What we’re about
Welcome to the Santa Cruz group of the Ventana Chapter Sierra Club! Here you will find a listing of some of the Santa Cruz Group outings and meetings, as well as opportunities to engage with the broader environmental/social justice/sustainability community in Santa Cruz. We welcome everyone to participate and encourage all to become members on our website at http://www.sierraclub.org/. To see our future events, click here. The current liability waiver may be found here .
ABOUT THE SIERRA CLUB:
John Muir co-founded the Sierra Club in 1892 to share his love of nature. Since then, the Club has matured into the nation's largest and most influential environmental organization. The Club’s mission is to explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; to practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's resources; and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the environment.
The Ventana Chapter serves Santa Cruz and Monterey counties of central California and hosts numerous outings, conservation actions, and ways to get involved. The Santa Cruz Group serves Sierra Club members in Santa Cruz County and was originally formed in 1966 as part of the Loma Prieta Chapter. In October 1974, the Santa Cruz Group became part of the Ventana Chapter. Information about the Santa Cruz Group is on our web site at http://ventana.sierraclub.org/santacruz/
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- An Evening with Joe SimitianCupertino Library, Cupertino, CA
You must RSVP at this link. The Meetup RSVP does not count.
The Guadalupe Regional Group of Loma Prieta Chapter Sierra Club will present a discussion of the Lehigh Quarry and cement operation in Cupertino by Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian.
Supervisor Simitian previously served 12 years in the California State Assembly and State Senate and has followed the Lehigh situation closely for years. Supervisor Simitian will discuss the history and current status of Lehigh operations, why it's closing, and plans for the future.
Because of pollution, noise, truck traffic, and legal citations, residents, environmental advocates, and officials have worked for years to close the quarry and cement plant. Those efforts are finally coming to fruition. Joe Simitian will discuss plans for the quarry location.Limestone was mined beginning in 1902 but remained a small operation until 1939 when Henry J. Kaiser purchased it to supply the 5.5 million barrels of cement needed to build Shasta Dam.
Henry Kaiser co-founded the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system in the 1940s to care for company employees. The system's name comes from Permanente Creek, which runs next to the quarry.
According to a company release, cement from the Lehigh site has been used to build significant projects around the Bay Area and the state, including Mineta San Jose International Airport and the Golden Gate Bridge. However, in the last ten years, the company has been cited for over 2100 violations of environmental and other laws.
Cupertino Library, located at 10800 Torre Avenue, Cupertino. Park in the east parking lot. Go to the main library entrance, take the stairs or elevator to the second floor. Room 201 at the south end of the building.