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News and Event Highlights
Chicago Wilderness news, events, and announcements.
 Browse or search environmental events and programs sponsored by Chicago Wilderness member organizations.
photo: Jim Nachel |
Leave No Child Inside
National Get Outdoors Day, June 14 June is “Great Outdoors Month” and Father’s Day weekend is a perfect opportunity to celebrate! Go on a day trip or weekend camping adventure and enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, or a natural scavenger hunt. Or, families can volunteer together to collect or plant seeds, remove invasive species, or clean up trails and waterways. For more information on National Get Outdoors Day, visit http://www.getoutdoorsusa.org. Great American Backyard Campout, June 28 The National Wildlife Federation Great American Backyard Campout provides an opportunity for everyone to relive -- or to experience for the first time -- how much fun it is to spend a night sleeping under the stars and enjoying the sounds of nature at night. Camping is a wonderful way for family and friends to spend quality, electronics-free time together and explore the beauty of our local natural areas. For suggestions on where to camp, visit Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine at www.chicagowildernessmag.org/issues/summer2004/camping.html. Nature Rubbings The natural world is alive with colors and textures! Enjoy an afternoon of natural crafting with your children. Simply place a piece of recycled paper over bark, rocks, leaves, or other objects and gently rub a colored pencil or crayon over the object to create beautiful artwork. Experiment with different textures and colors. Children will enjoy the hunt (and digging!) for objects as much if not more than the art and you can also make a game out of finding a certain type of object. Create a nature scrapbook to display the wonderful creations! For more family activity ideas, visit www.greenhour.org/content/activity/detail/3658. (Posted 05/09/2008)
Call for Volunteers! Chicago Folk & Roots Festival, Saturday, July 12 & Sunday, July 13, 12:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Chicago
Chicago WILDERNESS Magazine will have an exhibitor booth at the Old Town School of Folk Music’s annual summer festival in Welles Park in Lincoln Square, Chicago. We need volunteers to help take shifts at the booth to help promote the magazine and share information about the great work of organizations and volunteers in the region. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Mich Mohney, CW Communication Coordinator, at michelle.mohney@chicagowilderness.org or 708-688-8829. More information on the event will be available at www.oldtownschool.org/festival. (Posted 05/09/2008)
The American Birding Association Honors Mayor Daley
The American Birding Association (ABA), the largest organization in the country devoted to the combined activities of field birding, bird conservation, and birder education, has announced that Mayor Richard M. Daley is this year’s recipient of the prestigious Chandler Robbins Education and Conservation Award. The award recognizes outstanding efforts in bird conservation, birder education, or in the management/preservation of habitats on which birds and birding depends. Mayor Daley is being recognized for his innovative and far-reaching agenda designed to create and promote a bird-friendly environment. His leadership has resulted in the creation and maintenance of habitats for birds, reduced hazards to birds, and the management of nuisance species. The mayor will receive the award at the Association’s annual convention, which is being held at Snowbird, Utah in June. (Posted 05/09/2008)
Go To 2040 Plan
The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) is requesting feedback on its GO TO 2040 plan, a long-range vision for metropolitan Chicago through the year 2040. The plan will affect the northeastern Illinois region, including Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties. Building on the shared values of the region, the plan will identify policies, strategies, and investments for northeastern Illinois’ regional transportation system, development patterns, natural environment, economic development, housing, and social systems such as human services. With its GO TO 2040 plan and campaign, CMAP wants people across northeastern Illinois -- including decision makers in the public and private sectors -- to think like residents of the future and weigh in on what they value most about their communities and the region and what changes should be made by the year 2040 and beyond. Visit http://www.goto2040.org/about.aspx to take a survey and view the plan vision statements and planning brochure. (Posted 05/09/2008)
Climate Change: What's Your Impact?
Inevitably, in going about our daily lives – commuting, sheltering our families, eating – each of us contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change. Yet, there are many things each of us – as individuals – can do to reduce emissions. The choices we make in our homes, our travel, the food we eat, and what we buy and throw away can help ensure a stable climate for future generations. Use The Nature Conservancy's online carbon footprint calculator to measure your – or your household's – climate impact. The calculator will estimate how many tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases your choices create each year. Visit http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/. (Posted 05/09/2008)
"The Mike Nowak Show" debuts on WCPT 820-AM, Sundays, 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.
Chicago's most popular radio host on gardening, landscaping and all things horticultural, Mike Nowak, is moving to a new home at WCPT 820. For over a decade, Mike hosted "Let's Talk Gardening" on WGN (720-AM).
Mike Nowak is a Master Gardener, and a certified Treekeeper from the Openlands Project. Mike is very involved with conservation, the environment and recycling issues and is the co-founder of the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association. For more information, visit www.wcpt820.com/programming/mikenowak.html.
