What we’re about
### Sierra Club Kansas City Outings
Welcome to our Meetup site, where as volunteers we manage activity announcements and sign-ups.
### Our Programs
We offer various outdoor programs, including beginner backpacking. This is typically held in spring and fall, supported by our modern equipment library and a separate wilderness navigation course. Additionally, we organize day hikes, service days, other activities, and backpacking trips.
### Our Mission
Part of the National Sierra Club's "Local Outdoors" program, our outings focus on the Kansas City area community. We are a coalition of the Sierra Club's Thomas Hart Benton, Kanza & Wakarusa groups. We aim to be inclusive and welcome individuals from all backgrounds, with many members committed to conservation, equity, and social welfare advocacy.
If you're looking for advocacy opportunities - check out our Sierra Club | Kansas City | Advocacy | Environment Meetup Group.
### Locations
Our activities take place in well-known locations like Missouri and Kansas, and sometimes farther afield. Historically, these areas had different names and inhabitants. Here are some resources to explore these historical contexts: mapping tool, trail references, and additional perspective.
### Get Involved
Looking to connect with nature, meet new people, or get some exercise? Our local outings are here on Meetup; together with Sierra Club's domestic and international outings, we have something for everyone. Join us today! While membership is not required to participate, joining the Sierra Club for as little as $15 supports our programs.
### Support and Contributions
We may ask for small donations to cover the costs of things like leader training and maintaining our gear lending library. Note, donations to the Sierra Club are not tax-deductible (we're a Section 501(c)(4) non-profit organization under the Internal Revenue Code.) Our leaders are unpaid volunteers who generously give their time. Speaking of that, we're always interested in finding new leaders and assistant leaders.
### Join Our Volunteer Leadership Team!
🌟 Love the outdoors and adventure? We're looking for passionate volunteers to help guide unforgettable journeys! Start as an assistant leader (sweep) and grow into a leadership role—all while building valuable skills and lifelong connections.
Our local backpacking trips beyond the class have slowed, but with new leaders stepping up, we can bring them back strong. To lead safely and confidently, Wilderness First Aid certification is required (you’ll take it on your own). And yes, there’s some paperwork—it’s simple, ensures trip safety, and includes the waiver each participant signs. As a volunteer, you're also covered under the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, which provides legal protections to those serving in nonprofit programs, and Sierra Club has in-house counsel and a structured risk management program.
Step up, make an impact, and help keep the adventure alive! Prove yourself as a leader, increasing the odds of being invited on personal trips to grander places. 🚶♂️🌲💪😉
### Backpacking Trips
In addition to our beginner backpacking program, we have hosted beginner and advanced backpacking trips locally and regionally, with options for national and international outings. These trips offer progression for those who complete the beginner program and provide team-building opportunities for leaders.
### Activities and Leadership
Our volunteer leaders organize diverse activities based on their interests, including both backpacking but also day hikes, cycling, and camping. We also engage in conservation efforts like picking up trash, bird watching, and trail maintenance. And sometimes we take social trips with a community or historical connection. Our leaders are certified and trained in first aid, which sets us apart.
### Participation Requirements
- RSVP: Please RSVP in advance; walk-ins are not accepted.
- Minors: Minors can join some activities with a responsible adult. Please check the outing description to see if it allows minors. Please understand that there is additional work a leader has to complete to include minors.
- Pets: Generally, pets are prohibited unless specified; bona-fide service (versus emotional support) animals are generally permitted, but it also depends upon the venue's requirements and the activities involved. Leaders are not certified or trained in pet first aid or rescue.
- Standards: Leaders may establish the focus for their activity, and may require certain minimums, e.g. for: fitness, experience, and equipment.
### Carpooling
Carpooling is encouraged among participants who use their own judgement on doing so. It is important to note that carpooling arrangements are strictly private and not covered by Sierra Club's insurance. As such, the club assumes no liability for any issues arising from carpooling or ride-sharing arrangements.
### Participation Agreement
All Sierra Club outing participants must sign a standard participant agreement as part of the sign-in process. This agreement will be linked in individual Outing announcements so that you can easily review it beforehand and be ready to sign.
### Medical Form
You must complete a medical form if you plan to go on a backcountry, overnight, or day trip more than an hour away from an emergency medical facility. The trip leader will review the form and respect your privacy. We take the privacy of our participants very seriously and ensure that the responses on the form are kept confidential. In emergencies, the form will be available during the trip. After the trip, we will either return or delete the form. Whenever possible, we prefer to collect medical forms at the trailhead. However, for backpacking trips, we need to conduct a more thorough advance vetting process of the participants to ensure everyone's safety, so we can be happy and inspired along the way. Therefore, we require the medical forms to be filled out and submitted upfront for backpacking trips. If you feel unwell or show symptoms of illness, please do not attend outings.
### Feedback and Concerns
If you have any concerns during or after an outing, inform the outing leader immediately. For unwelcome messages on Meetup, follow Meetup’s guidance and contact us if needed.
