Greetings!

 

What did you do this summer?

 

Do you remember how often you were asked that when returning to school in the fall?

 

It was fun to share those stories of summer days, but it was even better to be back among your school friends again, looking forward to autumn traditions and new adventures. It’s been a long time since school days for most of us, but I still think of fall as a time to get back together after the summer break. And I’d like to ask you about what you did this summer. 

 

Let's focus in on our Sierra Club mission and specify, what you did to enjoy, explore, or protect the environment this summer? I hope you had a chance to get outside in nature and share that with your families and friends.

 

Now, if you asked me what I did this summer, I’d be happy to tell you about my trip to Utah. I was fortunate to be invited to join the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) for their retreat at the Boulder Mountain Guest Ranch on the border of the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, among the red rock cliffs and white limestone arroyos.

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The days were hot and still, and the nights, lit by the Milky Way, were loud with thousands of insects. I craned my neck to look straight up in my first slot canyon and wandered along the willow-lined stream in a narrow ravine restored by industrious beavers who have chained ponds together, allowing tired, overgrazed desert land to thrive again. We talked about the wilderness and how to preserve it, about Indigenous perspectives on land management, and so many other things. We learned about the magic of biocrust and the way an old growth juniper forest looks like a bush but sequesters a huge amount of CO2 with its deep, deep roots. We heard the tragedies caused by uranium mining and oil drilling on public lands, especially impacting our Indigenous peoples. We vowed to fight to save these last areas of wilderness left to us.

 

Here are two poems I wrote, my attempt to share the power of these red rock lands. 

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Observations on Boulder Mountain

August 24, 2025

 

Dusty red shoes show time on the trail

 

Not much, just enough to feel the sun, snap a photo or two

 

Breathe in the hot desert air, absorb the red rock cliffs and expanse of deep blue sky

 

The path to the waterfall is blocked – there is time

 

to see what’s here, rich growth along the stream, bee hives, scraps of stone

 

Bees pollinate the desert sage and rabbit brush

 

Beavers thrive in the arroyo

 

In turn for a safe home, they restore the land – 

 

Engineers of nature, they rebuild their lodges, dam the water, manage the trees, enrich the soils

 

Their lives – days for birth, pond frolics, finding food, building home, caring for their young – it all reaches further – using water to tend the earth

 

Rebuilding the losses we have caused

 

Undoing the worst of us.

 

Desert Light

 

The red rocks shine at first light

 

As the dark sky releases its stars, gives up the night

 

Dawn noises begin

 

The sun crests, sending cloud color

 

Ahead of its dominance

 

Announcing the day with streaks of orange and blue, grey, white

 

We are meant to be awed.

 

Stacked layers of time come into focus

 

Red sandstone arches, white limestone swirls, and on

 

Reaching down to where dinosaurs walked

 

Reminding us of our tiny role in the wide universe

 

The place, the sun’s heat, the clear light

 

The rocks absorb it – turning on their own vibrance

 

Stunning those of us who venture into these sacred lands

 

Inspiring hope, peaceful respite

 

Lasting love of this desert world

 

Haven from what we fear.

 

I hope to see you at some of our fall events.

 

Onward,

Susan

 

Susan Eastwood is Chapter Chair of Sierra Club Connecticut.