“The Big Switch: Transitioning to a Native Plant Garden” - June 22, 2:30pm

Kelsay Shaw will present “The Big Switch: Transitioning to a Native Plant Garden” on Sunday,  June 22, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Dominican University Priory, Room 259, located at 7200 W. Division, in River Forest (corner of Division and Harlem). This free program is presented by West Cook Wild Ones. Kelsay Shaw is a botanist and sales consultant at the Possibility Place. He has a B.S. in botany from Eastern Illinois University and has been doing work in the industry for the past 17 years. He has taught classes on native plants and their uses in landscaping, as well as consulting on larger projects for some of their clients.

For more information about  the West Cook Wild Ones membership and activities, check out their web site.

Green Living: Host a Green Block Party

With Spring finally "sprung," and the last day of school soon approaching -- neighbors' minds and hearts turn to that annual homage to communal grilling, sidewalk chalk, water fights, and big-and-little-people tricycle races. The Block Party is a sacred thing in many places across the country -- not least in Oak Park and River Forest. Here, block party fun is serious business. And to some local citizens, greening their block parties is seriously cool and important business.  The great news is that the villages of Oak Park and River Forest are both supporting GREEN BLOCK PARTIES this year! Why? Read on for the why's, who's, what's, and how's of green block parties.

Our Green Block Party Guide will give you everything you need to know in order to host your own Green Block Party! Click here for the complete article.

Trailside Museum - Summer 2014 Program Schedule

Enjoy programs all summer at the Trailside Museum of Natural History, Forest Preserves of Cook County, 738 Thatcher Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305, 708-366-6530  As always; program registration, when required is by phone or in person

Programs Available Throughout The Summer

“Woodpecker Hollow” Nature Play Area Balance on logs and build with sticks as you experience unstructured playtime in our nature play area.

Summer Strolls Enjoy guided nature walks to explore summer along our trails. Family program, register 2 days prior. Sundays, June 1; July 20; August 3 • 1 pm

Nature Story Time Enjoy nature-inspired stories followed by a craft. Ages 3 – 6 with adult. $1 per child. Thursdays, June 5 & 19; July 3 & 17; August 7 & 21 • 10:30 am

Explore Your Preserves Discover new scenic trails nearby, on naturalist-guided walks in local preserves. Call to register and for meeting place. Family program. Saturday, June 7 (Des Plaines River Trail); Saturday July 5 (Brookfield Prairie); Saturday August 2 (Bemis Woods) • 10 –11:30 am 

 “Bone” Appétit Join us at feeding time to learn about Trailside’s outdoor resident animals. Sundays, June 8 & 22; Friday, July 4& Saturday, July 26; Sunday, August 24, & Saturday, August 30 • 1 pm

Neighborhood Tree Walks Explore nature in your front yard on this naturalist-led walk through River Forest. Meet at Trailside Museum. Adult program; register 2 days prior. Saturdays, June 14 & August 23 • 10 am

Dog Days of Summer Hikes Bring your well-mannered, leashed dog on a one-hour guided hike on our trails. Family program. Saturdays, June 21, July 19, August 16 • 10 am

Weekday Nature Walks Join us as we explore our local trails near Trailside Museum. Tuesdays, June 24, July 29, August 26 • 1 pm

 One-time Programs You Won’t Want to Miss

June

Father’s Day Walk Dads and their families enjoy a guided walk by our pond and through the woods. Register by 6/13. Sunday, June 15 • 1 pm

Photo Meet-Up at Bemis Woods South Enter Bemis Woods from Ogden Ave., in Western Springs. Call for meeting place. Saturday, June 28 10 am

What Does the Fox Say? Bark, scream or cry… discover what the fox really says and visit up close with Trailside’s resident fox. Family program. Sunday, June 29 • 1 pm

 July

Walk with Dragons and Damsels Dragonflies and damselflies are dipping and dashing in Trailside’s pond. Learn to identify them by color and behaviors. Bring binoculars; a limited amount of binoculars available to lend. Saturday, July 12 • 1 pm

Parent/Child Woodland Ramble Enjoy a woodland walk as we look at trees, wildflowers and creatures great and small. Family program, register by 7/11. Sunday, July 13 • 1 pm

