EVENTS
March 11-13: FamilyFarmed EXPO
You won't want to miss this year's Local Food Festival! There will be celebrity chef demos, be fun and engaging workshops about local food, urban agriculture, growing your own food and even raising chickens in your backyard. You can also meet farmers, sign up for a CSA and learn how to eat local year-round. Round out your day by checking out the Kids' Corner, Local Food Court and EXPO bookstore. Ticket prices start at $15.
March 27: Earth Hour Illinois 2010 – A Global Event on Climate Change
In the largest call to action on climate change in history, Illinoisans will join millions around the world in turning off their lights for one hour – Earth Hour – on Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 p.m. Last year, more than 80 million people in 300 U.S. cities and nearly a billion people around the world participated in Earth Hour. Lights dimmed on iconic global structures including the Willis Tower in Chicago, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Sydney’s Opera House, the Great Pyramids of Giza, and New York’s Empire State Building.
This year, the World Wildlife Fund is expanding its U.S. campaign beyond flagship cities to encourage all 50 states to participate in Earth Hour. In Illinois, ComEd returns as presenting sponsor of Earth Hour Illinois.
Earth Hour 2010: How to Participate
- Register your business, school, organization or individual participation at www.EarthHourUS.org
- Become a fan of the Illinois Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EarthHourIL and become a Twitter follower at http://twitter.com/EarthHourIL
- Turn off your lights from 8:30-9:30 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 27
- During that hour replace your old light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs
- Commit to reducing your energy consumption in the year ahead
Turn out. Take Action. Earth Hour 2010. Visit EarthHourUS.org to join the movement.
Now through April 16: Tweet Home Chicago: Bird House Design + Build Competition
The City of Chicago and its partners invite you to participate in an exciting bird house design and build competition: Tweet Home Chicago. We are hosting the competition as part of our on-going effort to raise awareness about the importance of birds and bird-friendly habitat in Chicago in a tangible and fun way.
Chicago is a great city for birds and over 80 native species of birds nest here. Two hundred more use our city as a resting stop on migration every spring and fall, finding vital protection and food in the city’s parks, river ways, lakeshore, school grounds, street trees, and backyards. Birds are an important part of our urban ecology --controlling insect populations and other pests, pollinating flowers, and bringing nature into people’s lives.
Professional designers, carpenters, and artists, along with students and novices are encouraged to design and build a house for one of the eight species in the competition and be inspired by the bird-friendly habitat that exists throughout Chicago.
The Tweet Home Chicago panel of judges will include esteemed professionals from the design, art, and conservation communities. Prizes will be awarded to top placements in both the Adult and Youth categories.
Many of the bird houses will be displayed at high-profile public venues, installed near Chicago Park District field houses, and/or auctioned to raise money for bird conservation efforts in the city.
Several partners have donated their time and expertise for the launch of Tweet Home Chicago:
- Chicago Park District
- Audubon Chicago Region
- Bird Conservation Network
- Chicago Public Schools
- Friends of the Chicago River
- Nature House, Inc.
- ReBuilding Exchange
- Thirst and Moving Design
- UrbanLab
- U.S. Green Building Council
Please register by April 16, 2010 at the following link: surveymonkey.com/s/tweethomechicagoregistration.
Click here for more information, and please contact us with your questions at birds@cityofchicago.org.
Happy designing and building!
April 27-28: Calumet Summit 2010
Calumet Summit 2010: A Call to Connect
April 27 -28, 2010
Purdue University Calumet, Hammond, Indiana
The summit is free of charge.
Registration is open.
A great deal of environmental, ecological, conservation and sustainability-oriented work is happening in the Calumet region of northwest Indiana, Chicago, and Chicago’s south suburbs. This summit will provide cross-regional collaboration on various levels. Stakeholders need opportunities to learn about, connect with, and partner with others working on environmental issues, projects, plans, and programs throughout the region. Each person and organization also needs to evaluate how their work connects to the broader regional context and to build partnerships that maximize effectiveness and broaden impacts.
Anyone interested in the environment of the Calumet region is welcome. The Summit will emphasize the region’s multi-layered connections – connections between people, places, the past and future, and research and on-the-ground action. The Summit’s goal is to familiarize attendees with the wealth and breadth of projects related to sustainability and the environment in the bi-state region and to increase collaboration among people and organizations working in the region.
REGISTRATION
Registration is required. To obtain a registration form, please contact Jerry Attere of WRD Environmental at jerry.attere@cityofchicago.org or 312-744-9136.
April 30: Register Now for the Third Annual Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit!
Registration for the Third Annual Chicagoland Green Collar Jobs Summit is now open. Take a minute and register today for the premier Midwestern event on the emerging field of green collar jobs, which will take place on Friday, April 30, 2010 at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Again this year, we will provide a dynamic, day-long event featuring speakers, panel presentations and exhibitors discussing the development of our green collar economy. We are proud to announce that Dr. Raquel Pinderhughes from San Francisco State University, discussing her green curriculum development, and Melissa Bradley-Burns from Green For All, talking about the Green Capital Access program, are both confirmed keynote speakers. As always, be sure to visit our website at www.greencollarchicago.org for the latest updates on speakers and agenda items.
Is your organization looking for a meaningful way to contribute? We are actively seeking potential sponsors for our summit. If you or your organization are interested in this opportunity, please contact Kindy Kruller (312-554-0900 x28).
May 22-23: Green Festival
Nation’s Largest Green Consumer Living Event Returns to Chicago with Sustainable Solutions and Eco-Conscious Options
May 22 & 23, 2010
Green Festival, the original green consumer living event, will return to Chicago for an energetic weekend of eco-innovations that will invigorate the community with a vision of a cleaner, more efficient future for American businesses, homes, and lifestyles. Chicago will host the fourth Green Festival from the historic Navy Pier on May 22 and 23.
The Chicago Green Festival will provide eco-insight into the transitioning economy, growing consumer consciousness and evolving environmental policy with over 125 visionary speakers, 350 local and national green businesses, and dozens of community and nonprofit groups. All exhibitors must meet strict standards set by Green America, guaranteeing the highest level of social and environmental responsibility in all participating organizations. Every element of each business is thoroughly vetted to ensure authentic sustainability.
For more information about Green Festival, visit www.greenfestivals.org.
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