Past Coaster Meeting Programs

March 18, 2008

There will be a short executive committee meeting, a presentation about a trip to Tibet, and a general meeting for discussion of local issues.

February 19, 2008

This meeting will cover two conservation topics. There will be a short slide show about Rancho Guejito, and a presentation about the "Smart Energy 2020" report on energy solutions for the San Diego region. We will also show a new presentation by the membership committee.

January 15, 2008

This will be a business and conservation meeting. The executive committee will be electing officers for the new year. We will be planning spring events, including discussion about a spring picnic.

There are two major conservation issues coming up:
1. The Coastal Commission Hearing on the Toll Road is scheduled for February in San Diego.
2. The Draft EIR for the Sunrise Powerlink has been released, along with a schedule of events leading up to the CPUC decision later this year.
Both of these will provide opportunities for volunteers to help in conservation.

December 14, 2007

Note date change (again) to Friday, Dec 14
No meeting at the Community Center in December. Holiday party instead. Note that the date will be Friday, December 14 instead of the third Tuesday.
RSVP to DavidGrubb at sbcglobal dot net for location. Festivities start at 7 pm. Bring an appetizer, finger food, cookies, or a dessert to share.

Update: Coasters election results:
Sue Corringham - 2 years
Robin Friedheim - 1 year
David Grubb - 2 years
Peg Kessler - 2 years
Linda Lyerly - 1 year
Paul Richter - 1 year
Gene Walker - 1 year

November 20, 2007

Business meeting at the Community Center.
Party plans, T-shirts, catch up on business, update on local conservation issues, and more.

October 16, 2007

No meeting at the Community Center in October. Instead, we are invited to a reception at the home of Marilee McLean in Solana Beach. Marilee has invited all of the Sierra Club members who live in Solana Beach to her home for a social event. Since the event coincided with our regular meeting, she has invited us all to join the party. RSVP to Marilee at Marileemclean at roadrunner dot com for the address and directions.

We will have dessert, coffee, and light refreshments. Lesa Heebner, mayor of Solana Beach, will lead a discussion about local environmental issues.
Coaster Fall Political Picnic - 2007

Saturday October 6 at 11:30 AM San Dieguito County Park, Solana Beach

The North County Coastal Group and the Sierra Club Political Committee invite you to join us for a fall picnic. The theme this year is local politics. We will be inviting local elected officials who were endorsed by the Sierra Club, and also potential candidates for 2008.

The picnic will follow the Coaster "First Saturday" hike (see hikes above). We will fire up the grill, and serve your choice of grilled chicken or a veggie burger, plus salad, dessert, and a soft drink, all for the low price of $5.00. Park rules allow beer and wine if you would like to bring your own.

San Dieguito County Park is at 1628 Lomas Santa Fe Drive in Solana Beach. Exit I-5 at Lomas Santa Fe and go East to the stop sign at Highland Drive. Turn left, go to El Camino Real, turn right, and then turn right into the park. Look for the Sierra Club banner. There is a $3.00 parking fee at the park.       Map Link       Park Information

September 18, 2007

Energy Update and business meeting.
No meeting in August.

July 17, 2007 - "Smart Energy Solutions"

A discussion of some specific energy issues facing the San Diego area. Dave Voss, Oceanside resident and chair of the chapter Forest and Wilderness Committee, will talk about the LEAPS project at Lake Elsinore. Dave Grubb will talk about the work of the chapter Smart Energy Task Force and the SANDAG Energy Working Group.

June 19, 2007 - Business Meeting

This meeting will be devoted to catching up on local conservation issues and projects, and group business.

We have a number of topics to cover, including our ExCom election this fall, fundraising ideas, local conservation issues and projects, and ideas for future meeting programs.

May 15, 2007 - "Save San Onofre"

Brittany McKee, from the Sierra Club "Friends of the Foothills" will give us an update on the campaign to stop the foothills south toll road from destroying San Onofre State Park.
Coaster Spring Picnic Saturday April 7, 2007 at 11:30 AM
Buccaneer Park in Oceanside

If you were not there, you missed another great picnic. Thanks again to Peg Kessler for good food, and all the attendees for the good company.

April 17, 2007 - "Escondido Creek Conservancy"

Escondido Creek runs through Harmony Grove and Olivenhain and flows into the San Elijo Lagoon in Encinitas. The Escondido Creek Conservancy works to protect the creek. At our April meeting, Geoffrey Smith, Executive Director of the conservancy, will talk to us about their work.
You can learn more about the conservancy at http://www.escondidocreek.org
March 20, 2007 - "Bird Research in Mongolia"

The range of the Great Bustard, one of the world’s heaviest flying birds, once stretched from Portugal to China. Now that range is highly fragmented and this species is endangered in many countries where it was once common. There are concerns that land-use changes in Eastern Europe and Central Asia could further endanger this bird as countries transition from communism to more open markets. Aimee Kessler, a graduate student at Arizona State University, researches populations of the Great Bustard in Mongolia and Kazakhstan, working closely with local communities and collaborators. She will talk about the ecology of this species and the reasons for its decline in Central Asia, using slides from her preliminary field work in 2006. She will also discuss the challenges of working in Central Asia and plans for future research.

