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Taking Action for the Environment

Greener Grove meets once a month to discuss projects that are in the works and learn about new opportunities to make change. Check this page and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up-to-date on ways you can get involved.

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Many groups and entities around DuPage County and the greater Chicagoland area are working to advance sustainability goals in their local towns; we can all learn from each other about what resources are available and which strategies have proved the most effective! At the October meeting, Greener Grove heard from five local environmental leaders who are making a difference in their communities through an informative and fascinating panel discussion.


October 22 Panel Discussion at the Downers Grove Public Library: Pictured, from left to right, Michelle Libby, Cathy Clarkin, Jacquelyn Casazza, Fernando Arriola, Jason Michnick, Cynthia Klein-Banai


Greener Grove member, Michelle Libby, moderated the Q&A session, which featured: Fernando Arriola with Naperville Environment & Sustainability Task Force (NEST); Jacquelyn Casazza, President and Co-founder of Go Green

Glen Ellyn; Cathy Clarkin, Co-founder and Executive Director of Accelerate Climate Solutions; Cynthia Klein-Banai of Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN); and Downers Grove’s own Jason Michnick, the village’s Environmental Sustainability Coordinator.



During the session, each panelist had the opportunity to describe: whether they had a sustainability plan in place or plans for one; the biggest successes or changes they had been able to implement; challenges or barriers they had faced in achieving their goals; and their aspirations for the future of their groups 10 years or more from now. Just a few of the inspiring accomplishments described by each panelist: 

  • OPCAN successfully worked with their village to pursue a climate action plan. “Climate-Ready Oak Park” was adopted in 2022 as a comprehensive and long-range plan developed in response to the global climate crisis.

  • NEST’s advocacy resulted in the Naperville City Council voting down the review of a proposal for contract renewal with IMEA (Illinois Municipal Electric Agency), which currently provides Naperville’s electricity primarily from dirty coal sources. 

  • Go Green Glen Ellyn established a partnership with the Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce to reduce waste at the Taste of Glen Ellyn, shifting this large community event from no cans being recycled to now recycling hundreds of pounds of aluminum and all beverage containers are now plastic-free.

  • With less than one year logged so far in his role, Jason Michnick is working on Downers Grove’s first sustainability plan and collaborating with village staff across departments on strategies to reduce the town’s environmental impact. A first draft of the plan was presented just this week at Downers Grove’s Environmental Concerns Commission meeting. 

  • Through Accelerate Climate Solutions’ BLAST program (Building Leadership Around Sustainable Transformation), high school students enter a competition and are paired with mentors to develop solutions to environmental problems. Several of the winning ideas have been implemented so far, ranging from a successfully passed state bill for students to receive climate education, to a native seeds library. 


Some of the common barriers discussed that these peer organizations have encountered:

  • Achieving consistent volunteer participation and regular meeting turnout

  • Building their group’s name recognition in the community and spreading the word more widely about victories

  • Focusing in on opportunities where the group can have the most impact when there are many potential avenues for environmental action

  • Navigating the learning curve about villages’ budgeting and planning processes to understand where/when our input can best be integrated

  • A lack of local champions in the village council or town leadership to partner with green groups and help drive initiatives forward

  • Identifying and pursuing fundraising opportunities.

Greener Grove member, Michelle Libby, did a wonderful job facilitating the discussion with our panelists


The leaders shared several creative and innovative programs they had implemented to reach more people in their communities, including:

  • OPCAN’s Climate Coaches program offers free 30-minute consultations with residents to help people get off fossil fuels. They also provide lawn signs with a check-off where residents can indicate the sustainable home practices they have adopted!

  • Go Green Glen Ellyn started SportSwap, an event through which residents can give and get gently used sports equipment, helping to keep it out of the landfill and be reused by another family. Some of the gathered equipment is also donated to youth athletes in other countries. 

  • OPCAN hosts an “EV show” where people can view electric vehicles and an electrified home tour. 