Reptiles Revealed Enjoy an up-close visit with some of our local reptiles. Drop-in family program. Sunday, July 27 • 1­ – 2:30 pm

 August

Evening Storytelling Join us on a summer’s night for stories and campfire snacks. Family program; $2; register by Aug. 4. Wednesday, August 6 • 7 pm

An Afternoon Walk with Ernest Hemingway Hear how Hemingway experienced and used nature in his writings, then follow in his footsteps on a guided nature walk. Adults & families with children ages 5 & up. Presented with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation; call 708-848-2222 to register. Saturday, August 9 • 1 – 2:30pm

Creature Feature Learn about an animal that makes its home within the Forest Preserve Dist. of Cook County. Drop-in family program. Sunday, August 10 • 1 – 2:30 pm

Songs of Summer Stroll Whirr, chirp, creeeek. Learn to identify common insect mating calls and test your listening skills on a naturalist-led walk. Family program. Sunday, August 17, 1 – 2:30 pm

Bats: Night Stalkers Learn about these mysterious flying mammals, and see live bats outside using special equipment. Adults & children 8 & up; register by 8/17. Wednesday, August 20 • 7:30 pm

Plants and Their Pals Learn about plant’s special adaptations, and the birds, mammals and insects that work together to help plants survive and thrive. For adults and children 8+; register by 8/28.  Sunday, August 31 • 1 pm

Still Time to Opt Out of the Brown Energy Default

According to data provided by Constellation via Rob Cole, Oak Park Assistant Village Manager,  as of May 8th a total of 3300 households, approximately 15%, OPTED OUT, of the default Brown Energy Option offered by the village.  Thank you to all who took the initiative to choose a green energy plan! While 15% of households opting out of brown energy is commendable, this means that 85% of households are still purchasing the default aggregation mix of coal, natural gas and nuclear energy sources.  This is why we are asking the Oak Park Village Board to make 100% renewable energy the DEFAULT community aggregation option in 2015!

For those of you that missed the original window to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option, the good news is that there is still time!  Constellation Energy will allow Oak Park customers who are in the Aggregation program to continue to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option at any time.  Requests received after May 8th may not take effect in-time for the first billing cycle.

To enroll in the 100% renewable energy option through Constellation:

• You’ll need to have your ComEd account number ready, then call 800.718.1493 and tell the Constellation Customer Service Rep  that you live in Oak Park and that you want to enroll in the 100% renewable energy option.  Please note that Constellation's per kwh rate offered to Oak Park residents is fixed for 1 year at 7.57 cents.

Please help spread the word to others so we can continue to grow the renewable energy industry!

Connect to Action: Attend GreenTown Chicago May 21-22

Twenty-four break-out sessions on topics from biking to fighting childhood obesity to Illinois' home-grown renewable energy industry. Eighty-three brilliant, sustainability speakers and panelists. One Swedish ambassador. Oh, and a tasty, post-event, micro-brew reception. Add them up and what do you get? The GreenTown Chicago conference, held May 21-22, where today's best and brightest ideas will inspire tomorrow's sustainable solutions to fight climate change, improve people's health and spur regional resilience. Green Community Connections members and other sustainability activists will find much to discover and learn at the conference, held at UIC Student Center East at 750 S. Halsted in Chicago. The location is easily accessible by bike, blue line, Metra or carpool.

Designed to be an intense, focused networking opportunity for government, business and community members interested in pushing the Chicago region toward a more sustainable future, GreenTown Chicago is organized by Oak Park-based Seven Generations Ahead and a5, a strategy and design firm in Chicago.

The main conference activities occur on Thursday, May 22. Attendees will learn about sustainable initiatives in the City of Chicago, understand what's going on in the surrounding metropolitan region and gain an international perspective from Sweden, one of the world's most forward-thinking countries in the sustainability arena. Some highlights include:

• Discover how the region is undergoing a paradigm shift from “waste management” to “materials recovery."
• The trees we live among are under threat, but also give us enormous ecological benefits. Edith Makra, Director of Environmental Initiatives, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus will give a tour of Chicago's urban forest.
• Panelists will discuss how the Institute of Cultural Affair’s (ICA) Accelerate 77 project is engaging leaders from across Chicago’s neighborhoods in learning about and acting on sustainability.
• Find out how Sweden's cities are becoming more energy efficient, healthy and resilient.
• Learn how the Climate Adaptation Guidebook for Municipalities in the Chicago Region can help communities interested in adapting their planning and investment decisions to a changing climate.

