August Meeting Recap: Sedges You Know & Sedges You Don’t

written by Irene Hogstrom

Andrew Hipp, PhD, Director of the Herbarium and Lead Scientist in Plant Systematics at the Morton Arboretum, enthusiastically educated attendees about sedges, a genus of plants he has been studying since 1995.

Native landscaping encourages us to expand our use of different genera of plants. Scanning a native plant catalogue, or attending a native plant sale, plants are typically listed in these categories: Trees and Shrubs, Forbs, and then Grasses and Sedges. The sedge plant family of Cyperaceae contains 5,000 species around the world. There are 2,000 different species of the genus Carex in the world–one of the largest of flowering genera–with about 150 different Carex species in the Chicago region. 

What exactly is a sedge?

Photo by Andrew Hipp of Carex pensylvanica, Penn Sedge, Morton Arboretum

Sedges appear to be grass-like, and Andrew pointed out these characteristics that are distinctive to sedges:

• Leaves are three-ranked along a stem

• Sheaths that hold the leaves to the stem are closed

• Flowers are small and not showy

The Carex genus sets itself apart from other sedge genera by the female flowers being enclosed in a sac-like structure called the perigynium.

Sedges can be very demure and have a height of 6 inches, or some species can reach heights of 3 feet. They are a very important part of the understory and provide important habitat and food for invertebrates, waterfowl and other wildlife.

Where do sedges grow?

Sedges can be found in a variety of habitats and moisture conditions within the Chicago region, including prairies, forests and woodlands, marsh edges, sedge meadows and other open wetlands, including these specific habitats:

• Mesic (moist) to wet prairies

• Calcareous (limestone) wet prairies, grading to fens (peat) 

• Dry prairies (calcareous)

• Dry prairies and sand barrens 

Often, the presence of specific sedges can help determine the type of habitat one is exploring.

Can I plant them in my yard?

Carex trichocarpa, photographed by Andrew Hipp at Governor Dodge State Park in Wisconsin, makes a great plant for rain gardens.

Of course! Sedges make a wonderful addition to any garden. The most common species that are easy to grow include Carex rosea and Carex radiata. Andrew recommends Carex trichocarpa as a very suitable sedge for rain gardens. Carex pensylvanica looks very grasslike and is sometimes used as a lawn replacement, however it does not tolerate heavy use like Kentucky bluegrass.

Learn More

There are plenty of opportunities to learn more about sedges. 

• Take advantage of local field visits and classes offered by the Morton Arboretum and other conservation organizations.

• Visit the Herbarium at the Morton Arboretum. Andrew will lead a tour (limit of 20 people) for Greener Grove on Wednesday evening, November 4. Look for upcoming details from Greener Grove. 

• Check out these suggested regional Field Guides:

Field Manual of Michigan Flora, by Edward G. Voss and Anton A. Reznicek

Field Guide to Wisconsin Sedges: An Introduction to the Genus Carex, by Andrew Hipp

Flora of the Chicago Region, by Gerould Wilhelm and Laura Rericha

Sedges of Indiana and the Adjacent States, by Paul E. Rothrock

• Visit the Global Cyperaceae Database online:

Cyperaceae.org 

Take Action

What You Can Do: 

• Increase habitat for wildlife by incorporating sedges in your home landscape. 

• Review the handout provided by Andrew for species that grow in various habitats that might be similar to your home environment (full sun, shade, dry or wet soils).

• Purchase sedges at local native plant sales or from local native plant nurseries. 

And remember, take only photos of sedges while visiting our local nature preserves.

July Meeting Recap: Sustainable Fashion

written by Arthur Laciak

Presenters Sarene Alsharif and Jodi Doyle at July 28, 2026 Greener Grove Meeting, Lincoln Center in Downers Grove

We have all heard of the major negative environmental impacts of fast fashion, but last month’s speakers provided us with helpful tips for all of us to dress more sustainably. Greener Grove welcomed Sarene Alsharif - the CEO and Co-Founder of Tad More Tailoring & Alterations and the Tad More Sustainability Institute - and Jodi Doyle - a wardrobe stylist and the founder of Uplevel Redesign. Sarene and Jodi shared their philosophies for slow fashion and inspired each of us to buy less, waste less, and wear more.

Participate in circular fashion

What most people do not know is that fast fashion is the second dirtiest industry, after the oil industry, accounting for 10% of emissions and 20% of water waste! And each of us consumes 17 credit cards worth of plastic annually, some coming from our clothing. However, we all are able to reduce this impact, because, frankly, we all wear clothes! Every day, we can make conscious decisions to reduce our environmental impact through the clothes we wear.

Through her work, Sarene advocates for a more circular economy by helping people repair, reuse, and value the clothing they already own while creating opportunities for the next generation of skilled makers. She shared some tips on how we can participate in this circular economy.