Aimee Kessler is a graduate student at Arizona State University. She specializes in conservation biology in Central Asia. She began traveling to the Former Soviet Union in 1993 and speaks Russian, Mongolian, and other Central Asian languages. She grew up in Carlsbad, California.
February 20, 2007 - "The Climate Project: Answer the Call."

Last year, Vice President Gore's Climate Project selected 1000 individuals to be trained to give his presentation on climate change as seen in the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." In December 2006, Encinitas resident Lisa Shaffer spent a weekend in Nashville with a group of 200 trainees, being trained by VP Gore himself, and has committed to give the talk to interested audiences over the coming year. Lisa will give the talk at our Coaster meeting on February 20 at the Encinitas Community Center from 7 to 9 pm.

Dr. Lisa Shaffer is responsible for international relations and policy programs at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and is the Executive Director of the UC San Diego Environment and Sustainability Initiative. She is also an adjunct professor at UCSD's Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies where she teaches courses on sustainable development. Lisa has an undergraduate degree in international relations from the University of Michigan and a PhD in public policy from the George Washington University. She worked in Washington DC for 25 years, mostly at NASA and NOAA, responsible for the international arrangements for large environmental programs and remote sensing satellites. She came to Scripps in 1998 at the invitation of then-Director Charlie Kennel. In 2005 she moved to Encinitas where she lives with her husband, Steve Bartram, who is a high school science teacher.
Tuesday, January 16, 2007, 7 to 9 pm

Business meeting to get organized and talk about plans for the year, local conservation issues, potential speakers and programs, and any other new business. No guest speaker scheduled this time, as it has been a long time since we had a meeting where we could talk about issues and plans.

If you have not attended a meeting recently, now would be a good time to get more involved. Our application for official group status has been submitted to Sierra Club national office for approval. We held a short business meeting of the newly appointed executive committee during the holiday party in December, and elected the following officers for 2007:
Sue Corringham - Secretary
Robin Friedheim - Vice Chair
David Grubb - Chair and Chapter ExCom Rep
Peg Kessler - Treasurer

We are looking for more members to get involved in conservation, outings, and other activities. If you are interested in helping us build a better group, please attend and volunteer.

Please bring your own mug for a hot drink. Hot water and fixings provided.

We meet at the Encinitas Community Center. The center is near the intersection of Encinitas Blvd and Balour Drive. From I-5, take Encinitas Blvd East to Balour Drive (at the top of the hill) and turn right, then turn left on Oakcrest Park Drive. The entrance is ar 1140 Oakcrest Park drive, just South of Encinitas Blvd on Balour. (Map) RSVP by phone 760-753-0273, or by e-mail to DavidGrubb at sbcglobal dot net
December 12, 2006

The next Coaster meeting will be a party. Because the third Tuesday is very close to Christmas, we will hold the party on the second Tuesday instead. Peg has offered to hold the party at her home in Carlsbad.

Mark your calendar for December 12 at 7 pm. Plan to bring some goodies to share, stories to tell, good cheer, and a friend or two. RSVP by email to Dave, or Peg by phone, davidgrubb@sbcglobal.net or 760 753-0899 for address and directions.
November 21, 2006

At Encinitas Community Center, 7 to 9 pm.

Special guest speaker Graham Mackintosh, author of three books about traveling in Baja will give us a talk illustrated with slides from his travels. For more on his adventures in Baja, see http://www.grahammackintosh.com/

In April 1983, Graham Mackintosh, describing himself as the "least adventurous person in the world," set out to walk around the beautiful but dangerous coastline of Baja California. The two-year, 3,000-mile trip changed his life. When Mackintosh emerged from the cactus-strewn wilderness, he returned to his native England to write Into a Desert Place and there received the prestigious "Adventurous Traveler of the Year" award.

In 1997, he decided to walk down the rugged, mountainous interior of Baja, visiting many of the old missions along the way. Journey with a Baja Burro, his second book, was the result. It describes his arduous thousand-mile journey with a pack burro from the US border to Loreto -- a trip that began exactly 300 years after the October 1697 founding of the Loreto mission, the first permanent European settlement in the "Californias."

In 2001, Graham spent four months in Baja’s Sierra San Pedro Mártir with two street dogs, which became the subject of his third book – Nearer My Dog to Thee."

Graham Mackintosh now lives in San Diego, and is married to Bonni, a nurse, who shares his love for Baja and burros.

We meet at the Encinitas Community Center. The center is near the intersection of Encinitas Blvd and Balour Drive. From I-5, take Encinitas Blvd East to Balour Drive (at the top of the hill) and turn right, then turn left on Oakcrest Park Drive. The entrance is off Oakcrest Park drive, just South of Encinitas Blvd on Balour.
October 17, 2007

Another good meeting! Our speaker was Donna Lawrence, author of "Leave Only Pawprints: Dog Hikes in San Diego County". See her web site for an idea of what you missed, and to learn more about her book. Many thanks to Donna for coming out on short notice to talk to us.

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