Glen Ellyn's Earth Day Festival at Lake Ellyn returns!

Earth Day Festival 2015 at Lake Ellyn

Announcing another great festival at the Boathouse.  Thanks to the lead role taken by the Glen Ellyn Park District, we are very excited to have a variety of business and nonprofit organizations (at least 15 of them) share their knowledge and enthusiasm with the community.

Here are a few details provided by the Park District:

Date:                     Wednesday, April 22^nd

Event Time:        7:00 PM to ~ 9:00 +/-

Set-up Time:      6:00 – 7:00 PM

Location:              Lake Ellyn Park in the Boathouse

Address:              645 Lenox Road, Glen Ellyn

This year we are going with a FOOD theme, but know that not everyone has this as a central mission. Therefore, we hope to highlight the ideas of locally sourced food, organic and sustainably grown food, vegetable gardens, composting, and edible landscaping.  We’ll also have information about smarter energy use, better indoor/outdoor lighting, the benefits of native plants, upcoming environmental events, the Glen Ellyn Saves Monarchs initiative, as well as giving away free oak saplings.  Something Different will be sharing their musical talents and the Naperville Astronomical Association will be setting up  telescopes for closer looks at our night sky (let’s hope for a clear night!).

Eco-Crazy April is under way

Welcome to Glen Ellyn's Earth Month.  The previous post summarizes a wide array of events for you to participate in meaningful environmental activities that support of your values for your family, the earth, and your community.  Facebook "likes" is not enough anymore.  April has traditionally been the time when we come out of out winter cocoons and renew our commitment.

Again, we are supporting the Glen Ellyn Park District in its unique and special Earth Day Festival at the Lake Ellyn Boat House on Wednesday, April 22nd.  This year will be different, and we urge you attend.

More politically-minded folks (honestly, that should be all of us) will be traveling to Springfield for a day of lobbying. It is considered to be an impactful and enjoyable way to engage our elected leadership, especially during this watershed year for energy policy. They enjoy receiving feedback from constituents.  Otherwise, there will be plenty of opportunities to be engaged this month.  For example, there will be several workshops on residential energy efficiency. Pick one and go!  We all need to "walk our talk" as we are able, and these workshops will be fun and engaging. Plenty of outdoor activities as well.  Stay tuned!

Current Eco Events Listing for DuPage County and beyond

April 21 (Naperville) - Introduction to Spring Plant Identification, by Pat Armstrong, at The Resiliency Institute

April 22 (Glen Ellyn) - Earth Day Festival at Lake Ellyn, with a food theme this year, Glen Ellyn Park District

April 22 (Springfield) - Earth Day Rally organized by Illinois Environmental Council - Also see Faith In Place page.

April 23 (Woodridge) - Earth Day Benefit dinner for the Conservation Foundation

April 23 (Glen Ellyn) - Save Energy and Money at Home, a new workshop offered by SCARCE.  You will learn something new at this workshop!

April 23 (Elmhurst) - Stormwater meeting, sponsored by Elmhurst Cool Cities and Elmhurst League of Women Voters

April 24 (USA) - Plant a tree on Arbor Day

April 25 (DuPage) - The Illinois Prairie Path and Great Western Trails cleanups.  The Sierra Club will handle a portion of the IPP in Glen Ellyn.

April 25 (Glen Ellyn) - Recycling Extravaganza in Glen Ellyn
and in other communities on various dates

April 25 (Downers Grove) - For the benefit of numerous groups, DuPage Human Race

April 25 (Wheaton) - Party for the Planet at Cosley Zoo

April 25 (West Chicago) - Illinois solar Energy Association sponsors a Legislative Solar Social

April 25 (Elgin) - Elgin Community College Sustainability Fair

April 30 (Naperville) - Green Infrastructure and Nature-Friendly Landscaping, a free workshop at Morton Arboretum, offered by the Conservation Foundation

May 2 (Naperville) - Come to a Permablitz and help plant fruit trees, organized by The Resiliency Institute  (note a date change may occur due to early arrival of trees - check with the Institute)

May 3 (Naperville) - Green Earth Fair at Green Earth Institute

May 2 and 3 (Lake Barrington) - Annual Native Plant, Shrub & Tree Sale, sponsored by Citizens for Conservation

May 6 (Springfield) - Solar lobby day, sponsored by ISEA

May 9 (Glen Ellyn) - Get Your Garden Growin' Green, an outdoor event at SCARCE

May 16 (West Chicago) - Blooming Fest

May 16 (DuPage) - Annual Conservation Foundation DuPage River Sweep

May 17 (Warrenville) - Sierra Club’s Party on the Farm fundraiser social with live music

June 13 (Aurora) - Aurora Greenfest

June 12-19 (various locations) - Bike to Work Week

Aug 10 (Naperville) - Veggie Fest

News items:

• The Naperville household hazardous waste facility moved to new location
• Glen Ellyn Park District natural area restoration projects and other green initiatives
•  Applications now being accepted for Governor's Sustainability Awards
• News about statewide clean energy issues, Illinois Environmental Council

Smart meters and renewable energy, oh my!

The Glen Ellyn Historical Society hosted a popular event this past Saturday about the history and future of electricity, presented by ComEd. After ComEd's excellent presentation about the benefits of smart meters and real-time pricing, interesting questions arose about the real time pricing options, electrical aggregation, and community-wide purchasing of clean energy based on wind power.

Although most homeowners realize smart meters are being rolled out, many do not understand the nuances of how electricity is purchased and delivered to residences.  It is also not clear that the most Glen Ellyn residents are aware that we are purchasing wind power through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) through the Village's electrical aggregation program. To be fair, this is not intuitive.  RECs are nevertheless considered by regulators to be valid way to buy wind power.  An excellent explanation is of how RECs work is published by the Elmhurst Cool Cities Coalition.