Dear Sierra Club Members, Volunteers and Friends,
In accordance with the Sierra Club policy due to the
spread of the Coronavirus/COVID-19 all
NJ Chapter Outings are cancelled
indefinitely.
Based on National’s decision that there's just
no evidence to support easing restrictions
or letting up our safety precautions.
Wishing everyone good health and well-being through
these extraordinary times. We look forward to seeing you on future Outings
when we can resume offering them.
We encourage you to enjoy the local outdoors on your
own: this should be a perfect time for individuals to get into the woods with
clippers for trail maintenance, ears tuned for evening frog symphonies, eyes
right for spring buds.
Please check that your local park is open before
going there, and please maintain a 6-foot distance from everyone as recommended
by the CDC.
Stay well,
Ellen Blumenkrantz
Outings Chair
Sierra Club New Jersey Chapter
March 13, 2020
How the Sierra Club Is Responding
to the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Michael
Brune
As we all begin to deal with a global pandemic, I want to let you know how the
Sierra Club is adapting and responding, so we can keep doing the important work
of protecting our natural environment and fighting for a just, clean energy
future.
First, we’re prioritizing the health of our volunteers, activists, staff, and
entire community. The COVID-19 pandemic is a social and economic justice issue,
as well as a health crisis. Protecting our community is our number one priority,
and we recognize that we have a social responsibility to be good actors in
keeping others safe, too.
Here are some specific steps we’re taking:
-
We are
requiring all nonessential staff and volunteers to work from home between
now and April 12th;
-
-
We are
suspending all Sierra Club planned events of any size for the next month,
including all volunteer and staff in-person meetings; and,
-
-
We are drawing down Outings across the organization, and more specific
guidance and planning will be issued next week.
While we may not be able to meet up in public, we are continuing to build a
strong community of changemakers online. Please keep following us on Facebook, Twitter,
or Instagram for
your daily dose of inspiration, reliable information, and activism. You can also join
our Resist Facebook group to connect with other activists
creating a community of positive social interaction focused on protecting the
environment. You can also subscribe
to our Daily
Ray of Hope for uplifting and inspirational pictures and quotes.
I
also want to acknowledge that this crisis is impacting all of us in different
ways. Many of us are processing feelings of fear, isolation, confusion, anger,
and sadness around this pandemic, and how it is being handled by a reckless
administration that puts vulnerable communities last. In the past few weeks,
I’ve been angered by accounts of racism and harm experienced by those
identifying as Asian, Asian-American, and Pacific Islander. I encourage you to
put yourself in other people’s shoes and engage with sensitivity and care.
This crisis shows how deeply we depend on one another to act for a greater
common good. While social distancing may be necessary at this time, it is also
increasingly necessary for us to come together to work through this crisis.
While some will try to use this time to demagogue and sow distrust and fear, we
need to overcome that by creating real community and trust and listening to
experts and science.
In this frightening, uncertain moment, we must take care of ourselves and our
beloved communities -- so we are able to keep up the fight for the places and
people we care about most deeply.
