From One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest:
'Back from the Future' is the theme for this year's Awards Celebration. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Global Awards Celebration, where you can meet these young filmmakers in person or online and see their extraordinary films.

• Film details soon

• Doors open 11 a.m. for check-in/registration

• Program begins promptly at 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

• Program ends 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time

• Free popcorn

• Free beverage

Since 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has awarded over 100 prizes to short environmental films from youth age 25 down to 3rd grade. A jury of 31 environmental and film professionals selected the final, top films from among 400 submissions around the world in this first year as a global, rather than national contest. Each film is 1 to 8 minutes long and ranges from animation to live action to documentary.

Free registration for in person event.

Free registration for virtual event.

Free registration for Asia/Pacific virtual event.

From West Cook Wild Ones

Explore the ecological and aesthetic advantages of hedges and hedgerows in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “The Beauty and Benefits of Hedgerows” with Heather McCargo, founder of Wild Seed Project.

Native hedgerows are diverse plantings of woody plants from shrubs to small trees along with herbaceous groundcovers at their base.  Learn how these low-maintenance and sustainable plantings of shrubs, trees, and groundcovers can enhance biodiversity, provide critical habitats for wildlife, and contribute to climate resilience. Discover practical tips for designing and implementing hedgerows in various landscapes, from farms to urban settings, and understand their role in supporting pollinators, birds, and soil health. 

From Congregations Fighting Hunger

Baked goods and refreshments served!

Sunday, September 8th, 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Come Join us at our community congregational gardens where we grow fresh produce to help support our local food pantries. Ask us about our volunteer opportunities for supporting local food pantries.

Join our scavenger hunt and find cool vegies across the gardens.

Hope to see you there!

Garden Locations

Oak Park Temple B’nai Abraham Zion

1235 N. Harlem, Oak Park, IL

Temple Har Zion

1040 N. Harlem, River Forest, IL

Ascension- St. Edmund Parish

188 S. Oak Park Ave, IL/815 S. East, Oak Park, IL

From West Cook Wild Ones

Explore how native plants can enhance biodiversity and support ecosystems in our upcoming Wild Ones national webinar, “Combating the Biodiversity Crisis with Native Plants” featuring Sarah Gray and Coralie Palmer from the Indiana Native Plant Society.

Native plants are essential for maintaining biodiversity as they provide food and shelter for a wide range of wildlife, including pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects. By incorporating native plants into your landscape, you can create a thriving ecosystem that supports local fauna and flora. These plants are well-adapted to local environmental conditions, making them more resilient to climate change and reducing the need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Attendees will learn how native plants can improve soil health, enhance water retention, and contribute to a more sustainable and vibrant ecosystem.

From West Cook Wild Ones

Please join West Cook Wild Ones on Zoom for "Gardening for Hummingbirds" with Pam Karlson, artist, garden designer and educator on Sunday, August 18, 2024 at 2:30 pm (Central Time).

One of the summer’s delights is visits from Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. Learn about these special guests and how to attract them to gardens during their warm season residency. This presentation features Pam’s Ruby-throated Hummingbird photos taken in the Chicago bird garden she created. Migration, plant selection, eco-friendly gardening practices, nesting, supplemental feeding, and community science will be discussed. 

From Forest Preserves of Cook County

Discover the Impact of Our Choices—Join the Nature Book Club!

Are you curious about the ethical and environmental implications of our food choices? Dive into Jonathan Safran Foer’s provocative book, Eating Animals, and explore these crucial themes with fellow nature enthusiasts. Join us for a lively discussion at Trailside Museum of this book, about consuming meat vs. vegetarianism in the modern world. Ages 18 & up. On August 15th at 7:00 PM (CST).

From One Earth Collective:

Help support One Earth all year round. Sign up today ($45 or more) to receive your bingo card, plus a membership to One Earth Film Festival. Encourage friends and family to join the fun. Each completed bingo card will be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. Just take a picture of your completed card and send it to natasha@oneearthcollective.org. Be sure to share your pic on social media; the person with the highest number of hashtag uses will win an extra special prize.

Click here to purchase your card

Campaign ends July 31st 2024

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held on Wednesdays in the later half of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

In Silent Earth: Averting the Insect Apocalypse award-winning entomologist and conservationist Dave Goulson, drawing on thirty years of research, examines the evidence of an alarming drop in insect numbers around the world, which could cause an ecological disaster. The book ends with practical advice and actions to avert the insect apocalypse.

REGISTER HERE

Please join OPA for an eye-opening discussion with "We're all Plastic People Now" screening at Sulzer Regional Library!

