Email List

Want to receive email about meetings and environmental events? Send your email address
to Tom Taylor at
tnt2703@yahoo.com
Our local group sends emails using a system provided by the national organization with the usual "unsubscribe" option.

    The Sierra Club is a nonprofit member-supported, public interest organization that promotes conservation of the natural environment by influencing public policy decisions legislative, administrative, legal and electoral.

    The Piedmont Plateau Group represents Guilford, Rockingham, Randolph, Montgomery, and Richmond Counties. Our meetings are held at the Church of the Covenant's fellowship hall at 501 S.Mendenhall. They begin at 7:00pm on the second Tuesday of every month. Meetings include a program relating to local environmental or consevation issues. For a map/directions, click here (opens a new window).
For a more detailed over view of the church with an indication of where the entrance to the fellowship hall is click here

You can view upcoming meetings and activities on our calendar page.

Our monthly meeting will be held on April 10th 2012 in the fellowship hall of the Church of The Covenant(directions at top of page). our monthly program will feature a showing of the Film "Last Mountain". The Film will be accompanied by a guest speaker from Appalachian Voices. The program will start at 7:15 after a brief local PPG Sierra Club meeting which starts at 7:00 pm.

"Last Mountain, A fight for Our Future" by Bill Haney, official selection 2011 Sundance Film Festival and Full Frame Festival. "Last Mountain" takes us on a tour along the front lines of America's most spirited battle over the environment and economy. Set deep in the heart of Appalachian West Virginia, the film captures the power of a small Appalachian community as they try to stop a giant coal company from blowing up a mountain. The film showcases the battle against the insidious power of big coal, and for the future of energy that affects us all. Guest speaker from Appalachian Voices.

Please keep in mind that we are always looking for ideas for meeting topics. If you have an idea about a speaker or topic please contact Kathe Latham at

The pre-meeting dinner will begin at 5:15pm and will be located at Pastabilities, 1726 Battleground Ave.. Please email Dick Mearns at and let him know if you are coming.

Please join us for a Green Living Arts Festival in celebration of EARTH DAY 2012 on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 12:30 to 5:00 PM. at the Creative Center, 900 Sixteenth St., Greensboro 27405. This free, family- friendly event will feature: the Visions of Peace Exhibition of the Arts, bands, singers, multicultural dancers, “green living” displays, demos & instruction, green art activities, a parade and vendors selling eco-friendly crafts, art, organic foods, produce & plants. Sponsored by: REsources for Artful Living (REAL) and The Sierra Club.

Reflections on Valentine's Day 2012. YES WEEKLY– (a Greensboro free weekly news magazine) has a "10..." list each issue. I am going to borrow from that to list 10 things you can do to help the environment. Hazel Landers has also given you a list in this newsletter—I will try not to repeat.

1. Send money- if you are a Sierra Club member you've already sent money to Sierra; send more, to Piedmont Plateau Group (PPG), to the N.C. Chapter, or the national Sierra Club. Talk to Tom Taylor, our treasured about how and where you might want your money to go. It helps.
2. Take a walk. Greensboro, where PPG is headquartered is blessed to be in the Piedmont of N.C. which is neither the mountains nor the beach, but which has a subtle natural beauty of its own. Greensboro is particularly "lucky" to have the extensive system of trails around our reservoir lakes; check them out!
3. Take a bag on a walk. Pick up trash and litter wherever you go. If you carry a disposable plastic bag it is easy to put whatever you find in it and then in the trash. Litter is an aesthetic issue- it's ugly, places look better without it, and studies have shown that places with litter are more likely to be littered and vice-versa.
4. Read a good book regarding environmental matters; Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold comes to mind, as does Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
5. Recognize that being in nature has healing powers and take advantage of this for yourself and for others. I took the 2 adult children of a friend who died 2 days ago for a walk on the Osprey Trail, the Sierra Club sponsored trail, earlier today. At the end of the walk,one of them said:"This is exactly what I needed; I want to do this again tomorrow!"
6. In item #2 above I put "lucky" in quotation marks, because luck had nothing to do with it. Sierra Club and other organizations fought political battles to get the watershed protection buffers we have. And worked on the early stages of building some of the trails. You can get involved with current activities to maintain, improve, and expand the network of trails. Contact Vance, Dick Mearns, or Jerry Varner for info.
7. .This is a BIG one: find some way to get involved in the "local" (be that Greensboro or other) politics related to environmental matters. Check with Vance or Jerry regarding opportunities and to learn about upcoming state Sierra Club training around political involvement.
8. Get involved with the activities of PPG. We have great folks on our executive committee, but we don't have a lot of depth. For example Kathe Latham has organized excellent programs with more coming; she could use folks to help with set up and take down. Hazel Landers is organizing a Sustainability Speakers group, continuing work she started with the Cool Cities team and with the Sustainabilty Council; she needs speakers to get trained to speak to groups and perhaps to the City Council of Greensboro– 7. above.
9. Make it a habit to carry your own cup with you to meetings, programs, etc and USE it. It will cut down on styrofoam, taste better (I think), reduce the work load to clean up afterward, and hopefully send a message.
10. "Have a good time." Being "an environmentalist" should be enjoyable and fun. Keep that perspective in mind. Thanks- Vance

To read more Group Articles see our articles page