The conference's first day, Wednesday, May 21, will hold two high-level sessions on food scrap composting in Illinois and the role of colleges and universities in leading the push toward sustainability.

Click here to view the full GreenTown Chicago agenda as well as registration and parking information. GreenTown is sponsored by the city of Chicago, the Institute of Cultural Affairs, and Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

River Forest Electronics Recycling - Sat., May 24th

The Village will be hosting another Electronics Recycling Event this Saturday, May 24^th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm in the west Thatcher parking lot located on the west side of the 400 block of Thatcher Avenue across from the Metra train station.

The State of Illinois has mandated that certain electronics may no longer be disposed of in landfills. The following items can be recycled on Saturday:

Televisions, Computer monitors, Printers and scanners, Computers (including tablet computers), Keyboards and other computer components (mice, speakers, etc), Facsimile machines, VCRs and DVD players, Portable digital music players, CD Players and stereo components, Video game consoles, Small scale servers, Digital converter boxes, cable and satellite receivers, Cell Phones, Cordless Phones

To assist residents in the disposal of their electronic devices, the Village of River Forest has partnered with Vintage Tech Recyclers to offer free electronics waste recycling events. Residents will be able to drop off their electronic devices to Vintage Tech representatives to be recycled in an environmentally safe manner.

The next electronics recycling event in River Forest will take place on Saturday, August 30.

League of Women Voters Presents: Fracking, Frack-cidents & Frackonomics

Fracking, Frack-cidents & Frackonomics:  What are Fracking's Dangers, Who will be Protected & Who will Benefit?

Have you been hearing about Fracking but want to learn more.  Here is a great opportunity:

League of Women Voters of Oak Park and River Forest will be hosting William C. Rau, Professor Emeritus, Illinois State University & Spokesperson for Illinois People's Action, as keynote speaker on Thursday, May 22, 2014,  7:30 PM. Oak Park Main Library, 834 Lake St.  (Second Floor, Veterans Room).  ALL COMMUNITY MEMBERS interested in IL Fracking legislation are invited to attend a FREE keynote address.  No need to RSVP.   See flyer for more information.

The keynote address will be preceded at 6:30 PM by the League of Women Voters Annual Meeting for Members Only. 

After passage last May, the press hailed the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Act (HFA) as featuring the "nation's toughest regulations," and Governor Quinn claimed it contained the "nation's strongest environmental protections."  In turn, the oil & gas industry touted fracking as a "game changer" offering a low-cost energy bonanza that will promote national energy independence, economic development, and job growth. Environmental and public health risks were presented as modest, manageable through regulation, and offset by significant benefits.

This presentation will examine these claims and show fracking to be inherently dangerous everywhere while focusing on risks specific to Southern Illinois including extensive floodplains, active earthquake zones capable of magnitude 7+ quakes, and one of the most radioactive oilfields in the US.

Are low level pesticides and other common chemicals safe?

"If we are going to live so intimately with these chemicals -- eating and drinking them into the very marrow of our bones -- we had better know something about their nature and their power."  -- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

You are invited to a talk by Dr Warren Porter, professor of Biology and Environmental Toxicology.  He is also an invited affiliate faculty member of Engineering Physics at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.  Dr Porter will speak on the biological effects of low level pesticide mixtures and other common chemical exposures.

See related article:  The Toxic Brew in our Yards, by Diane Lewis, Sunday, New Your Times Review, Opinion, May 10, 2014

Monday, June 16th, 2014, at 7:00pm, Oak Park Main Library, Oak Park, IL, 834 Lake Street, Veteran's Room.  For more information contact Peggy McGrath, 708-383-3591.

