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Last Updated: Jun 30, 2021 09:50AM • Subscribe via RSS • ATOM

Lake County Forest Preserves Leads in Net-Zero Building

Jun 30, 2021

As stewards of healthy landscapes and proponents of climate resiliency, officials at the Lake County Forest Preserves outside of Chicago altered their Capital Improvement Plan to prioritize and accelerate current net-zero building goals and lead the way for others to do the same.

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SWALCO recycling bin in the Hawthorn Mall lounge

SWALCO Hosts Big Summer Clothing and More Clear-Out

Jun 30, 2021

The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) is providing new sites and collaborators participating in their clothing and textile collection program. Residents can find the closest location to drop off and donate new, gently used or worn items like shirts, pants, jeans, blankets, comforters, sheets, towels, table linens and more to be reused, repurposed or recycled/upcycled.

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Raspberry jam jars

Lawmakers Support Local Food and Sustainable Agriculture in Illinois

Jun 30, 2021 ● By Liz Moran Stelk

Legislation headed to Governor J.B. Pritzker’s desk will make Illinois more delicious, reduce food waste and improve local farmers’ bottom lines. Liz Moran Stelk of Illinois Stewardship Alliance reviews 2021 good food legislation.

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Turtles are Biodiversity Ambassadors

Jun 30, 2021 ● By Sheryl DeVore

Turtles have lived on Earth since the dinosaur era, some 60 million years ago. But today, these reptiles with hard shells and soft bodies need help, and they are getting it from groups throughout the Chicago region. Writer Sheryl DeVore talks with Chicago area experts about urban and suburban turtle conservation efforts in natural Illinois areas.

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Urban garden growing rows of vegetables, flowers and plants in raised beds

Growing Food Security: The Benefits of Urban Gardening

Jun 30, 2021 ● By Laura Paisley Beck

Urban and localized gardening can bring fresh, organic, healthy, sustainable and affordable food to nearly every household, creating a resilient food system.

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Natural Ways to Help Control Pests this Spring and Summer

May 28, 2021 ● By Rick Moskovitz

As spring arrives, so do the ants, and for many homeowners they are a nuisance. But the ants were here first and are part of a balanced ecosystem. We don’t have to kill them, just keep them outside. Instead of purchasing a toxic insecticide spray or trap, there are safer, more humane alternatives, says Rick Moskovitz of A-Plus Natural Solutions Worldwide, Inc, of Skokie.

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Male eastern bluebird at The Preserve at Oak Meadows Golf Course, in Addison

Humans Can Help Bluebirds Thrive

May 28, 2021 ● By Sheryl DeVore

Bluebirds are nesting in many manmade boxes all over the country, including in the Chicago region. Hundreds of volunteers in Chicago and the suburbs are tending to nest boxes set up to give these songbirds a place to raise their young. Writer Sheryl DeVore explores how Chicago area residents can help bluebirds to thrive.

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Eco-friendly, green traveler standing at rail stop looking down at smart phone traveling with sustainable items in backpack holding earth-friendly beverage container

Traveling for the Planet: Sustainable Ways to Explore the World

May 28, 2021 ● By Sandra Yeyati

How to be green when choosing hotels, modes of transportation, places to shop and dine, and other travel activities to make your tourism sustainable and eco-friendly.

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Monarch caterpillar on butterfly weed.

Saving the Monarchs ~ Community Scientists Provide Backyard Data for Field Museum Project

Apr 30, 2021 ● By Sheryl DeVore

The Field Museum, in Chicago, is leading the way in community science to better understand monarch butterfly programs. Chicago area residents can become natural area and backyard monarch monitors to help scientists with this key conservation work.

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Model wearing sustainable fashion clothing made from eco-friendly fabrics

Sustainably Stylish: Eco-Fashion that’s Kind to the Planet

Apr 30, 2021 ● By Kajsa Nickels

The “fast fashion” of cheap designer knock-offs is costly to the environment, but sustainable fabrics, resale shops, and creative mending can provide eco-friendly, stylish options.

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Canal Corridor Association Associate Director Erin Maze installs bicycles at the Iron Bridge Trailhead at the USDA Forest Service’s Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

Celebrate Earth Day with Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie

Apr 08, 2021

From bluebells to bicycles, silver anniversary celebrations and more, there are new, exciting ways to celebrate April 22, Earth Day 2021, with Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie including an expanded bicycle-share station, a new Spring Blossoms self-guided tour and a panel discussion.

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Tree Planting at Hope D. Wall School in Aurora

Chicago Region Trees Initiative Rebuilding Devastated Urban Forest

Mar 31, 2021

The Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI) is launching an effort to plant at least one tree in each of the 290 municipalities across the seven-county Chicago region and all 50 Chicago wards this year.

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Tan house with slanted tired blue roofs

Sustainability and Resiliency Meet in Eco-Homes of the Future

Mar 31, 2021 ● By Sue Markgraf

We know the climate is changing, says Nate Kipnis, and architects want to make sure we are designing sustainable homes that can withstand the current environment, and are also designed to manage future weather extremes.

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Filed of cotton

Sustainably Yours, Eco-Friendly Fashion is Here

Mar 31, 2021 ● By Brian Scott Lipton

The fashion industry’s devotion to creating environmentally conscious clothing is growing by leaps and bounds with new innovations being announced nearly on a daily basis. These developments all show that after years of so-called “fast fashion” ruling the market, disposable is out—and sustainable is in.

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Outside of the main enterance to Peggy Notebaert Nature Center

Chicago City Nature Challenge Inspires Discovery of Urban Wildlife

Mar 31, 2021 ● By Sheryl DeVore

The 2021 City Nature Challenge happens April 30 through May 3 in the Chicago region, and local residents can use iNaturalist to participate in the fun and family-friendly annual virtual event. Every species, including the most common, such as dandelions and squirrels, can be documented.

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