SierraCouples - where Sierra Club meets family
An
activity section of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club
An
activity section of the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club
What happens when young Sierra Clubbers grow up? Many of us form families, while preserving our love for nature. That's what Sierra Couples is about.
Sierra Couples began when Cupid shot some arrows of love among the Sierra Singles. A number of us met partners there and married. No longer part of the singles scene, we formed our own section and welcomed couples (married and unmarried - with and without children). Since then, we've become one big, happy family, and we're still growing. The first of the babies born to the group's original members is now 18 years old - and our newest member is three years old!
We meet at least once a month for anything - and everything - that gives us an excuse to get together! From a New Year's Day brunch to our anniversary in February to a St. Patrick's Day party in March. From wildflower hikes in the spring and easy-going summer car camps (all within 1 - 3 hours of the Bay Area), to cultural festivals, winery tours, and outdoor concerts. From Halloween costume parties to Thanksgiving feasts, we have something for all seasons! Through all these activities we seek to promote knowledge, appreciation, and protection of the natural environment as well as fellowship among Sierra Club members, guests, and prospective members. Each event is hosted by a member of the section, and usually we bring food to share. (Our potlucks tend to be gourmet feasts.)
We have a lot of fun and one very
special added bonus: we get to watch our children play and grow up together
and experience the great outdoors while we step back - for a moment or two -
from our hectic adult lives to relax and enjoy the unsurpassed beauty of our
beloved backyard, Northern California.
We have family oriented activities throughout the year led by the different families within our group. Our typical year includes activities like:
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During the spring and summer months we go camping to locations throughout Northern California such as:
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Once every year within the 3 month period of January to March, everyone is invited to send a small donation check of $5 made out to Sierra Couples, to Roy French, Treasurer, 4724 Tahoe Circle, Martinez, CA 94553. You need to indicate if you want your Activity Schedule/Newsletter in the usual "ugly" e-mail format or the e-mail version with a beautifully colored jpeg (or .gif) or .pdf file attachment. Note that all web browsers can view colored .jpg and .gif file attachments but in order to view a colored .pdf file attachment, you will need to have a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader to view it and to print it out on a compatible postscript printer. You can get the "Reader" for free by downloading it from Adobe's web site at: www.adobe.com. If starting your "new subscription" in any other month than noted above, you need to donate a pro-rated fee of .42 cents per month. For example, you want your subscription to begin the month of August, so you would send in a check for $1.68 (.67 cents times the 4 months remaining in the year).
If you would like to be removed from our e-mail list, please say so with an e-mail to: Frank Alexander.
Donated fees we collect from our subscribers not only go toward the printing of our Activity Schedules for those who are subscribing to the printed version, but more importantly are used to back-up our Car Camp Leaders who initially use their own money as far as 6 to 7 months in advance to reserve campsites. In case a campout is rained out, or there are unexpected cancellations or there are other unforeseen disasters that leave our Camp Leaders high and dry, so to speak, our funds are used to help bail them out on a case-by-case basis and even then we cannot guarantee that we will or can totally compensate them for their loss. And also just as importantly, if not more so, we use the money we collect to support Sierra Club causes and those of similar conservation organizations.
Sierra Club now requires that all participants in any activity sponsored by any of Sierra Club’s Activity Sections, such as ourselves, must sign a liability waiver form before participating in the activity. At the bottom of this paragraph is a link to two forms in a pdf file format. (The pdf files can be easily opened by Adobe’s Acrobat Reader which if you don’t already have, can be downloaded for free from Adobe.com When downloading the free program, be sure to get one that is designed to operate on your type of computer and operating system.) The forms attached below consist of a group form and a personal liability form. Either one is acceptable. The group form is usually provided by the leader of the activity and records everyone’s signature on one form. The personal form is usually brought to the activity by the person(s) who come to the activity and is just as valid as the group form.
Click the following links to download the individual .pdf liability waiver form or for the group.pdf liability waiver form.
In the interests of facilitating the logistics of some of our outings, participants in our activities may make carpooling arrangements. Please note that the Sierra Club does not have insurance for carpooling arrangements and assumes no liability for them. Carpooling, ride sharing or anything similar is strictly a private arrangement among the participants. Participants assume the risks associated with this travel.
You need not be a Sierra Club member to receive our Activity Schedule or to attend our activities. But you do need to be a Sierra Club member to lead activities for us or to be one of our officers. Note that our donated subscription fee and Sierra Club's membership dues are not tax deductible as a charitable organization.
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