Parking:  Enter the Library parking lot off of Lake Street.  Limited street parking is available on Lake Street and another parking lot is one block south of the library, just East of Oak Park Avenue, at the Green Line "El" train stop.  Enter off of North Blvd.

Smart City USA Project offers Innovation Opportunity

Information from Village of Oak Park web site “The Smart City USA Project offers Oak Park property owners a unique and exciting opportunity to become innovators in community wide electrical efficiency, while providing proof of the commercial viability of various advanced monitoring and energy management technologies,” said Assistant Village Manager Robert Cole who currently is managing the local aspects of the project.  The Village of Oak Park is announcing the Smart City USA partnership with the Korean Smart Grid Institute.

As many as 200 households (100 single family homes and 100 multi-family units) will be chosen to participate in the Oak Park Smart City USA Project that will showcase the potential cost savings and energy efficiencies of smart grid technologies, including solar power and energy storage.

Participants will receive a variety of technical installations in their homes, including solar panels, battery storage, energy management and demand response programs.  Oak Park residential property owners who want to be considered when the Village facilitates the launch of a smart-grid pilot project are invited to fill out a brief online form posted at www.oak-park.us/smartcityusa.

The online form is the initial step to find participants whose properties may meet the criteria for consideration. Submitting information online will not guarantee selection, officials say, since additional, more in-depth screening will be necessary to identify qualifying properties.

Among the initial criteria for consideration are factors such property ownership, having a surface facing south or west with direct sunlight and an electrical service with circuit breakers.  Participants also must have a high-speed internet connection and be willing to share their home energy data with the project team members for three years. In addition to the Village and KSGI, the project team likely will include partnerships with educational and research institutions interested in smart grid technology and residential electrical usage.

For more information on the project, email sustainability@oak-park.us or call 708.358.5770.

See also more information on the village web site:  Screenings begin for Smart City USA Participants.

See also related GCC articles about early project development:  Oak Park's Smart Grid Initiative in the News, and Smart Grid Technology will Facilitate Local Renewable Energy

3 More Days to Enroll in Oak Park's Green Energy Program

Oak Park residents have until May 8^th to make a difference for people and the planet by choosing 100% renewable energy. As of May 5th approximately 1300 households  (6%) had opted into the green energy option for aggregated electricity in Oak Park.  Hooray! And Thank you!

But, Can We Beat the Odds?

Experts say that at most, only 5-10% of a population will actually take the action to opt-in when they must actively do something rather than go with the default option.  Although the green energy option is starting with a huge disadvantage by not being the default option we believe Oak Park can do better and we are asking you to help accomplish that for the sake of future generations.

Here's what we can do to help beat the odds:

1. Oak Park, IL residents — to opt into 100% renewable (green) energy, please follow these easy instructions before May 8th:
   • With just a quick call (5-10 min), you can select 100% renewable energy for your home.
   • You'll need to have your ComEd account number ready, then just call 1.800.718.1493 and tell the Constellation Customer Service Rep that you want 100% renewable energy.
   • If you have the letter from Constellation, with the "opt-out code"  That is helpful but not required.
2. Please help spread the word to others.  People can't choose renewable energy if they don't know about it.  Choose the methods that work for you to remind friends, neighbors and perfect strangers standing next to you  in the grocery store!  Here are a few ideas to make sharing simpler:

- Send Email, post on Facebook,  or Tweet to your networks.  Consider using the Share buttons at the bottom of this post.

- Walk your block and chat with your neighbors about it.

- At a book club meeting, school concert, sports event or other event where people will gather this week? -- Consider asking people if they have enrolled in the Green Energy Option.

- Tell us your creative ideas about how to get the word out!

Note:  If you would like half sheet fliers with instructions about how to opt into 100% renewable energy to share with others please contact Sally Stovall (773-315-1109 or sally@greencommunityconnections.org).  The Village has created materials on the enrollment process that you may use to disseminate to your friends and neighbors - just click here.

Together we can do it!

Together we can beat the odds and boost the percentage of residents who  opt-in to green energy over the next 3 days ! Can we get 15%? 20%? Wouldn't it be amazing to get 25% or more?

Thank you for your help! And our children and grandchildren thank you, too!