When you have the urge to go shopping, Sarene first tells us to “shop your closet.” Take an hour of your day to go through your closet as if you’re walking into a store. Mix and match items you already own to create new outfits. And once you find a new look you like, snap the fit and save it to a “Lookbook” folder on your phone, so when you are in need of an outfit, but don’t have the time or inspiration, review your “Lookbook” for one. If you find clothing that no longer fits your lifestyle or body, then restyle it! For example, turn a dress into a top.

And when you shop, ask yourself, “will I wear this at least 30 times?” If the answer is no, then better not buy the clothing. Remember, the most sustainable clothes are the ones in your closet.

Wake Up your Wardrobe

Jodi's core belief: style is a clarity problem, not a shopping problem. She helps people close the gap between who they are and what they're choosing to wear, by helping clients see the outfits already hiding in their closets, get dressed with clarity and intention, and show up with confidence every day.  She puts actions to her words - Jodi has not bought anything new in over 700 days, instead, relying on clothes already in her closet or buying second-hand.

First, Jodi tells us to recognize that shopping habits were not invented, but instead passed down from parents and grandparents. Second, a lot of shopping decisions are made because most people don’t know their own style. When someone truly learns their style, sustainability becomes the natural outcome — they buy less, waste less, and wear more of what they already love. Jodi advocates that we play in our closets, pause for a moment, and ask, “what is my closest trying to teach me?”

When you shop, ask yourself these questions:

• How does it make me FEEL?

• Do I LOVE it?

• Is it on my intentional shopping list?

• Do I NEED it?

• Does this make my upleveled style better?

• Would I pay full price for this?

• How many different ways can I style it? (shoot for 3)

• What would __________ do?

  
  

And if you can positively answer all of these, then go ahead and buy the item! Sustainable fashion does not mean to never buy anything. Instead, it challenges us to make more conscious decisions when we shop.

Learn More

To follow the work of Sarene and Jodi, visit:

• Tad More Tailoring & Alterations - https://tmtailor.com/ 

• Tad More Sustainability Institute, Serene’s nonprofit dedicated to workforce development, sustainable fashion education, and reducing textile waste - https://buylessclothes.org/

• Uplevel Redesign - https://www.uplevelredesign.com/ 

June Meeting Recap: Up Your Recycling Game

Greener Grove Member Amy Glawe, a chemical engineer and corporate sustainability professional, and Aleksandra Plewa, founder and CEO of EcoShip, explored the two main components of a circular economy: recycling and reuse, both aimed at reducing the amount of waste sent to landfills.

Presenters Amy Glawe (left) and Aleksandra Plewa (right)

As the Village adjusts to the new waste contract and bins, Amy and Aleksandra were able to provide some insight into a question that many of us have: what actually happens to those things you toss in your bins?

Why Recycle?

Okay, okay. Most of Greener Grove’s members might not need convincing, but Amy shared some striking statistics about recycling’s impact. Did you know that…

*For every one ton of paper recycled, we save 3 tons of trees and 7,000 gallons of water? That’s enough water to run a high efficiency washing machine 500 times!

For every one ton of plastic recycled, we save 16.3 barrels of oil and 5774 kWh of energy-enough to charge a Tesla 100 times! Almost 80% of glass recycled is actually reused to make new glass containers, tiles, flooring, landscape materials, countertops, bricks, or as an additive to pavement. *Aluminum and steel are some of the best things to recycle, as they can be reused infinitely without degrading the materials, unlike paper and plastic, which are degraded each time they are used and recycled.

What Makes Something Recyclable?

In order for an item to be considered recyclable, a system to capture and reuse it has to be in place. This system has to include a method to collect, sort, and reprocess it into raw materials, and, crucially, there must be an end market for those raw materials in order for reuse to occur. Items like paper can be recycled 5-7 times before the materials are too degraded to reuse, while items like aluminum cans can be recycled an infinite number of times without degrading the material.

Source: "What Makes Something Recyclable (Source: Amy Glawe's Presentation)" 

Recycling Guidelines

The collection and sortation process is crucial to get the things we put in our bins on the right path to reprocessing and reuse. We have a role to play in ensuring that what goes in our bins are actually recyclable and don’t contain contaminants. While instructions might vary by material, here are some general guidelines to follow:

• * Clean it. For things like pizza boxes, scrape off food, but oil residue is fine! For cans and bottles, give them a quick rinse. For cardboard boxes, don’t worry about ripping off labels and every bit of tape but feel free to pull off large/loose chunks.

• * Dry it. Make sure cans, bottles, and cardboard are dry before adding them to the bin.

• * Make sure everything that goes in the bin is larger than a credit card or 2 inch cube. Anything smaller than that is too small to be sorted.

• * NEVER put batteries in your recycling bin. These can explode and cause fires in the truck or in the processing facilities.

• * NEVER include plastic bags or other soft plastics like bubble wrap or mailers, as they create jams and damage machinery in recycling processing facilities. 

