NC Central Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club

The Central Piedmont Group of the NC Chapter of the Sierra Club (whew!) is one of the largest groups in North Carolina. Our group includes the counties of Cleveland, Lincoln, Gaston, Mecklenburg, Iredell, Union, Anson, Cabarrus, Stanly and Rowan). Unless otherwise noted, our monthly meetings take place the fourth Wednesday of the month beginning at 7pm at the Mahlon Adams Pavilion at Freedom Park, 1900 East Boulevard, Charlotte, NC.

For directions and more information, please see the Freedom Park map.

If you have questions about events, outings, membership or volunteer opportunities, contact Bill Gupton (Group Chair) at wmgupton AT aol DOT com. And thanks for visiting. Get out there to expore, enjoy and protect the planet!

2010 Executive Committee:

Roxana Bendezu

Chris Buchanan

Steve Copulsky

Bill Gupton, Chair

Chatham Olive

Josh Thomas

Scot Williams

2009 Accomplishments:

Mayor Foxx Signs Climate Agreement Making Charlotte a Cool City

We ended the year on a high note!  Our new Mayor, Anthony Foxx, signed theU.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, adding Charlotte to the list
of over 1,000 cities committed to working locally to help reduce global
warming.

Richard Louv Event:

The Central Piedmont Group and the National Sierra Club’s Building Bridges
to the Outdoors project co-sponsored a visit to Charlotte by Richard
Louv, noted author of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children
From Nature-Deficit Disorder.”  On a rainy October day, it was standing
room only to hear his inspiring speech.  Louv was also interviewed by
Mike Collins on his WFAE radio show and that interview can be found on
the archives of the WFAE website dated 10/14/09 at:
www.wfae.org/wfae/18_93_0.cfm?do=detail&id=10810

Ken Burns National Parks Preview Event

The Central Piedmont Group, PBS, WTVI and the Mint Museum presented a verywell attended preview of the Ken Burns series, “The National Parks – America’s Best Idea.”

Charlotte Clean and Green

Once again, the Central Piedmont Group played a key role as a co-sponsor of
the Charlotte Clean and Green program.  The April Clean and Green
event, held on the campus of Central Piedmont Community College,
included conservation education seminars and a wide range of
environmental exhibitors.

Political Committee Endorsed Candidates Victorious

The Political Committee conducted detailed interviews with both candidates
for Charlotte Mayor and all 8 candidates for Charlotte City Council
At-Large.  All of our endorsed candidates were elected!  They were
Mayor Anthony Foxx (D) and City Council At-Large Members
Susan Burgess (D), Patrick Cannon (D), David Howard (D) and Edwin Peacock
(R).  Contact Steve Copulsky at scopulsky@mindspring.com if you would
like to participate in future Political Committee work

Conservation/Activism Committee

Bill Gupton organized a new Conservation/Activism Committee with our firstmeeting held in November.  If you’d like to become an activist and work
on the critical local, state and national environmental issues, contact
Bill at wmgupton@aol.com.

Creek Releaf Tree Planting

As a co-sponsor of Creek ReLeaf, the Sierra Club helped plant 2,500 trees
in the McDowell Creek Watershed in November.    Look for future tree
planting opportunities or go to www.charlottetreefund.org to learn more
about protecting our tree canopy.

Hikes

Several members enjoyed a somewhat rainyhike in Anne Springs Close Greenway in December and we already started2010 with a well attended New Year’s Day hike in Crowders Mountain
State Park.  Look for new hikes this year.

Energy Efficiency Block Grant

Beth Clark, Charlotte Campaign Director for the Sierra Club Clean Energy
Solutions Campaign, represented the Sierra Club in successful work by
the City to obtain a $6.7 million Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Block Grant (EECGB) from the federal government.

Home Energy Ambassador Training

Regional Conservation Organizer Erica Geppi orgainzed our Home Energy AmbassadorTraining program to train volunteers to help take steps to make homesmore energy efficient.

Weatherization Day Canvass

Volunteers knocked on over 800 doors in October to spread the word about energy efficiency and the weatherization assistance programs in the Villa Heights neighborhood.

The environmental beautfication project was a great success with help from several Sierrans with shovels and strong backs. Thanks to ExCom member Liz Barrett for all her help in organizing the volunteer event for us.

Join us as we create more success stories in 2010!