May 22nd Meeting Recap

This was our 5th meeting and it’s clear to all who attended that the smaller groups within Greener Grove are making an impact. The four Greener Grove subgroups are each making progress toward our common goal: making a difference in protecting, preserving and creating a more green community.

Each subgroup shared an update with the group at our meeting last Monday. In a nutshell, here’s what we learned:

• Community Activism - We plan to have a booth at the Farmer’s Market this summer to grow our ranks and begin engaging with the broader community. We will also have a presence at the Rotary Fest at some point between June 24 - 26.

• Political Partnerships - We’ve begun to work on a letter of introduction to our community leaders. We’re working with PDHA (Pierce Downers Heritage Alliance) to develop a plan to share input with our village council on their level of participation with the Greenest Region Compact.

• Projects - We’re looking at growing our membership and becoming a 501c3 organization. Go Green Illinois is a broader group that we will be allying ourselves with. We discussed ideas for fundraisers. GG members attended a District 58 Strategic Planning Meeting and reported on the district’s sustainability plans.

• Communication - Greener Grove will be using the app, Discord, to stay connected with one another and share information. Each subgroup has a space to connect as well as the broader group.

We spent the majority of the meeting getting familiar with Discord on our phones. We must’ve looked funny sitting on our phones, communicating that way while sitting next to one another! But there’s a purpose in it: Since our next meeting won’t be until July 17th, we will keep the conversation alive about sustainability in Downers Grove through discord. We explored all the specific ways we can do that on this app, from posting photos and articles to using zoom-like meeting rooms. including sharing pics of our pets. We hope that all active Greener Grove members will join discord and stay engaged together.

We closed our meeting taking up a donation for St. Andrew’s, who so generously has shared the beautiful 3rd floor meeting room with us.

Find out more about our May 22nd meeting; view the presentation.

4 Ways to Take Action Now: Upcoming Events and Opportunities

1. Take Our Survey - We have lots of ideas about how to create a greener community. What do you think we should focus on first? Take our brief survey

2. Participate in No Mow May - Take a pause from mowing your lawn in May to provide a habitat for early pollinators. Westmont and other suburbs are embracing this movement as well - let’s join in the fun! Learn more on the Xerces Society’s No Mow May website

3. Join in the DuPage River Sweep - Saturday, May 20, 2023 - This annual county-wide stream cleanup is held each spring to encourage volunteer groups to help “sweep our rivers clean” by picking up debris in and along local waterways. Learn more about the event here and join our Greener Grove River Sweep team by sending an email to info@greenergrove.org.

4. Join Us for Greener Grove’s Next Meeting- Monday, May 22, 2023 at 7pm - Meet others in our community who are re-imagining a greener Downers Grove. Invite your friends, too! St. Andrews Episcopal Church, located in Downers Grove at 1125 Franklin, 3rd Floor.

April 24th Meeting Recap

Greener Grove held its first meeting in January and has hit the ground running! In the past several months we've:

• Connected with a growing circle of friends, neighbors, and other organizations in Downers Grove who are committed to the idea that we can all make a difference in protecting, preserving and creating a more green community.

• Reached out to candidates in the April 4th election to ask about green initiatives they would put in place if elected and shared their responses with our community.

• Launched the Greener Grove website as a community hub for keeping folks up to date on local initiatives, events, and resources to tap into and take action on as we all reimagine a greener future for Downers Grove.

Greener Grove is organized into four subgroups - members can participate in one or several! The subgroups are:

• Community Activism - Engages with our community through tangible actions. Coordinates the ongoing activities of the group. These actions further our group's goals and mission.

• Communications - Promotes the work of the group to raise awareness and participation.

• Political Partnerships - Steers the group’s efforts to collaborate with community leaders. Monitors the ongoing political activities within the community and manages our voice to enact sustainable environmental action.

• Projects - Drives the regular selection of directives taken on by the group. These larger projects, taking a year or more, are selected by the full group to represent the interests of the membership. These initiatives and activities are driven by our goals to achieve a “Greener Grove”.

View the slides from our April 24th meeting here.