(Posted 05/09/2008)
Events
Home Tweet Home, May 10, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m., Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Chicago Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day with the Chicago Park District and get a bird’s eye view of birds migrating to their spring homes. Guests can learn all about our feathered friends, meet live birds of prey, play games and make a bird craft to take home. Chicago’s lakefront is a key habitat for bird conservation and has been designated an Important Bird Areas (IBA) by the National Audubon Society. Nearly eight million migratory birds take respite in the dunes, wetlands, woodlands, savannas, prairies, and lagoons along the lakefront. For more information, visit http://www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/events.detail/object_id/e5a5a96c-705a-40b2-8e30-c75a62bbd617/instance_object_id/447ddf4c-ca9a-4d8b-9387-663be74f280d/park/104111FC-B720-4D02-9A20-5BE33757C46E.cfm. Green Fest, May 17 and 18, Navy Pier, Chicago A “party with a purpose,” Green Festival showcases more than 350 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco-friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. Guests will also enjoy speaking events and panel discussions with more than 150 visionary speakers as well as how-to workshops, green films, a fair trade pavilion, yoga and movement classes, kids’ zone, delicious organic beer, wine and cuisine, and live music. Stop by the Green Media exhibitor area and say hello to staff and volunteers of Chicago Wilderness! For more information, visit www.greenfestivals.org. Religion and Science with Marilynne Robinson & Jonathan Rosen, May 22, 6:30 p.m., Newberry Library, Chicago Will climate change transform the way we think about God? Is there a Biblical notion of stewardship? If so, do Jews and Christians interpret it in the same way? Join distinguished novelists and critics Marilynne Robinson and Jonathan Rosen for a conversation about creation, Darwinism, and the reconciliation of science and religion. Marilyn Robinson’s books include the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Gilead, Housekeeping, and The Death of Adam: Essays on Modern Thought. Jonathan Rosen is the author of The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature. The event is sponsored by Nextbook; tickets are $8. For more information, visit http://nextbook.org/localprograms/eventdetail.html?id=251&market=Chicago. Voices of the Land June 1, 1:30 p.m., Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe June 22, 1:00 p.m., Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago Joel Greenberg has collaborated with musicians and storytellers Tom and Chris Kastle to present the material in his new book Of Prairie, Woods, and Water: Two Centuries of Chicago Nature Writing through music, art, and readings. The show, supported by the Illinois Humanities Council, tells the story of how the plants and animals of the Chicago region have changed over two centuries, and how people’s attitude towards nature has also evolved. For more information visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/pr/classes/press_releases/free_lectures.php and http://www.lpzoo.org/events/voices.html World Environment Day, June 5, Chicago Botanic Garden, Glencoe, IL The Chicago Botanic Garden has been chosen by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) as the sole North American host for World Environment Day 2008. At the Garden and at venues around the world, events will highlight resources and initiatives that promote low carbon economies and lifestyles, such as improved energy efficiency, alternative energy sources, forest conservation and eco-friendly consumption. The Chicago Botanic Garden will feature a “Knowledge and Action” marketplace where organizations including nonprofit, academic, student, government, cultural, and environmental will demonstrate the many ways that individuals, businesses, and governmental bodies can help reduce their carbon footprint. For more information, visit http://www.chicagobotanic.org/calendar/environment.php and http://www.unep.org/wed/2008/english/Around_the_World/NorthAmerica.asp. Natural Lawn Care for Homeowners, June 7, 10:30 a.m., Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago Want to transition to natural lawn care, but not sure where to start or if it even works? Steve Pincuspy with the Safer Pest Control Project, will introduce you to the basic principles of natural lawn care and why natural lawns are better for your health, the environment and the yard itself. Learn the necessary steps to successfully transition from a chemically-intensive yard to a healthy, safe and vibrant lawn. Space is limited and registration is required by May 30. Please call (773)755-5191, Ext 1 or email RSVP@naturemuseum.org. Hull-House Kitchen: Re-thinking Soup, Every Tuesday, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Jane Addams Hull-House Museum, Chicago
Hull-House Kitchen: Rethinking Soup is a communal event where guests will eat free, delicious, healthy soup and have fresh, organic conversation about urgent social, cultural, economic and environmental food issues. The weekly gathering will take place in the historic Residents' Dining Hall, where Upton Sinclair, Ida B. Wells, W.E.B.Duboise, Gertrude Stein and other important social reformers met to share meals and ideas, debate one another and conspire to change the world.
Activists, farmers, doctors, economists, artists, and guest chefs will join us each week to present their ideas and projects. In the tradition of the Hull-House Settlement's commitment to free speech and Chicago's Bug House Square, the third tuesday of every month will feature a "Soup Soap Box." Anyone and everyone is invited to take the stage for 2 minutes each to share their projects, opinions, and visions for the future of food.
The soup for the kitchen is generously provided by Everyone Eats. The bread is provided by Bleeding Heart Bakery. For more information, visit www.uic.edu/jaddams/hull/Events/kitchen. (Posted 05/09/2008)
Cycling
Bike to Work Week, June 7-13 Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, in cooperation with the City of Chicago, celebrates Bike to Work Week June 7 to 13. Only 7 to 10 percent of bicyclists are regular commuters! Bike to Work Week gives bicycle commuters and non-commuters alike the chance to learn more about traveling by bicycle. For more information, visit http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=44_0_8_0. The following links will help you navigate your way to work and enjoy recreational cycling with your family. Chicago Bike Map Illinois State Bike Map Northwest Indiana Regional Trail Map Wisconsin Local Bicycle Map and Route Information Michigan Regional Bike Maps Illinois’ Ride for the Environment: Rolling on the River, August 16, Kendall County Bring your friends and family for a fun-filled day of cycling the scenic Fox River valley roads – course options include 15, 25, 45, 62 & 100 mile routes. The event benefits the Illinois Environmental Council Education Fund, Illinois Stewardship Alliance, and the Prairie Rivers Network. After the ride, cyclists and their family and friends will be treated to a hearty meal, music, roundtable talks on environmental topics, an environmental expo and other family-friendly outdoor activities. For more information and to register, visit www.rollingriverride.org. (Posted 05/09/2008)
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