Life’s work is to wake up, to let the things that enter into your life wake you up rather than put you to sleep. The only way to do this is to open, be curious, and develop some sense of sympathy for everything that comes along, to get to know its nature and let it teach you what it will. ~ Pema Chödrön
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards. ~ Soren Kierkegaard May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. ~ Edward Abbey
Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend. ~ Albert Camus
FACEBOOK and MEETUP
Look and See
- “Like” Keep Waldo Wild on Facebook! Check out KWW at this link. - Sierra Club Juniper Group Meetup. Learn about Juniper Group hikes, outings, campouts, programs, special events and field trips. It’s easy to join, easy to sign up for activities, is optionally identity-sheltered, and is entirely separate from Facebook. Check out the Juniper Group’s Meetup here.
The Juniper Group’s website URL has been slightly modified, and the new link is http://oregon2.sierraclub.org/juniper-group. We hope to see you soon! Welcome, new members and transfers! Sierra Club—Explore, Enjoy, Protect the Planet Thank you all,
Gretchen Valido, Chair
Sierra Club Juniper Group
c/o The Environmental Center
16 NW Kansas
Bend, OR 97701
* Please let us know your change of email address, and add this email to your address book to prevent spam blocking. If you do not wish to receive newsletters, please email us at [email protected]
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the OREGON-JUNIPER-NEWS list, send
any message to: [email protected] Check out our
Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp