NOVEMBER 2025
“We are hurtling toward climate chaos. The planet's vital signs are flashing red. The consequences of human-driven alterations of the climate are no longer future threats but are here now.” - The 2025 state of the climate report: a planet on the brink (https://tinyurl.com/25stateoclimate)
Sierra Club Mission: To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth; To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources; To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.
November6at5:30p.m.
SierraClubChapterAwards WatchParty
People’s Food Co-op, 315 Fifth Ave. S., La Crosse tinyurl.com/WISCAwardsWatch25 or 608-315-2693
Connect, network, and celebrate the individuals and organizations that help the Sierra Club work toward a cleaner, more equitable, more sustainable world! Special guests, 2025 Community Steward Award recipient, Habitat for Humanity of the Greater La Crosse Region.
Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the live stream will start at 6. Refreshments provided (purchase your own beverage if you wish). We’ll be at the People’s Food Co-op Community Room (second floor), 315 Fifth Avenue South. PFC is two blocks from the MTU Transit Center. Or, consider offering rides through our Awards Watch carpool event: https://groupcarpool.com/t/g3phk6
FREE and open to all - you don’t need to be a Sierra Club member to attend! Please RSVP to help us plan refreshments - visit tinyurl.com/WISCAwardsWatch25 or call 608-315-2693.
You can also stream the program from home. Visit tinyurl.com/WISC25Awards
Nov.21-CRSCActionGathering
Join CRSC members and friends on Friday, November 21 for our last Action Gathering of the year!
Did you know that communities who get most of their power from solar energy report fewer asthma attacks, clearer skies, and quieter neighborhoods? Yet fossil fuel interests and the Trump administration are spending millions to slow clean energy progress and protect polluter profits. Now more than ever, we must demand a just transition to a healthy clean energy future.
That's why this month, we'll come together to defend our clean energy future. We'll learn how we can stem the tide against fossil fuels and build a clean energy economy.
You do not need to be a Sierra Club member to participate! All are welcome! Please RSVP to help us plan for pizza and materials (but not required). Call 608-3152693 or visit https://forms.gle/ndto4YZgytvz9TS9A
CRSC Environmental Education Grant applications now open!
Every year, the Coulee Region Sierra Club offers grants of up to $200 each for environmental education programming for students in grades K through 8. Teachers, schools, and programs that serve students in the eightcounty CRSC area (Crawford, Grant, Jackson, La Crosse, Monroe, Richland, Trempealeau, and Vernon counties) are eligible to apply. The deadline will be January 2, 2026.
CRSC hopes to promote student exploration, protection, and enjoyment of the natural environment.
Projects must:
• Provide hands-on experience for students to learn about and explore the natural environment.
• Promote a world which allows all life forms to live and prosper.
• Show students that they can make a difference in their environment, whether rural or urban.
• Be completed within the school year. A follow-up report will be due upon completion.
Grant recipients will be asked to
• Take pictures and write an article for the CRSC newsletter
• Be open to making a presentation to at a local Sierra Club meeting
• Be accessible to local media if publicity is desired Visit https://sierraclub.org/wisconsin/coulee/education or email CRSierraClub@gmail.com for more information.
Solar on La Crosse Schools
A group with roots in the Sierra Club’s Ready for 100 and Clean Energy School Districts initiatives has successfully helped the La Crosse School District install solar on four schools. Celebrating its final large array installation on October 24 at Southern Bluffs Elementary School, Solar on La Crosse Schools (SOLS) passed the solar torch to the district which has pledged to continue installing solar on its other schools.
The group’s renewable energy education component will be taken over by the School District and the Nature Place. The District will still accept donations toward future solar installations through the La Crosse Public Education Foundation at https://lacrosseeducationfoundation.org/what-we-do/solar/
Learn more at https://solaronlacrosseschools.org.
On September 30, CRSC hosted a Transit 2 Trails event as part of Week Without Driving that also celebrated public lands. About a dozen people caught the Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit (SMRT) bus in La Crosse and rode to Coon Valley where we met up with CRSC and Coon Creek Community Watershed Council, Inc. member, Chelsey Myhre-Foster, and with Emje McCarty, artist and author, and the council’s sustainability coordinator.
During our bus trip we talked about the SMRT and La Crosse County’s intention to discontinue it at the end of the year. In Coon Valley, Emje hosted a walking tour of her sustainable food-forest-in-progress yard, and talked about how flooding has affected the community and homeowners. Then we toured Coon Valley Veterans Memorial Park, with its mile of paved trail that connects to accessible fishing pads. We lunched in a park shelter and talked more about the watershed, flooding issues, and public transit. Thank you Chelsey and Emje for taking time to teach, share, and guide us!
