Green Corps
Green Workshop Series to Begin Monday
Dear Neighbor:
What can you do to help save the planet and live a more environmentally conscious and sustainable life?
I am pleased to announce a unique series of workshops--"Why Green Matters Here"--that will help answer that question. Beginning Monday, February 18th, 6:30 p.m., at the Loyola Park Fieldhouse, 1230 W. Greenleaf, 2nd Floor, and continuing for the next six Monday evenings, members of the 49th Ward Green Corps and I will show you how together we can make the 49th Ward a more sustainable and livable community.
We kick off the series on Monday, February 18th with "An Urgent Call: Local Actions for Global Solutions," a workshop that examines how our daily activities affect the global environment. Presented by Pam and Lan Richart, co-directors of the Eco-Justice Collaborative, the workshop will explore what our neighborhood might look like in the future if we adopt more environmentally sustainable practices, both individually and as a community.
To obtain a complete schedule of the "Why Green Matters Here" workshops, scroll down to the bottom of this letter or download a poster for the series here:
Why_Green_Matters_Here_2008.pdf (114 KB)
Please feel welcome to post it in your building, at the businesses you frequent, at your place of worship, etc.
Leading the workshop series will be members of the 49th Ward Green Corps Leadership Circle. This is a group of environmental leaders who reside in the community or have long ties to our neighborhood and who have volunteered their time to give direction, provide expertise, and support the work of the Green Corps Action Team. I simply can't thank them enough for their hard work and commitment to our community.
Supporting this workshop series will be many members of the 49th Ward Green Corps Action Team. These are residents like yourself who have taken the time to engage in environmental stewardship training provided by the City of Chicago's Department of the Environment Conservation Corps and who have banded together to work on making the 49th Ward a more sustainable and livable community. They'll be providing demonstrations throughout the workshop series on things like how to install a rain barrel at your home, how to compost in your apartment, how to weatherize your home and how to make your own earth-friendly cleaning products for just pennies.
Come meet these wonderful neighbors, and join the movement to save our planet and improve our community. The workshops are free. We'll be raffling off prizes and giving away a few goodies.
The 49th Ward Green Corps and I wish to express our thanks to our sponsors, Whole Foods, Dominick's, and Greenmaker Supply who have helped us make this great series of events free to all.
I look forward to seeing you Monday, February 18th, and the following six Mondays at 6:30 p.m. at the Loyola Park Fieldhouse on the 2nd Floor.
Sincerely,
Joe Moore
WHY GREEN MATTERS HERE.
MONDAY NIGHTS at 6:30 PM
Loyola Park Fieldhouse 2nd Floor
1230 W. Greenleaf at the Lake
FREE ADMISSION - GIVEAWAYS & RAFFLES!
Presented by Alderman Joe Moore's
49th Ward Green Corps Leadership Circle Members
Feb 18 An Urgent Call: Local Actions for Global Solutions
What is the link between our daily actions and the environmental challenges we face as a world community? What might our future look like locally if we stay the course? Learn why your actions and the choices that you make today CAN make a difference, and how you can join your friends and neighbors to make the 49th Ward a more sustainable community!
Presented by Pam and Lan Richart, Co-Directors, Eco-Justice Collaborative
Feb 25 Rain Water, Lake Water, Bioswales & Native Plants
Do you know what the most irrigated crop is in America? Is Lake Michigan now at its lowest level in recorded history? Learn what is happening in our community and what you can do to help.
Co-Presented by Bill Eyring of the Center for Neighborhood Technology, Debra Shore, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner and Ann Whelan, founder of the Loyola Park Beach Dune Restoration Project.
Mar 3 Green Parenting 101
Lifestyle options and consumer choices for parents and other family members with an emphasis on baby and child health and on reducing impact on the planet.
Presented by Manda Aufochs Gillespie, new parent and author of "The Green Mama Blog" and RogersParkParents.com.
