Do you want to check your soil fertility?

Call the District office (513-772-SOIL) and ask about the soil fertility boxes we have for sale. You can pick up a box for $10.00 or we can mail one to you for $12.00 (we must receive your check first). You fill the kit with a soil sample, mail to Michigan State University and they will send you a report on your soil. Your plants will love you for it!

Provided by the Hamilton County Soil & Water Conservation District; 29 Triangle Park Drive #2901; Cincinnati, Ohio 45246-3411; 513-772-SOIL (7645).

For Hamilton County Residents Only!

Special Sale from September 1, 2008-April 30, 2009.
$2.00 pick up kit at the District office
$3.00 if mailed to your house

Rain Barrel Workshop

On Saturday, September 27, 2008 at 2:00 PM David Gaines will be holding a Rain Barrel workshop at his house for Sierra Club members to learn how to install a rain barrel that will cut down on sewer overflows. This is a free event for Sierra Club members. Let’s help out the environment and add a rain barrel!”  For more information contact: David Gaines 513-522-6696, the Vice Chair of Conservation Committee.  His address is 687 Zenith Court; Cincinnati, Ohio 45231 in Finneytown.

Hunter/Angler Opportunities

The dedication of sportsmen and women has helped to pass landmark conservation laws like the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the Wilderness Act.  Programs funded by hunters and anglers have directed billions of dollars towards the conservation of fish and wildlife habitat.  For more information click here. Sierra Club has initiated a nationwide campaign to create a working relationship with these conservationists to help ensure the future of our environment.  We are seeking men and women who love to fish or hunt to help us on this campaign.

If you like to fish or hunt and would like more information on how you can get involved today, please contact us at (513) 861-4001.

Sept 26-28 

Annual Highlands House rental,
2 nights, $60/person. 
Kyackers, Hikers, Amish seekers, Indian remains lovers.  We have a great time in the country. 
Call Julia Gilman at
513-521-1149 or 513-410-5758 to reserve.

Red River Gorge Service Trip

For all Red River Gorge buffs - here is your chance to give back to this wonderful area on October 24, 25 & 26, 2008.  For anyone new to either the Gorge or toService for the Sierra Club, this will be a great opportunity. Our guiding Ranger, Charlie Rowe, will design a project for us that willallow participants to hike into the Gorge, and then give direction to meaningful activity that may clean up, re-locate or even build trails or other features of the Gorge environment.

Free camping is available in the Volunteer Campground with all theamenities to make things comfortable after a day of labor. Saturday night’s dinner is a potluck and there is a 5-burner stove plus two oil cooking pots that will make food preparations easier. There is running water and a sink for washing dishes, including hot water and a well placed out door shower. Dishes and utensils are also available leaving camping equipment as the only items that participants need to provide. In fact, tents can be borrowed and a new participant can bring blankets for sleeping with no need for a sleeping bag. Cabins are also available across the road from the Volunteer Campground -contact: Red River Gorgeous at 513-245-0025.

Bring guitars or other musical instruments as well as stories of outdoor adventures to contribute to the campfire fun. Sunday invites more hiking in one of the picturesque areas that the group may choose
to explore. Or Charlie may show us a great place. Whatever Charlie does with the group will be informative and well planned. Join the fun on October 24, 25 & 26, 2008 and contribute!

Contact Elizabeth and Jim Durrell at 513-481-1926 or email: ejdurrell@mac.com.

Volunteers
We Appreicate Your Hard Work!
You’re Invited To A Party!

At least once a year, we like to come together to celebrate our accomplishments and thank all of you who work to further Sierra Club’s mission.  Whether you attend committee meetings, lead outings, help set up chairs before the Innings, recycle cans at your workplace, bring a friend to a club event, or anything else that protects, preserves or helps others enjoy our planet. We hope you’ll come!

Our annual potluck Appreciation Dinner will be held on Saturday, November 8, 2008, at Springer School, 2121 Madison Road.  (Enter from the back parking lot.)  Arrive about 6:00 PM for appetizers and dinner will begin around 6:40 PM.  After dinner we’ll celebrate our accomplishments and present a few special awards.  The evening ends with musical entertainment.

Please RSVP so we know how many to expect and what you plan to bring to the potluck! (We can also provide more detailed directions.)  Contact Karen Nagel (nagelkm817@yahoo.com) 513-542-5259 or Elizabeth Durrell (ejdurrell@mac.com) 513-481-1926.

Our Annual Retreat will be
Jan. 24 – 25, 2009.

Mark your calendars now to attend Miami Group’s 31st annual retreat.  Once again we’ll return to Grailville’s retreat center, near Loveland, Ohio.  Everyone’s welcome - members as well as anyone interested in the Sierra Club.  Topics might include conservation issues, a visit with a local politician, travelogues, problem solving, and always lots of time to share ideas.   Add in Grailville’s comfortable surroundings, great food, and opportunities for hiking (Maybe even cross-country skiing.)  Watch for more details in the next Happenings.  If you’d like more information now or would like to help with the retreat, contact Karen Nagel, 513-542-5259 (nagelkm817@yahoo.com) or Jean Kantor 513-522-5941 (njeank@fuse.net).

The Women Writing for (a) Change Foundation brings A Sense of Wonder to Greater Cincinnati

by Marissa McNamara
Late in 2007, Mary Pierce Brosmer, founder of the writing school Women Writing for (a) Change in Silverton, Ohio, was looking for possibilities for the next fundraising event for the WWf(a)C Foundation. As she turned on Bill Moyers one Friday evening, there was the answer: actress and playwright Kaiulani Lee performing A Sense of Wonder, a play that Lee both wrote and performs in as a one-woman show.

A Sense of Wonder is a dramatic adaptation based on the life of Rachel Carson, author of the groundbreaking 1962 book Silent Spring. The play has been touring the US for over 10 years and has been the centerpiece of regional and national conferences on conservation, education, journalism, and the environment. In fact, it was performed at the Sierra Club Centennial in San Francisco.

Brosmer knew then that, if at all possible, the WWf(a)C Foundation had to work to bring this important female environmental voice to Cincinnati. Not only is Lee a writer, but she is also a performer with a strong female voice: both things that WWf(a)C values.

According to Lee, “A Sense of Wonder is the story of one woman’s love for the natural world and her fight to defend it. It is the story of the extremely private Rachel Carson thrust into the role of controversial public figure.”

The WWf(a)C Foundation will present A Sense of Wonder on Saturday, September 27, 2008, at 7:30 p.m. at the Carnegie Center for Creative and Performing Arts in Covington. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased on-line at www.womenwritingevents.com.

All money raised will go to the WWf(a)C Foundation, which provides scholarships to women, men and young women who want to participate in WWf(a)C programming but face economic barriers. Sponsors include Duke Energy, Park + Vine, the Communicating Arts Credit Union, Susan Branscome and a private fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation. If you would like to contribute to the event, please visit www.womenwritingevents.com.