Welcome to the White River Group: Missouri Chapter

 

Welcome to the White River Group (WRG) of the Sierra Club!  We currently have over 900 members in our region of the state, which covers 21 counties in southwest Missouri. If you are not yet a member or if you have not yet become active with your local group, there are many reasons to consider joining us.

If you love to hike, bike, camp, canoe, kayak and backpack—or want to learn how to participate safely in these outdoor activities, WRG is for you – We offer an ever-expanding calendar of outings for members.

If you are passionate about climate change, clean air and water, wilderness preservation, forestry issues, sustainability or other environmental issues affecting the Ozarks, WRG is for you – We offer opportunities to become an environmental issues activist. There are plenty of issues and projects that need local champions.

If you want to become more educated about environmental issues in the Ozarks, learn about plants and wildlife in our area and meet other like-minded people, WRG is for you – Come to our monthly programs the 2^nd Tuesday of January through June and September through November at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center. Come at 6:30 p.m. for refreshments and networking. Programs begin at 7.

If you want to collaborate with other local environmental organizations to push for change in our communities and region, WRG is for you – We have built two important coalitions with other organizations in Springfield. Ozarks Friends of the Environment, a collaboration with 10 other environmental organizations that works on common projects related to air and water quality; clean, renewable energy; climate change; and sustainability.The Ozarks Green Building Coalition, which has brought together representatives from environmental organizations, government agencies, businesses, USGBC and Home Builders Association to support more sustainable development and building practices in the Ozarks.

If you like to volunteer for projects, WRG is for you – We need volunteers to help build trail, gather wildflower seed, staff a booth at ArtsFest, organize family outings, maintain our rain garden at Valley Water Mill Park, produce our Kid’s Guide to the Ozarks Outdoors, write letters to the editor, sell calendars— or one of the other many projects we undertake each year. Let us know your interest, and we’ll find a spot for you.

If you don’t have time for outings, meetings or volunteering, but want to financially support a national environmental organization with a local footprint, WRG is for you – We have big vision for the WRG area, and volunteers for our fundraising projects or financial gifts are always most welcome to support our projects and programs, For example, our ambitious Kid’s Guide to the Ozarks Outdoors will require many thousands of dollars to publish.  Yet, what better gift could you give than to help fund a resource that puts children outdoors and in Nature.As you can see, there are many ways to join WRG’s efforts to “explore, enjoy and protect our planet.”

We hope you join us soon—at a meeting, on an outing or in support of one of our many projects. We look forward to working with you as we all move toward creating a more sustainable future for southwest Missouri.

 

Upcoming Programs

Unless otherwise indicated, White River Group meetings are held on the second Tuesday of each month at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center at 4600 Chrisman. Come at 6:30 for refreshments and a chance to talk with other members and visitors; the program begins at 7:00.