Sierra Club greets British royalty

The Sierra Club was one of eight groups invited to create an informational display for the Nov. 7 visit of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall to San Francisco's Ferry Building.

Carl Zichella, regional staff director for the Sierra Club's California/Nevada/Hawaii Field Office, and Ruth Gravanis of the San Francisco Group staffed the display and spoke briefly with the visitors about the Club's history and current efforts. Standing beside a cut-out of John Muir, Carl talked about our founder's Scottish roots and discussed the Club's efforts to curb global warming. Ruth showed HRH a flyer about Poundbury, the sustainable village that Prince Charles created in Cornwall, and told him how the San Francisco Group's Treasure and Yerba Buena Island Sustainability Campaign consider Poundbury a model to be emulated here. Looking quite pleased, HRH folded the flyer and slipped it into his pocket.

Thanks to the efforts of Becky Evans, Aaron Israel, Johanna O'Kelley, Ellen Byrne, and Joanne Drabek, the Club was able to create an impressive display and to present the Prince with a substantial gift basket including a signed copy of Tom Turner's Sierra Club: 100 Years of Protecting Nature. Former Club president Larry Fahn was also on hand to greet the royal pair on the occasion of the West Coast launch of the Prince's Business and the Environment Programme. Club executive director Carl Pope participated in the California Leaders Round Table Dialog on Climate Change.