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Celebrate Summer with a Picnic Potluck!Hidden Valley Park Trail, Kansas City, MO
Welcome in the official start of summer with your Sierra Club friends and climate allies!
We will gather from 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. at Kansas City's Hidden Valley Park on Saturday, June 21st for a potluck picnic and plant swap! Keep reading for important details.
Potluck: Bring your favorite dish to share. We would like for this to be a low waste event. If you are able, please bring your own reusable plate and eating utensils.
Plant Swap: If you have a green thumb and want to share some of the fruits of your labor, this is the perfect opportunity for you! Bring any plants (potted, propagations, or seedlings) that you would like to send off to a new home. We ask that folks take up to the number of plants that they bring. (Ex: If you bring two plants, you may take two plants).
If you've never been to Hidden Valley Park, you may want to explore the approximately four miles of wooded trails that this gem of a park offers. If you choose to hike, please note that this is not part of the Sierra Club event and you are responsible for your own actions on the trails.
We look forward to seeing you and planning environmental and climate actions for the rest of the year ahead!
Photo source: Previa1994 on TripAdvisor.com
- Missouri Wildflowers Blooming in JulyAnita B. Gorman Conservation Discovery Center, Kansas City, MO
This month we will learn to identify Missouri wildflowers blooming in July. We will discuss the flower color, shape, leaf arrangement and habit of growth. Natalie Ison, naturalist, will give us tips inside at the Discovery Center before we go outside to the native gardens to see how many we can identify. If you like, bring your phones to practice the basic photography skills of good lighting, the rule of thirds, using a tripod and knowing the dates of recurrent flowering of plants in season.
At the end of the evening, one lucky person will win the “Missouri Wildflowers” book by Edgar Denison. This book is also on sale at the Discovery Center. Afterwards, we will have some lemonade and cookies at the shelter.
At sign-in, all participants on Sierra Club outings are required to sign a standard participant agreement you can read here, if you would like to read it b4 you choose to participate, www.tinyurl.com/sonsite
About the Sierra Club : The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.
Why America must protect 30x30 (w/ Sen. Tom Udall, Dr. Enric Sala): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4VmOchhp8o
- George Washington Carver National Monument MissouriGeorge Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, MO
Join us for a special day celebrating the establishment of George Washington Carver National Monument 82 years ago in 1943!
Did you know that there is only one national monument in Missouri and that this is the first unit of the National Park Service dedicated to an African American? The park is the birthplace and childhood home of the famed agricultural scientist, educator, and humanitarian. The young child known as the "Plant Doctor" tended his secret garden while observing the day-to-day operations of a 19th century farm. Nature and nurture ultimately influenced George on his quest for education. Carver Day features programs interpreting the life and legacy of George Washington Carver, with a guest speaker, music, and exhibitors. See below in Photos for directions, schedule of events, and map of grounds.
We will meet at the visitor center at 10 AM to walk the Carver Trail. It takes about 2.5 hours to drive there from KCMO so be sure to plan accordingly. Wear sturdy shoes (no sandals), sunscreen, use bug spray and bring water. The one-mile, self-guiding loop leads you into the woodlands, across streams, and along a tallgrass prairie restoration area. You can see the birth site of George Washington Carver, the Boy Carver Statue, the 1881 Moses Carver house, and graves of Moses and Susan Carver (George Washington Carver is buried at Tuskegee University in Alabama).
After the hike, we will go to the visitor center for the music performers at 11 AM and/or peruse the interactive exhibits about history, science and George Washington Carver’s life.
Lunch at noon in the shaded picnic area. Bring a sack lunch or buy your lunch (hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks) at the Diamond Lion’s Club concession stand. We will go to the visitor center for the speaker at 1 PM and/or finish up exhibits at the visitor center and park store. After our outing, if you have time, you may be interested in an on your own outing to the incredible Crystal Bridges Museum which is about an hour south in Bentonville, Arkansas.
At sign-in - all participants on Sierra Club outings are required to sign a standard participant agreement you can read here, if you would like to read it b4 you choose to participate, www.tinyurl.com/sonsite
The outing officially begins & ends on the dates & the locations designated by Sierra Club. Carpooling for this outing is not included or arranged by Sierra Club leaders. It is at your discretion with other participants to & from the outing; each participant is personally responsible for all risks associated with this travel.
A National Monument is an area of land and waters that has been protected because it is of historic and scientific interest. They can commemorate a historic event, honor an individual or group of people, or be used to preserve a site that is important to the public. National Monuments can be created in two different ways. The first and most common way is by Presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act. Presidents have created 161 National Monuments since June 8, 1906. The other way is to have Congress pass a bill and get the President to sign the bill into law. Congress has created 40 National Monuments.
**In April, The Washington Post **reported that the current administration has a short list of six national monuments they’re considering slashing: Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon (AZ), Ironwood Forest (AZ), Chuckwalla (CA), Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks (NM), Bears Ears (UT) and Grand Staircase-Escalante (UT).
Please sign or call and share the petitionExplore, Enjoy and Protect the Planet 🌎 - The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with over 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit [www.sierraclub.org. ]