Mar 10 Recycling & Composting
Learn how to recycle and compost in your home, whether you live in an apartment, a single family home or a large building. Learn where the City of Chicago is heading with recycling and what you can do to make sure your recyclable materials don't end up in a dump!
Co-Presented by Rae Mindock, engineer and Primary Consultant for the Chicago Multi-Unit Recycling Study Project; Betsy Vandercook, President of the Chicago Recycling Coalition and Chief of Staff to Alderman Joe Moore and Mike Erickson, 49th Ward Streets & Sanitation Superintendent.
Mar 17 Simple Things You Can Do to Green Your Home
Save money and go green! Affordable do-it-yourself ways to green your home and an introduction to the products available for homeowners and renters alike.
Co-Presented by Green Corps Action Team member Dane Watkins and Claudia Regojo, owner of Greenmaker Supply.
Mar 24 Food Choices for Healthy Bodies and a Healthy Planet
From organic gardening on our back porches and in our gardens, to community supported agriculture and the impact of our choices. Come learn and share.
Moderated by Katy Hogan, owner of the Heartland Café, and featuring leaders in Community Supported Agriculture, Fair Trade practices and organics.
Mar 31 You Care. Do Something. We'll Help.
Alderman Joe Moore's 49th Ward Green Corps and The City of Chicago Conservation Corps (C3) Program offer ways for you to learn more, put your passions into practice, make friends and make an impact in your community. Come learn what your neighbors are launching locally and how you can get involved supporting those actions or launching your own action team project.
Presented by the 49th Ward Green Corps Action Team
WORKSHOP SERIES SPONSORED BY:
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/ 
http://www.dominicks.com/
http://www.greenmakersupply.com/
Becoming more sustainable, one neighbor at a time.
Join the Action Team!
In the summer of 2007, Alderman Joe Moore, a long-time environmental advocate, formed the 49th Ward Green Corps. Alderman Moore recognized that our community is home to many environmental leaders and activists and that if we could tap into their expertise and couple it with the energy of willing volunteers, we could make the 49th Ward one of the most sustainable communities in the nation.
The members of the 49th Ward Green Corps Leadership Circle have volunteered their time to present a workshop series in February and March 2007.
Download a Poster here: Why_Green_Matters_Here_2008.pdf (114 KB)
They also provide guidance and expertise to the members of our Action Team.
Action Team members have been meeting almost weekly since September 2007. They have been trained on issues of conservation and community organizing and are now planning a great number of community actions. They already distributed and installed compact fluorescent lightbulbs for residents of a senior housing apartment, helping save the seniors money and saving energy. Their planned individual and group projects include:
- Planning community swaps to encourage local reuse of goods.
- Developing a training video to help multi-unit building dwellers learn simple ways to green their homes.
- Coordinating a community art project based upon found "trash" to raise awareness of the things we commonly toss away.
- Organizing a teen business club to engage young people in entrepreneurship training based in sound sustainable practices.
- Encouraging Green Roof installations visible from the Red Line el.
- Working with the Center for Neighborhood Technology to bring more bioswales and native gardens to our community.
- Distributing reusable shopping bags to discourage the use of plastics.
- Working with the Latino community to bring greater awareness of how green practices are important not only to the environment but to individual health and to our pocketbooks.
- Organizing multi-unit condominiums to work with their waste haulers to create true single stream recycling programs in their buildings so recyclable materials don't end up in the dump.
- Establishing "Green Committees" in condomium buildings to develop ongoing sustainable practices.
There is a lot going on! These are just a few of the exciting adventures we have in the works. Come join us and be part of the solution. Can you imagine a project you would like to start if you just had a few friends and some resources to help you make it happen? Come join the fun. For information on membership, please contact us at ward49@cityofchicago.org.
BECOME A BOOSTER! Take the Sustainable_Pledge.pdf (137 KB). Sign the pledge and invite a friend, family member or neighbor to do the same. Drop your pledges off at our Ward Service Office at 7356 N. Greenview and receive a free Booster Button for each of your pledges.
