What we’re about
Get outside and meet people!
Sierra Club's mission to "explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth." Advocacy and public education are core purposes of our outings.
Outings are open to Sierra Club members and non-members alike. The Sierra Club does not charge a fee to participate in local outings. All are welcome - your income, religion, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or age do not matter. However, some of our outings are geared towards adults while others are more family-friendly and child-oriented.
Our volunteer outings leaders will, at a minimum, have basic first aid training and go through a mentoring process with veteran outings leaders before becoming outings leaders themselves.
Trips posted on this group are Sierra Club outings - all participants must sign a Sierra Club Liability Waiver online ahead (or in-person at the start). If you have any question about the difficulty of the outing and whether you have the appropriate fitness, and/or equipment to participate, contact the outing leader before the day of the outing. During the outing, expect to remain with the outings leader during the entire outing, unless there is a co-leader (this is for safety and liability reasons). If you plan on bringing a dog, please ask the outing leader of the trip for permission and special instructions before the day of the outing.
Learn more about Sierra Club Massachusetts here:
https://www.sierraclub.org/massachusetts
If you are interested in becoming an outings leader for the Massachusetts Chapter, contact celeste.venolia@sierraclub.org
Upcoming events (4)
See all- 20s and 30s: Deer Island, Winthrop MANeeds location
Join our 20s & 30s group at Deer Island, Winthrop (165 Tafts Ave) on Saturday, September 20 at 10 am for a 2.6-mile easy and chill harbor walk along the Harborwalk with open ocean views, the Boston skyline, and Logan Airport in the background. We will also chat about the Environmental advocacy and volunteering opportunities with Sierra!
Optional: extend the walk by 1.6 miles (about 34 minutes) to Yirrell Beach via Tafts Ave. Depending on group size and weather, we encourage bringing snacks for a casual picnic afterward.Level - Easy walk
Transportation and parking - Parking is free but limited (about 20–24 spots, including ADA). Public transportation is highly encouraged - take the Blue Line to Orient Heights, then transfer to the 712/713 bus to Deer Island (MWRA Gate)
This is a good opportunity to meet people, connect, and talk about our Environment! The event will be held rain or shine. You will receive event updates closer to the date once you RSVP. If you have questions, contact Sayali at sayali@massachusetts.sierraclub.org
Cancellation Policy: Activity is held rain or shine, but may be altered due to inclement weather
Please RSVP here - Please register here and complete our digital waiver
- Spectacle Island Outing: Kickoff to a Week Without DrivingSpectacle Island in Boston Harbor, Boston, MA
Join us and Save the Harbor / Save the Bay for a walk around Spectacle Island in Boston Harbor to kickoff the annual Week Without Driving! Sierra Club Massachusetts outings leaders will lead a 2.3 mile walk with around 200 ft of elevation gain and loss to the two high points on Spectacle Island. We plan to move at a relaxed pace based on the people who join us. On rest breaks at viewpoints, we will talk about the story of Spectacle island and how it connects to Environmental advocacy in Massachusetts. All ages are welcome though kids must be accompanied by parents/guardians. Please fill out our virtual waiver here in addition to registering on MeetUp.
We had to cancel another variant of this outing earlier this month because of ferry cancellation for rain and wind. Hope folks registered for that can make this!
It is also important to arrive on time because even having registered, when the boat is at capacity, no one else will be allowed aboard. If you register your interest in the guided walk by signing up through this Sierra Club MA page, we will confirm with you whether or not there is space on the ferry as Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is holding some tickets for us.
We will send more updates and reminders to those who register. We would gather at 10:45am in front of the Spectacle Island visitor's center giving participants a bit of time to get off the ferry and use the bathrooms.
Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is a non-profit public interest harbor advocacy organization made up of thousands of citizens, as well as scientists, and civic, corporate, cultural and community leaders whose mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy.
Sierra Club Massachusetts is a volunteer-led organization that shows up every single day, working to build a stronger, more coordinated, and more deeply resilient climate justice and environmental protection movement. We are a movement of and for the people of Massachusetts.
Level: Easy
Cancellation Policy: Heavy rain cancels - Outings Leader Training: Holyoke, MAHolyoke Public Library, Holyoke, MA
Do you like spending time with people outside? Ready to take the leap towards building leadership and coordination skills? Come take outings leader training in person in Holyoke, MA!
Outings Leader Training (OLT) is designed to provide participants with the knowledge required to lead day trips and/or overnight car-camping trips for the Sierra Club. The goal is to create trip leaders who lead safe and fun trips while inspiring their participants to become more involved in protecting their environment.
The OLT training is comprised of 8 modules covering the following topics:
Commitments to Equity Goals
History and Structure
Planning Outings
Participant Evaluation
Conservation and Connections
Conducting an Outing
Ethical Leadership and Decision Making
Risk ManagementThe Basic First Aid Certification is through Health Safety Institute (HSI); this course takes approximately 3 hours.
The training does not cover “hard” skills like how to set up a tent or specifics on gear for a particular outdoor activity. The OLT will orient you to policies and procedures, best practices, our existing structure, and skills related to leading a group in an outdoor setting. There is a lot of content to cover so there are some pre-readings and pre-watching materials so that we can fit first aid and OLT requirements into the same day. We will end the full day of training with a walk to a nearby park to demonstrate some of the principles covered in the training.
Read more about the leader requirements here: https://www.sierraclub.org/massachusetts/become-leader
Please email Celeste with any questions: celeste.venolia@sierraclub.org
