Welcome

We're glad you're here!

Whatever your interest in our environment, take a minute to discover the local Sierra Club organization in Kansas City, Missouri, the Thomas Hart Benton Group of the Ozark Chapter.

Who are we?

The Sierra Club is a national organization dedicated to the exploration, enjoyment, and protection of the wild places of the earth. We work to promote the responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources, and do all we can to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment. The 2000 Kansas City area members belong to the Thomas Hart Benton (THB) Group of the Sierra Club, the local unit of Missouri's statewide Ozark Chapter of the Sierra Club.

What is the Sierra Club doing in the Kansas City area?

Take a Hike

Nearly every weekend, the THB Group offers a variety of day hikes or overnight backpacking trips for beginners, experienced hikers, and families.

Save Our Wetlands

We continue to successfully urge our elected officials to expand the Big Muddy National Wildlife Refuge system along the floodplain of the Missouri River.

Save Our Forest

More and more corporate chip mills are being built just outside our Mark Twain National Forest. The Sierra Club is working to stop these and future mills until regulations are in place that assure the survival of our beautiful Ozark forests.

Stop Lead Mining

Missouri is home to the world's largest lead mining operations. Now that nearly all of our lead can be recycled and reused indefinitely, it is unconscionable that the lead mining industry is attempting to expand into our Ozark National Scenic Riverways lands. The Sierra Club has successfully stopped two such attempts in the last year, but new drilling proposals have already been resubmitted by the mining companies. We must remain diligent.

Rein in Corporate Agriculture

More and more Mega Hog Farms are moving to the rural areas of Missouri. Confined animal feeding operations (CAFO'S) are major pollutors of Missouri's air and water. We need to stop all future construction of these factory farms until regulations can be signficantly strengthened.

Eat Organic

We regularly educate our members on the enhanced value and nutrition of locally grown organic produce. Let us share our favorite organic markets, restaurants, and recipes with you and your family.

Transportion Efficiency

We work with local, regional, and state agencies to promote public transit, bicycling, walking, and other alternatives to driving alone. By doing so we help assure more transportaion choices for all citizens. We also encourage people to "live closer to home", thereby reducing their need to travel.

Urban Sprawl Costs Us All

The Sierra Club has extensively had input on different levels of government. We work with local and regional public agencies to encourage "smart" growth and other stategies to curb urban sprawl. In the process we help our communities to become more economically efficient, to make better use of tax dollars, to conserve natural resources and open spaces, and to be better places in which to live.

Feel Free to Join Us

We get together at the Discovery Center, the Missouri Department of Conservation's new Urban Conservation Campus, 4750 Troost, Kansas City, MO., the first Tuesday of every month except July at 7 p.m. Each meeting features a local photographer, backpacker, conservationist, or community leader who shares their ideas and experiences with us. We hope you will come visit, and bring your family or a friend!

If you have any questions, please call or email Melissa Blakley at (816)741-8200, m.blakley@earthlink.net. Thanks for visiting, and come back! We make a difference together.