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Sierra Club Meetings, Speakers to Be Presented in Greer Environmental Sciences Center
Environmental organization's chapter meetings, presenters and collaborative opportunities open to VWU community and public
Featured News | October 24, 2017
“Yes, we are getting more intense rain fall and, yes, it is due to climate change and, no, it won’t stop until we fix the things that are causing it,” Wetlands Watch Director Skip Stiles told members of the Sierra Club Chesapeake Bay Group on September 9 in Room 155 of the new Greer Environmental Sciences Center at Virginia Wesleyan. “We’ve got enough time to do things, but we’ve got to start doing them now.”
Stiles was the featured speaker at the regional Sierra Club chapter’s first meeting to be held in the Greer Environmental Sciences Center on the VWU campus. The group will hold their regular meetings on the second Monday of each month there through May 2018. The meetings are open to the public including students and often featured guest speakers.
Stiles’ presentation focused on the special vulnerability to sea level rise in Hampton Roads and its impacts on our region. He discussed some of the actions being taken in the region to deal with flooding and sea level rise and how individuals and groups can get involved. He also addressed policy issues at the state and federal government levels and what can be done to increase awareness about them.
The Sierra 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 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.
The Sierra Club Chesapeake Bay Group is currently working with the VWU student environmental group Marlins Go Green, members of which are invited to join the Sierra Club’s regular meetings. This kind of opportunity for community collaboration and dialogue on environmental issues will be one of many in the Greer Environmental Sciences Center, which opened in summer 2017 and began holding classes and events as of the start of the fall semester at VWU.
“Part of the vision for the Greer Environmental Sciences Center was to encourage and foster connections between Virginia Wesleyan and community organizations,” says Elizabeth Malcolm, Professor of Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences and Chair of the President’s Environmental Issues Council at VWU. “The students in Marlins Go Green are excited to partner with local organizations like the Sierra Club and to explore ways that they can work together.”
The nearly 40,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art Greer Center provides unprecedented opportunities for students while fostering regional collaboration with organizations such as the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center and the Virginia Institute for Marine Science. Organized thematically around the earth's four spheres – atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere – the Greer Center features sophisticated indoor and outdoor learning spaces that embody "science on display" and promote hands-on experiences, interactive learning and interdisciplinary research.