Hi, everyone! You know it’s autumn when you’re pulling out sweatshirts from where you packed them away, you start seeing different colors in the trees and fallen leaves on the sidewalks, and the Giants’ season is effectively over having only just begun. But as my partner Mary says when I’m upset, “Sports are dumb!” So let’s move on to more important and uplifting things than a hard luck football team that I am not going to let ruin my week.

As the above picture attests, Connecticut Climate Fest was a lot of fun! Julianna Larue (the one on the far left) was the lead organizer for the event, and she deserves much of the credit for how well coordinated everything was, from the table set ups for all the organizations and vendors who joined us, to Kat Morris who provided the keynote talk and the other great speakers and poets who participated, and for how all of those were interwoven throughout the day with wonderful music from DJ Michelle Bee. Thanks, Julianna, and thanks to the rest of the Sierra Club Connecticut staff and volunteers who helped out and to everyone who joined us for the occasion. Thanks as well to Parkville Market for being such great hosts. We hope to do it again at Parkville Market next year!

One of my Climate Fest highlights was presenting a National Volunteer Service Award to Martha Klein. As I said in my first Notes from the Chair back in January, I became an active volunteer with this Chapter because I saw that it was vibrant and welcoming with robust campaigns and committees with which I could see myself becoming more involved. What I didn’t know then, but have learned since, is what a big role Martha has played in building the Chapter into what it is today. About ten years ago when she became Chair, the Chapter lacked a director or much staff (it actually had no staff for a time). But with help from the national organization Martha hired Samantha Dynowski, who is still our Director, and worked with Sam to build out our staff and group of volunteers. And, as many of you know, Martha continues to be a strong advocate for environmental justice and clean energy and is a leader in the fight against the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure in Connecticut. So thank you, Martha, for all you have contributed to our Chapter and our causes, and congratulations on your well deserved award! 

Martha and other individuals from across the country will also be recognized for their contributions to the environmental movement at the Sierra Club National Awards Virtual Ceremony on October 14, 2026 at 7 p.m. You can find out more and register for the celebration here.

Another Chapter hero I’d like to highlight this month is Dennis Desmarais. In addition to all of his other advocacy work, a few weeks ago Dennis completed his 16th annual Climate Ride in support of our Chapter. This year Dennis was joined by his wife Lisa and rode approximately 1,000 miles over seven days from West Virginia to South Carolina, raising $16,000 for the Chapter! For more about the trials and triumphs of the ride, including Dennis and Lisa’s meetup at the finish in Columbia with their daughter Allison (also a Sierra Club volunteer), you can read Dennis' article.

Many of you may be seeing in your own towns that distribution centers and warehouses are being proposed in locations that would cause harm to human health, destroy historic land, and endanger wildlife and the environment. In his article, Nicholas Stuller describes how residents of the town of Middlebury are fighting back against one such project by suing the Department of Transportation. Their lawsuit could set a precedent for others to follow so I encourage you to check it out.

I hope you enjoy those stories and more in this issue of the Quinnehtukqut. It’s scary to think that our next newsletter won’t be out until after Halloween (get it?).

With solidarity and care, 

Mike Ungaro

Chapter Chair of Sierra Club Connecticut