125 Years of the Sierra Club


The Friends’ exhibition, ‘125 Years of the Sierra Club’, ran in the Birthplace from April 21st until July 26th 2017 (having been extended beyond the end of June).  Six panels gave an overview of the history of the Sierra Club with an emphasis on John Muir’s involvement in the founding, and ethos, of the organisation.

These panels are now available on the Friends of John Muir’s Birthplace website, links are available below.

The introductory panel contained the following text:

“Founded by legendary conservationist John Muir in 1892, the Sierra Club is now the USA’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization — with more than two million members and supporters. Its successes range from protecting millions of acres of wilderness to helping pass the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Endangered Species Act. More recently, the Club has made history by leading the charge to move away from the dirty fossil fuels that cause climate disruption and toward a clean energy economy.

The Mission Statement of the Sierra Club is:

  • To explore, enjoy, and protect the wild places of the earth;
  • To practice and promote the responsible use of the earth’s ecosystems and resources;
  • To educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment; and to use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

Nature has come under siege as never before. Species are disappearing, climate change accelerating and our natural resources diminishing. As a result, Muir’s ideas and philosophy look even more relevant in the 21st century, and the writings of this pioneering conservationist, still fresh and vibrant, are becoming ever more popular. “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe” he wrote, in an early insight into the global ecosystem.

This exhibition gives an overview of how the words and deeds of Muir provide the inspiration for the Sierra Club’s fundamental message to Explore, enjoy and protect the planetand how the Club is rising to the environmental challenges that face us all.”

In addition to the above text a footnote on the first panel acknowledged the assistance of the individuals and organisations that contributed to the production of the exhibit. Namely:

  • Duncan Smeed and Will Colin
  • Emma Westwater of Source Design;
  • Jamie Hinrichs, Sierra Club member;
  • Harold Wood, Volunteer Webmaster, Sierra Club John Muir Exhibit; and
  • Libby Lee-Egan and Peter Walbridge, Sierra Club staff.
  • Organisations: Sierra Club; John Muir Birthplace Trust; East Lothian Council

For the index of links to all 6 panels visit the page SC125 Exhibition Panels.