  • Go Green Glen Ellyn participated in “OAKtober” events such as story time in the library to teach kids about trees and joined in a fun “OAKtoberfest” event that also featured School of Rock, a local brewery, and family-friendly activities—drawing 370 people to learn about nature and environmental protection. 


You can learn more about each of the groups highlighted during the discussion here: 

Accelerate Climate Solutions - Creating a sustainable future and supporting the next generation of environmental leaders through thoughtful partnerships and engaging youth programming. We are helping adopt climate solutions within our communities and providing locally tailored solutions for the Aurora/Naperville region that will drive meaningful change and contribute to a healthier planet.

Go Green Glen Ellyn - A community environmental organization and 501(c)(3) with a mission to make it easier for residents and businesses in Glen Ellyn to be greener through education, advocacy, and action.

Naperville Environment & Sustainability Task Force (NEST) - A group of Naperville residents working together for clean energy in Naperville and a recognized Task Force of the City of Naperville. Their scope of work includes educating Naperville citizens about environmental issues and their impact, and informing city staff and politicians about what environmental actions they can take to improve the quality of life in Naperville.

Oak Park Climate Action Network (OPCAN) – A volunteer group of Oak Park residents working to eliminate our community’s contribution to the global climate crisis through equitable policies and practices. 

Village of Downers Grove and Environmental Sustainability - The Village is the process of creating an Environmental Sustainability Plan to guide decisions related to environmental issues, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and lessen community impact on the environment.

Greener Grove - A group of residents working to inspire and move the Downers Grove community toward a more environmentally sustainable and climate-friendly future through action, education and advocacy.


Greener Grove Board member Carol Richart shares upcoming action items and events.


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Feeling anxious about ecological concerns can be very isolating when you’re feeling it on your own, because how can the actions of one person really make a difference? Greener Grove brings like-minded people together to take collective and effective action towards a more sustainable future, starting at home, in our town.




Community outreach is a big part of our mission, and so we began to look into ways to educate and talk with more residents of Downers Grove. The DG Farmers Market (Downtown Garden Market) operates every Saturday morning, from the end of May through the middle of October. It’s well attended by the community and many market-goers don’t mind stopping for a chat, if you’ve got the right enticements.  


Greener Grove Farmers Market Booth: Market-goers test their knowledge of native trees by identifying a variety of leaves.


     Vendors reserve and pay a fee for their spot at the market, but non-profits are allowed three free booth “appearances” per season.  Greener Grove was able to take advantage of having five free booths over the past two seasons, and according to our Communications Committee, the Market has been a main provider of new members for our organization: 95 people subscribed to receive our emails through our market efforts. It is of the utmost importance for us to gain subscribers because our emails often contain important and time-sensitive action items for residents to promote sustainability initiatives within the village. 


     Preparing the booth entails obtaining a tent  (which SCARCE generously loans us) tables, plus several chairs. The materials we bring include information about Greener Grove, with QR codes for quick access to our website and email signup.

Other materials are mentioned below.



Our strategies for drawing folks in are:


  1.  Having a craft ready for kids, so that, while they are busy with the art activity,  booth staffers can engage with parents, persuading them to look at our website

 and sign up to receive our emails.  The craft has been administered by teen

 Greener Grovers, and in the spirit of Zero Waste, they have used the artwork to decorate the tent.  


Craft taught kids about decomposers like mushrooms and worms which help improve our soil. We used their drawings to decorate our booth.

  1.  Having a display focusing on one of our Focus Issues (composting, chem-free lawn care, tree planting & protection, etc.). To create interest in the particular issue, we’ve

    used a model compost bin (Thanks again, SCARCE), a quiz (tree identification), and assorted materials along with websites & other resources.


For this market booth, we focused on composting with a hands-on demonstration.


     We are always looking for new strategies for the booth, hoping to get ideas from the general membership of how we can best connect with and reach more people in our community.  Have ideas or want to take a turn at staffing the booth…proudly being “the face of Greener Grove”  at the DG Market? Reach out to Carol at: info@greenergrove.org.