• * When in doubt, throw it out. One contaminated item can devalue an entire bale, and “wish-cycled” items will be pulled out and landfilled anyway-but may cause other items to be landfilled along with them!

  
  

For material-specific guidelines, see below.

Cardboard & Paper:

• *Remove bags or liners from food packaging. Soft plastics can be dropped off in grocery stores-see below!

• *Flatten boxes to make space for more recyclables.

• *Do recycle pizza boxes after removing food residue.

• *Remove staples and paper clips where possible, but don’t worry about perfection.

• *Don’t worry about removing tape from boxes or plastic windows from envelopes.

• *No tissue paper or embellished wrapping paper.

• *No paper towels and napkins-put these in your compost or organics cart!

• *Cartons for juice/milk/stock are recyclable in Downers Grove-empty, dry, and replace the cap!

Plastics

• *Downers Grove accepts all types of plastics except #6 (polystyrene, which is used to make styrofoams). 

• *Keep lids on bottles; they’re too small to recycle on their own.

• *Empty, rinse and dry all food and drink containers.

• *Make sure detergent containers are free of soapy residue.

• *No soft plastics, like plastic bags, bubble wrap, or plastic wrappers from food or packaging, as these can jam and damage machines used in sortation. These can be dropped off at store pickup locations instead! Find a local pickup location at https://plasticfilmrecycling.org/ 

• *Avoid putting black take-out food containers and other black plastic items into the bin-current sorting technologies cannot “read” these items on the conveyor belt.

Metals

• *Empty, rinse and dry food and beverage cans. 

• *Aluminum foil is recyclable as long as it’s not soiled by food-ball it up into pieces larger than a 2-inch cube and toss it in the bin!

• *Don’t include things that could be hazardous, like razors blades, needles, or sharps.

Glass

• *Keep lids on bottles, since they’re too small to recycle by themselves.

• *All colors of glass are acceptable!

• *Pyrex or other heat-resistant glass is not recyclable as it is a different formulation.

• *No broken glass… Safety first!

So Where Does it Go?

Once it’s collected curbside, recycled items are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).  Here, they are sorted by type, baled, and ultimately sent on to the end market where they will be processed and turned into something new! If you’re curious about what happens at a MRF, Amy shared this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUGWFPj4T-U&t=38s 

Items thrown into your organics cart (like that food you scraped off your pizza box before recycling it!) are taken to commercial compost facilities like the Willow Ranch facility in Romeoville or Theland Materials in Antioch. Be sure you follow the guidelines for acceptable materials. In Downers Grove, these are helpfully printed on the lid of the organics cart provided by LRS!

Source: Amy Glawe’s Presentation

The most common contaminant in organics bins are those tiny stickers on fruit-be sure you remove those before throwing peels in the bin!

What about at the State and Corporate Level?

While consumer recycling is an important component of waste reduction, the state and businesses have roles to play, too. Amy shared that Illinois currently has 5 Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws in place for mercury thermometers, electronics, paint, auto switches, and electronics. New bills have been introduced to expand legislation to paper and plastic products, ban polystyrene food containers, and establish minimum post-consumer recycled material requirements for all newly manufactured plastic items sold in the state.

Many companies are already setting their own goals for using recycled contents in their products, reducing plastics, or making their products recyclable or compostable. Recycled inputs, however, often cost more than virgin materials, presenting cost challenges to businesses. Recycled materials can also present efficiency challenges, especially when used in food products, as materials must meet FDA food contact regulations if going back into food packaging.

What about Hard to Recycle Items?

Some items just aren’t possible to recycle. Our speakers shared solutions for many of these, starting with EcoShip’s work to reduce waste and strengthen communities through reuse and circular economy initiatives. Aleksandra Plewa founded EcoShip in 2021 to solve two problems: reducing the amount of packaging and shipping material sent to landfill, and to provide these materials to small businesses at affordable prices. 

Since 2021, EcoShip has expanded significantly and now operates out of a 3000-foot space in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. They have expanded their items collected from packaging and shipping materials to include more than 60 hard-to or impossible-to recycle items! Materials are guaranteed to be reused by local businesses or partner nonprofit organizations.

Take Action: Recycling Resources

If you are holding onto items that can’t go into your recycling bin, one of the following resources shared by our speakers can likely tell you where to take it! Or, save the date for Greener Grove’s Recycling Extravaganza on September 19th, where a wide variety of hard-to-recycle items will be accepted.

Resources:

• Carton Recycling Locator

• Dart Container Corporation styrofoam recycling center

• Earth 911’s Recycling Database

• EcoShip

• How2Recycle: Learn about the recycling symbols on product labels

• NexTrex Plastic Film Recycling Locator

• Plastic Film Recycling Locator

• SCARCE

Help make Downers Grove a more sustainable community! Take the Village of Downers Grove Greener Way Pledge, and check out The Greener Way Guide here. The Greener  Way Guide has  200+ actions that residents can take; it also lists recycling resources and much more.