If you missed our October Action Gathering on protecting our communities from climate change's "unnatural" disasters, you can watch the issue briefing video clips on our youtube page (https://youtu.be/cKz1lOf8yJ0), then sign and share the Sierra Club petitions below! You can also download a handout about preparing a "go bag" in case of emergencies here: https://www.sierraclub.org/emergency-go-bag.
sc.org/MakePollutersPay petition sc.org/ProtectFEMA petition
SMRT Bus Alert!
The Scenic Mississippi Regional Transit system provides public transportation for La Crosse, Crawford, Monroe, and Vernon Counties with routes from La Crosse to Prairie du Chien, to Viroqua, and to Tomah. The system was started in December 2012. In 2019, La Crosse County took over administrative duties.
A proposal has been made to the La Crosse County Board to cut the SMRT program at the end of 2025 citing low ridership and a budget deficit. This service offers vital links from rural areas to jobs, health care, education, social and recreational opportunities, and connections to Amtrak, the airport, and intercity bus service.
The Sierra Club recognizes the importance of equitable access to public transportation, especially in rural areas. There is a public hearing on Thursday, November 6 at 4:30 p.m. at the La Crosse County Administrative Center, 7th and State Street. Learn more at https://tinyurl.com/ SaveTheSMRTpage.
More November Events
11/ 1: Nature Saturday - Renewable Energy, 9:30 a.m. The Nature Place, Myrick Park https://tinyurl.com/tnp111-energy
11/ 5: From Sea to Shining Sea - Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America The Beautiful. Flm & discussion. 3 pm UWL Student Union Theater. https://www.uwlax. edu/events/?e=33217
11/ 5: Enviro Wednesdays at The Nature Place 7 pm. https://natureplacelacrosse.org/calendar/envirowednesdays-3-2025-11-05/
11/ 5: Gary Eldred - Healing Wounds, Giving Back to Nature at 2:15, McIntosh Memorial Library, Viroqua. https://mcintoshmemoriallibrary.events.mylibrary.digital/ event?id=245521
11/ 6: Birds of Southern Wisconsin and the Impact of Development 7 pm Online. tinyurl.com/mvcswwibirds
11/ 8: Repair Cafe from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm at La Crosse Public Library. https://www.lacrosselibrary.org/ event/repair-cafe-42432
11/13: Music on the Marsh with Dom Flemons 6 pm at The Nature Place, Myrick Park. https://tinyurl.com/tnpmarshmusic
11/13: Indigenous Film Series - Sugarcane 5:30 Rivoli. https://www.lacrosselibrary.org/event/indigenous-filmseries-sugarcane-44037
11/14: Conservation Close to Home Fall Fundraiser 5:30 pm Radisson Hotel https://tinyurl.com/mvcfall25fr
11/15: Prairie Restoration, 9 to noon, Boscobel Bluffs. https://tinyurl.com/mvcbbrestore
11/17: International Sister City Movie Night 5 pm Rivoli. https://www.uwlax.edu/events/?e=33141
11/19: Dan Jackson - Bumble Bees of Wisconsin at 7 pm at The Nature Place. https://natureplacelacrosse.org/ calendar/free-bird-program-2025-09-17-2025-10-152025-11-19/
Share Your Solar Story!
Do you have a solar installation on your home or business? Would you like to help encourage others to take the solar plunge? We are collecting short videos for a virtual solar tour library.
Virtual solar tour hosts will show their installation with a description of the details, share the installation experience, answer questions they had when they were deciding, and illustrate how adding solar has affected their energy use and costs.
Hosts may share their decision process and any surprises (positive or negative). If they wish, they can agree to answer questions by email, phone, or in person from those who view their virtual tour.
No experience is needed. If you want, we can send someone to interview your or you can do your own video. Be an influencer for the climate! Email CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call 608-315-2693 for more details.
Last Call for Calendars
It’s calendar order time. Money we raise from calendar sales is used to help pay for our Environmental Education grants and the High School Environmental Stewardship awards.
We have three wall calendars left ( $19 each). To order calendars, please email Maureen Kinney at Maureen@johnsflaherty. com or call 608-797-8442.
The CRSC board meets monthly on Zoom to plan campaigns and activities for our group. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings. If you would like to sit in on the next meeting, Wednesday, December 3 at 6:30 p.m., please email CRSierraClub@gmail.com or call 608-315-2693 for access information.