Becoming More Sustainable One Neighbor At A Time.
Environmental accomplishments
Global warming is the most pressing issue of our day. Joe Moore has a long record of environmental accomplishments and continues to fight for the future of our planet.
Below you will find a sampling of these accomplishments.
If you have an interest in joining the 49th Ward Green Corps, to look at and implement ways to make the 49th Ward a model community, please contact us. You'll join local activists and city leaders committed to positive environmental change.
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Recycling
49th Ward Streets & Sanitation Yard
6441 N. Ravenswood
7 Days a Week ~ During Daylight Hours
Joe Moore has worked for many years with the Chicago Recycling Coalition and other environmental organizations to urge the City of Chicago to provide households with responsible, effective recycling. This means eliminating the failed "blue bag" program and replacing it with clean, source-separated recycling.
We are on our way to accomplishing that goal! This spring the city began to implement a new "blue cart" program, where recycling, yard trimmings, and waste are all collected by separate trucks. Joe has pledged to keep up the pressure on City Hall to make sure that this program is expanded citywide as quickly as possible.
Until that happens, we urge you to take your recycling to the new Rogers Park drop-off recycling center at 6441 N. Ravenswood. We have been assured by the Chicago Recycling Coalition that the materials collected there are truly recycled. We have also learned that our local drop-off site already collects the most materials of any of the city's 15 new centers! Let's continue to show City Hall how much we care about conserving resources and helping the planet!
WHAT TO RECYCLE
Containers: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #7 (All containers should be emptied and rinsed clean.)
- Aluminum & Steel Cans, Tins, Trays & Foil
- Milk & Juice Cartons
- Milk & Juice Jugs (#2 clear plastic resin)
- Glass Bottles and Jars - (clear, brown, green) No window glass, dinnerware or ceramics.
- Pop, Water, & Flavored Beverage Bottles (#1 clear and green plastic resin)
- Detergent & Fabric Softener Containers (#2 colored plastic resin)
- PVC Narrow Neck Containers (#3 plastic resin) & Plastic Resin Narrow Neck Containers
- Grocery Containers, such as six and twelve pack rings & margarine tubs (#4 plastic resin)
- Grocery Containers, such as yogurt cups, and narrow neck syrup & ketchup bottles (#5 plastic resin)
- Plastic Buckets, such as kitty litter containers (5 gallon size maximum) No metal handles.
Paper Fiber
- Newspaper, including inserts (remove plastic sleeves)
- Cardboard (no waxed cardboard)
- Kraft Bags (brown paper bags), Magazines, Catalogs and Telephone Books
- Office, Computer, Notebook & Gift Wrap Paper (no metal clips, spirals, binders)
- Chipboard (cereal, cake & food mix boxes, gift boxes, shoe boxes, etc.)
- Carrier Stock (soda & beer can carrying cases)
- Junk Mail & Envelopes (no plastic cards, stick on labels or unused stamps)
- Paper Back Books (no hard cover books)
DROP OFF RECYCLING LOCATION
49th Ward Streets & Sanitation Yard
6441 N. Ravenswood
7 Days a Week ~ During Daylight Hours
Download the flyer below to keep a list of these recyclable items close at hand.
SOURCE-SEPARATED RECYCLING
(Replace the Blue Bag Program)
Order Requiring the Department of Streets and Sanitation to Implement a City-Wide Residential Source-Separated Recycling Program - Sposored by Joe Moore and supported by the Chicago Recycling Coalition, this Order would phase out the failed Blue Bag Program by 2009. (14 KB)
Helpful Links:
Blue Carts Program Information
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Local Environmental Successes
Joe Moore has worked hard for the environment in many ways. Here are just a few. Joe Moore...
Worked to add new parkland to the 49th Ward including the Gale Campus Park, Triangle Park, the Harold Washington Playlot and now the expansion of Hartigan Park at Albion and the lake.
