Saturday, December 20

OPEN House January 5 - Learn about the Master Naturalist training Program



The University of Illinois Extension will host a Master Naturalist  open house at Carbondale Township Hall, 216 East Monroe Street in Carbondale from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m on Monday, January 5.

Become a Master NATURALIST!  Twelve exiting sessions! Bonus field trips!  Emphasis on the unique plants, animals and ecosystems of southern Illinois. Enrollment is limited!

Come and see what the Master Naturalist program has to offer you and what you can offer to the program.


Attend the Open House and find out if the program is for you.  For additional information contact the Extension office (Franklin, Jackson, Perry, Randolph, and Williamson counties): Tel. 618-687-1727

Picnic at Giant City New Years Day!



Polar Bear Alert!  Brave the Cold!  Defy the Elements!

Join the Sierra Club, Shawnee Group for our traditional outdoor picnic on New Year's Day, January 1st. from 11 am til 3 pm.  Meet us at Shelter No. 2 in beautiful Giant City State Park for a potluck picnic featuring hot soup to warm your cold hands!  Attendees are invited to bring a soup ingredient (pre-cooked) and/or a dish to pass and reusable table service.

This event is free and open to the public. Enjoy Hikes, Fun, Food, & fire to keep you warm! Sierra Club members can bring along their ballots for ExCom board members to the event.
Call Barb at 529-4824 for more information.

Sunday, November 30

Monthly Program and Dinner December 11



The monthly dinner for the Sierra Club, Shawnee Group will take place on Thursday, December 11 at 5 pm at  Fujiyama          715 N Giant City Road Carbondale      549-200

If you plan to attend, please let me know by phone (684-2196) or email by Wednesday morning.  Thanks.

The program for the month is Soundscapes for Art and Science, presented by Jay Needham.

Presenter Jay Needham, is a sound artist, electro-acoustic composer, teacher and scholar. His sound art, works for radio and visual art have appeared at museums, festivals and on the airwaves worldwide.. He is the President of the American Society for Acoustic Ecology. He is Associate Professor in the department of Radio, Television, and Digital Media at SIU.

The talk will focus on the sound spectrum as a medium
for both artistic creation and scientific inquiry. He will present on a number of projects that feature his field recordings from Illinois and from around the globe.

The program will be held at the REAR entrance of 217 East Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois on Thursday, December 11 at 7:00 pm.  It is FREE and open to the public.  Parking and entrance are at the rear, through the green door, across from Rock Hill Baptist Church (Monroe and Marion Streets.)

Monday, November 17

Master Naturalist Open House at Giant City Nov. 23



The University of Illinois Extension will host a Master Naturalist  open house at Giant City Park, 235 Giant City Rd, Makanda, IL 62958 on Sunday November 23, 2014 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Become a Master NATURALIST!  Twelve exiting sessions! Bonus field trips!  Emphasis on the unique plants, animals and ecosystems of southern Illinois. Enrollment is limited!

Come and see what the Master Naturalist program has to offer you and what you can offer to the program.

Thursday, November 13

Shawnee Group will be at Alternative Gift Fair




Gifts that make your community and your world a better place! December 7, from 2 until 5 pm at the Carbondale Civic Center, 200 S Illinois Ave, Carbondale
 


The Sierra Club Shawnee Group will again participate in the Alternative Gift Fair in at the Civic Center in Carbondale.  Member support is needed: 

  • To work at the event which is Sunday, December 7 from 2 to 5 pm.  
  • Donate items for sale at the Group Table.  Art/Craft items and books are preferred.

 Please contact Dorcy Prosser at dorcyprosser2001@yahoo.com

Tuesday, November 4

November meeting



November 13 program:  Environmental Justice


Presenter Deidra D. Davis is a doctoral student in SIU's Environmental Resource &Policy program. Her research focuses on Environmental Justice and Public Policy. Deidra currently serves on the City of Carbondale Sustainability Commission.  She has been a member of the Women’s Civic Institute at SIU and on the advisory board to the university & region-wide initiative known as Imagining Geographies.  Her current research focuses on issues of Environmental Justice surrounding Carbondale’s Koppers site.

The program will be held at the REAR entrance of 217 East Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois on Thursday, November 13 at 7:00 pm.  It is FREE and open to the public.  Parking and entrance are at the rear, through the green door, across from Rock Hill Baptist Church (Monroe and Marion Streets.)

ExCom Ballot in your mailbox

Don't forget to vote - for ExCom candidates. The Illinois Chapter has mailed out ExCom ballots for all groups. Look for a slick magazine with a green Vee on the cover.
Mail your Shawnee Group ballot to: 
Nominating Committee,
Shawnee Group Sierra Club
PO Box 117
Carbondale, Illinois 62903-0117

Deadline is November 30!

Thursday, October 2

Group dinner at Thai Taste

Join the Shawnee Group for dinner at Thai Taste on Thursday, October 9 at 5pm, just before our monthly program.  Thai Taste is at 100 South Illinois Avenue in Carbondale.

October 9: Home Energy Efficiency program



October 9 program

Illinois Home Performance:  Energy Efficiency at Home

Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® (IHP), a program sponsored by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, aims to help Illinois home and property owners decrease their energy costs and increase the comfort, safety, durability, and value of their homes.

Presenter Richard Reilly is the Energy Programs Manager of the Missouri Botanical Garden's Earth Ways Center and a construction professional with 30 years of experience.


The program will be held at the REAR entrance of 217 East Main Street in Carbondale, Illinois on Thursday, October 9 at 7:00 pm.  It is FREE and open to the public.  Parking and entrance are at the rear, through the green door, across from Rock Hill Baptist Church (Monroe and Marion Streets.)

Wild Weekend at Cypress Creek!

Wild Weekend
Friday, October 10, All Day
Location: Lower Cache Access
In celebration of National Wildlife Refuge Week, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge will provide guided canoe tours to Eagle Pond and highlight ancient cypress trees and wetland wildlife. Reservations are required for the canoe tour; reserve your spot beginning September 10th. For more information call Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge at (618) 634-2231.

Saturday, August 23

DAM NATION: Film, discussion will examine river science



DAM NATION:  Film, discussion will examine river science
CARBONDALE, Ill. – A Southern Illinois University Carbondale graduate student organization wants the community to consider life without dams.

IGERT, the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship, teamed with Sierra Club: Shawnee Group, to bring the film “DamNation” to campus. The screening is from 6:30 to 9 p.m., Sept. 4, in the John C. Guyon Auditorium in Morris Library. A reception will follow the movie.  Representatives from IGERT and the Sierra Club: Shawnee Group will introduce the film, and IGERT members and faculty will be available to discuss and answer questions about river science and politics. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

The award-winning documentary focuses on the role river dams play in the ecosystem, and advocates for dam removal, particularly in cases where the structure is in need of costly and extensive repair. The filmmakers argue that removing dams from once-flowing rivers restores salmon especially, but other wild fish as well. The filmmakers also examine the economic advantages to healthy rivers, and address perceived benefits of dams, including hydropower, flood control and municipal water supply.

For centuries dams have been built for flood control, irrigation, municipal water supply and power production. All these needs can now be met more effectively through conservation, improved technology and better planning, without the negative ecological impacts caused by blocking and degrading an entire watershed. Of the more than 80,000 dams monitored by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, roughly 26,000 pose what the Corps labels a “high” or “significant” hazard.

Some dams no longer serve any useful purpose. All dams, despite their size, have a limited life span. Only 2,540 dams in the U.S. generate hydropower, producing approximately nine percent of U.S. energy supply.