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Julie Ruffolo delivers an engaging presentation at September Greener Grove Meeting

Conversations around green DIY household cleaners often start with questions like “Why should I make my own household cleaners?”, “Are DIY cleaners any good? I like things really clean.” and “Don’t you have to use special ingredients?” 

Greener Grove member Julie Ruffolo addressed these questions and others at our September meeting. We concluded the night with mixing up a natural scouring scrub to use on sinks and tubs using easy-to-find (and often on hand) ingredients. 


Why Make Your Own Natural Cleaners


Many of the store-bought cleaners have ingredients that go above and beyond what is needed for tackling everyday cleaning projects at home. And, given their ingredient list, have an impact on…  


  • Health - The individual chemicals used in cleaning products often have health risks. For example, many come with warnings to only use the product in well-ventilated spaces. Or, include detailed safety measures to follow if, for example, the product splashes on unprotected skin. Long term, we are all exposed to chemicals from an array of sources. Scientists are even finding that chemicals are with us from the beginning: According to an article in The Guardian, toxic PFAS chemicals are found in umbilical cord blood samples which can lead to health challenges throughout life. Converting to DIY cleaning products is one way to reduce in-home chemical use. 

   

  • Environment - Many cleaning products eventually make it down the drain or into the soil - for example, when we empty a bucket of soapy water used to wash the kitchen floor. Using natural ingredients like lemons, baking soda, and white vinegar to clean is much kinder to the environment. To learn more about wastewater treatment in Downers Grove, visit the Downers Grove Sanitary District website or attend one of their open houses.  


  • Indoor Air Quality - Artificial scents used to make our home “smell” clean and mask chemical smells can lower indoor air quality - and be harmful to people with asthma and allergies. 


  • Cost - Cleaning supplies are expensive compared to the DIY alternative


Check the environmental score of the cleaning products in your utility closet on the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website


Common Ingredients in DIY Household Cleaners


Many of the key ingredients used in DIY household cleaning recipes come straight from your pantry or fruit bowl; others can be found online or at most grocery stores…



Here’s how these ingredients work on different stains (see recipes further down in this post):


Other cleaning products/supplies to have on hand include:

  • Spray bottles for holding your DIY liquid cleaners

  • Wide mouth jars with tight-fitting lids for holding DIY cleaning powders

  • Cotton rags

  • Cellulose sponges

  • Squeegee (great for wiping down shower walls after each shower)


DIY Recipes


Here are several common recipes for everyday cleaning projects to try in your own home:  


Acid Cleaners

Lemon Juice

Club Soda

Vinegar

Use on Rust

Soap Scum

Water Spots

Basic Cleaners Soap Baking Soda

Borax

Washing Soda

Use on Body Oil

Food Stains

General Dirt & Grime



Cleaning Projects that Call for Something Stronger


Many of the DIY recipes work best on everyday cleaning tasks. Staying on top of cleaning projects before they become big ones helps to minimize the need for stronger solutions. When that is unavoidable or the stain/issue is beyond what a DIY product can do, spend a few minutes researching more green options. For example, check out these sites



Follow us on Facebook, too, to learn about member experiences with different products - and share your own. 


We’ve shared some great links in this article. Here are a couple of others to check out - Toxic Free Future and Allergy Buyers Club.


Take Action - Clean Up Your Utility Closet


So, to green up your household cleaning chores, give some of these DIY recipes a go. Take it a step further by surveying all the cleaning products you use, including laundry and dishwasher detergents. Look at the ingredient list and the packaging - even those pods and laundry sheets contain plastics. Can you replace the cleaning products you currently use with more environmentally-kind, human-friendly solutions?


Join us at our next meeting on October 22nd:



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Community Education

This summer, find us at the Downers Grove farmers market to talk environmental change, meet like-minded neighbors, and participate in fun nature-focused children's programming, such as crafts, story time, or sing-alongs.

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