Brought a new community center to Gale Park, currently under construction, which will have a green roof and other energy efficient design elements.
Holds public meetings on any proposed development affected by the Lakefront Protection Ordinance and recently blocked a high rise development proposal on Sheridan Road that was opposed by the community and by the 49th Ward Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee.
Demarcated public and private beaches to stop private encroachment on public beaches.
Worked with Loyola University to ensure their latest campus addition would be a LEED Certified building.
Supported the efforts of Ann Whelan and Alderman Moore's 49th Ward Parks and Beaches Advisory Committee to set aside an area of Loyola Park beach at the Farwell pier for the protection of native plants and species as a first step towards restoration.
Extended and marked bike routes in the ward including those on Howard Street and on Kenmore Avenue.
Brought bicycle racks to transit stations and other locations in the 49th Ward.
Will protect our lakefront against any proposed extension of Lake Shore Drive, harbors, marinas or high rise developments.
Was instrumental in bringing the Center for Neighborhood Technology's I-GO Car Sharing program to the 49th Ward and helping it expand, making the 49th Ward one of the most successful I-GO communities.
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I-GO Car Sharing
We've all heard the phrase "Think Globally, Act Locally" applied to caring for our environment. We have a new way to do just that here in the 49th Ward. The not-for-profit I-Go Car Sharing Program keeps adding vehicles to its fleet and 49th Ward residents are taking advantage of the convenient, economic and eco-conscious alternative to vehicle ownership.
I-GO worked closely with 49th Ward Alderman Joe Moore and the Gateway Centre management team to find the right location for its first Rogers Park car. At the ribbon cutting ceremony Alderman Moore explained, "I-GO helps free people from the yoke of car ownership. And placing a car at the Gateway Centre, just steps from the second busiest transit stop in the entire CTA system, means that I-GO members can have even easier access to an I-GO car."
I-GO has since added a second vehicle at Gateway Centre and worked with Alderman Moore to identify three additional locations in the ward.
• 7138 N. Sheridan (Citgo) - Honda Civic Hybrid
• 1215 W. Albion (Loyola) - Honda Civic Sedan and a Honda Fit
• 1806 W. Greenleaf (Greenleaf Art Center) - 5-door Honda Element
• 7531 N. Clark (Gateway) - Honda Civic Sedan and a 5-door Scion xB
• 7531 N. Clark (Gateway) - 5-door Scion xB
I-GO rents fuel efficient, low emissions vehicles to its members in 30 minute increments for only $6 an hour and 50 cents a mile. Other plans and special discounts are available. Insurance, maintenance and even gas are included in the rental fee. Members can reserve an I-GO car online or on the phone just minutes or days before they need a car. Members use I-GO cars on average between three and four times a month to do their grocery shopping, look for work, go to doctor appointments and for other errands and recreation.
• Every I-GO Car Sharing car replaces 17 privately owned cars.
• These five cars will take 80 cars off of the streets of the 49th Ward, freeing up parking spaces and reducing congestion.
• 677,000 VMT's (Vehicle Miles Traveled) will be saved in the coming year in the 49th Ward.
• 197 metric tons of carbon will be saved in the coming year in the 49th Ward.
• 46% of members report selling or postponing purchase of a car.
A few statistics since the first car was launched in March, 2005 (updated Dec. 2006):
• Total number of I-GO members in the 49th Ward: 130
• Total number of trips taken: 2388
• Total number of reservation hours: 9854
• Total number of miles driven: 33,908
To learn more, call the 49th Ward Service Office at 773.338.5796 or visit www.iGoCars.org.
Ald. Joe Moore cuts the ribbon on the 49th Ward's first I-GO site, located at Gateway Centre, Howard and Clark Streets. Joining Moore (Left-Right) are Karen Shavers, staff assistant to Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin; Sandi Price, Director of Operations for Dev Corp North; Sharon Feigon, I-GO CEO; and Cory Born, Property Manager for Gateway Centre.
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