This is my collection of the best environmental solutions & resources around.
Sustainable Activities
The mission of the Institute of Cultural Affairs (USA) is to build a just and equitable society in harmony with Planet Earth through empowering cultural dimensions of the social process. This is the host organization of our upcoming Garden Hub Day. Awesome people, organization & building. COME TO OUR EVENT Feb 27 from 11am – 2pm. You’ll get opportunities to learn about the community, build a raised garden bed, write your local politician about climate change, meet your neighbors and have fun! and it’s FREE!
OpenLands is a terrific organization that will give you free trees to plant in your neighborhood. Did you hear me? FREE TREES! Apply now for a grant & organize the team of planters – it’s easy and fun!
The Community Glue Workshop in Edgewater is a project rooted in sustainability — they fix people’s weathered or broken items at no cost. At Fix-Ups, local tinkerers and handy-folk volunteer their time and services to neighbors in need of repair. Their goals are to encourage a reuse mindset and to bring neighbors together. Their events are fun and with great potluck food; meet your neighbors and get your things repaired! I highly recommend.
Green Community Connections has a calendar of green events going on in Chicago. Check out the beach cleanup in your neighborhood for example.
Chicago Green Spaces
Chicago has a lot of special green places. Montrose Point Migratory Bird Sanctuary and Dune Panne is the largest urban bird sanctuary in North America, and it’s in my back yard. It’s beautiful and secluded, and in the middle of the city. It’s also a globally rare panne and the only natural area in IL owned and managed by the park district.
Leland Greenway (participatory budgeting):
Uptown residents can get involved in their community by voting for a bike boulevard on Leland Ave. Learn about the speed bumps & other bike friendly adaptations coming to our neighborhood.
Accelerate77 is an excellent resource connecting & organizing green organizations.
Environmental Examples
Here are some great examples of cities doing green right. The greenest city in Europe for example:
http://www.freiburg.de/pb/,Len/372840.html
Copenhagen
Here’s a specific neighborhood for climate concerned examples: the St. Kjeld Climate Resilient Neighborhood:
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/1/26/copenhagen-worlds-first-climate-adjusted-neighborhood.html
http://www.dac.dk/en/dac-life/copenhagen-x-gallery/cases/the-st-kjeld-climate-district/
Sustainability Education
My favorite sources for sustainable education in Chicago are:
Chicago Conservation Corps: Learn about how to conserve resources, the natural areas in Chicago and network with likeminded peers. I loved this program! I finally didn’t feel like the only green freak in the world. In fact, I met a lot freakier ones (in a good way :).
Archeworks: Learn and implement projects with a positive impact towards the social common good.
Other resources for more info around sustainability in Chicago and beyond:
http://www.chicagoactivism.org/