Fox Valley Sierra Group

What is the Sierra Club?

The Sierra Club is an organization of over 750,000 members in the United States and Canada who enjoy the great outdoors. The club was founded in 1892 with the goal to help protect the wilderness, which even then was at risk.

Our mission statement:

Explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth.
Practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources.
Educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.
Use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.
Many Sierra Club members enjoy outdoors activities like hiking, camping, bicycling, canoeing, bird watching, and cross-country skiing. The club helps organize these types of outings for the enjoyment of members and friends. It is through activities like these that we realize that we need to help protect our environment.

The "Club" is headquartered in San Francisco, California. The membership is organized in units, known as "Groups", that serve smaller geographical areas. The Fox Valley Sierra Group is centered around Appleton, Wisconsin and serves about 1100 members throughout northeastern Wisconsin. Clusters of Groups make up larger units known as "Chapters". The borders of a Chapter are often state boundaries, but may be larger or smaller depending on populations. There are ten Groups in the John Muir Chapter, whose border is Wisconsin's. Our Chapter is named after John Muir, the founder of the Sierra Club, because he grew up in Wisconsin.

The staff in the Club and Chapter offices include professionals who work with our politicians and try to present the views of our members. Other staff members work on membership benefits like our magazine, calendars, books, outings, and many others.

At the Group level members elect volunteer officers from among themselves. Each Group has a chairperson and a board of directors and other volunteers who see that a program, consistent with Club ideals, is carried out. Most of your club contact will probably be with other members within your smaller group. Most Groups have monthly meetings with interesting programs. Most Groups organize weekend outings or service projects.

There are also many activities at the Chapter level or Club level that you may choose to involve yourself with.

The Sierra Club is an international environmental group dedicated to sharing, protecting and educating about the environment. Inspired by nature, we work together to protect our communities and the planet. The Club is America's oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. Come join us outdoors and keep us strong.

There are many environmental groups in existence. You may wonder what makes the Sierra Club unique. Well, there are similarities and differences. Some groups are local (like a nature preserve) and others might be national or worldwide. Some are focused on narrow issues (like birds or rivers or land trusts). Some are mostly professionally run using dues and paid staff members. Others may be mostly volunteer organizations. Some are mostly activist organizations and others are mostly social organizations.

The Sierra Club seems to be a good blend of many of these traits, though many members are also members of other environmental organizations. The Sierra Club encourages its members to be socially active with each other, participating in Group activities. Yet the majority of our members choose not to be socially active, satisfied knowing that their dues are being spent supporting their ideals. Many members choose to be activists in a number of ways, from letter or telephone calls to politicians, to working on local issues or service projects.

Still wondering what the Sierra Club is? Check out the websites, or come to our meetings or activities. You do not need to be a member to do things with us.

There is a lot of great information on the "national" Sierra Club website.

You may also follow the Site Map link available on the top and bottom of most of the Fox Valley Sierra Group web pages.

For an idea of why the Sierra Club is needed please visit Opposing Views

The Fox Valley Sierra Group is the local unit of the Sierra Club (founded 1892 by John Muir) for people in northeastern Wisconsin; our mission is to explore, enjoy and preserve the nation's forests, waters, wildlife and wilderness through programs, outings, conservation projects and legislative advocacy.

The Sierra Club, the nation's oldest and largest grassroots environmental organization, was founded on the belief that experience in the outdoors will inspire the public to protect natural lands. Through its Outings program, Sierra Club encourages the public to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.

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Rev: 06/24/05