Date: Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Time: 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Location: Sulzer Regional Library, 4455 N. Lincoln Avenue. Chicago, IL 60625

Introduced by actor and environmentalist Ted Danson, the documentary film We're All Plastic People Now investigates the hidden story of plastic and its effects on human health.

From One Earth Collective:

Help support One Earth all year round. Sign up today ($45 or more) to receive your bingo card, plus a membership to One Earth Film Festival. Encourage friends and family to join the fun. Each completed bingo card will be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. Just take a picture of your completed card and send it to natasha@oneearthcollective.org. Be sure to share your pic on social media; the person with the highest number of hashtag uses will win an extra special prize.

Click here to purchase your card

Campaign ends July 31st 2024

The second-annual Trashion Revolution: Awaken is a community activation event and fundraiser for 501(c)3 Triveni Institute, using fashion as a medium to raise awareness of our climate and plastic pollution crises. Through a cross-community scope of action, we bring together the worlds of fashion, politics, nonprofits, for-profit companies, the LGBTQ+ community and people of diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Our events are truly “fashion for a cause”: a way to discuss difficult topics and inspire action in a fun atmosphere that provides much-needed levity.

From One Earth Local:

"Farming While Black” is a feature-length documentary film which examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.

GET FREE TICKETS HERE

From One Earth Collective:

Help support One Earth all year round. Sign up today ($45 or more) to receive your bingo card, plus a membership to One Earth Film Festival. Encourage friends and family to join the fun. Each completed bingo card will be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. Just take a picture of your completed card and send it to natasha@oneearthcollective.org. Be sure to share your pic on social media; the person with the highest number of hashtag uses will win an extra special prize.

Click here to purchase your card

Campaign ends July 31st 2024

From One Earth Collective:

Help support One Earth all year round. Sign up today ($45 or more) to receive your bingo card, plus a membership to One Earth Film Festival. Encourage friends and family to join the fun. Each completed bingo card will be entered into a drawing for fabulous prizes. Just take a picture of your completed card and send it to natasha@oneearthcollective.org. Be sure to share your pic on social media; the person with the highest number of hashtag uses will win an extra special prize.

Click here to purchase your card

Campaign ends July 31st 2024

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held on Wednesdays in the later half of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

In The Overstory by Richard Powers, an air force loadmaster in the Vietnam War is shot out of the sky, then saved by falling into a banyan. An artist inherits a hundred years of photographic portraits, all of the same doomed American chestnut. A hard-partying undergraduate in the late 1980s electrocutes herself, dies, and is sent back to life by creatures of air and light. A hearing-and speech-impaired scientist discovers that trees are communicating with one another. These four, and five other strangers—each summoned in different ways by trees—are brought together in a last and violent stand to save the continent's few remaining acres of virgin forest.

REGISTER HERE

From One Earth Local:

Climate Ready Community Outreach to Oak Park (COOP)  is an outreach and education project around the Village of Oak Park’s Climate Ready Oak Park sustainability plan (approved in August 2022), bringing diverse community groups together to promote the plan to Oak Park’s 55,000 residents. 

One Earth Local gathered COOP organizations together in October 2022 and pushes out quarterly communications tied to the Climate Ready Oak Park plan and organizes outreach events, such as the Oak Park Tree Stroll each April and October. 

COOP is a place where community activists can collaborate and communicate on projects such as a community-wide Earth Month celebration in April 2023. COOP members post their events on One Earth's calendar and have a google group, as well as monthly meetings.

If you would like your Oak Park community based organization to be a part of COOP, please contact:
laurie@oneearthcollective.org

Join us for this Earth Month Community Kickoff event for all ages and learn about a wide variety of community sustainability groups and opportunities right here in Oak Park.

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held the last Wednesday of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

Islands of Abandonment: nature rebounding in the post-human landscape by Cal Flyn explores the places where nature is flourishing in our absence. Flyn visits the eeriest and most desolate places on Earth that due to war, disaster, disease, or economic decay, have been abandoned by humans. What she finds every time is an "island" of teeming new life: nature has rushed in to fill the void faster and more thoroughly than even the most hopeful projections of scientists. The book is a tour through these new ecosystems, in all their glory, as sites of unexpected environmental significance, where the natural world has reasserted its wild power and promise.

Register here: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-club-islands-abandonment-60941

From One Earth Local:

Climate Ready Community Outreach to Oak Park (COOP)  is an outreach and education project around the Village of Oak Park’s Climate Ready Oak Park sustainability plan (approved in August 2022), bringing diverse community groups together to promote the plan to Oak Park’s 55,000 residents. 

One Earth Local gathered COOP organizations together in October 2022 and pushes out quarterly communications tied to the Climate Ready Oak Park plan and organizes outreach events, such as the Oak Park Tree Stroll each April and October. 

COOP is a place where community activists can collaborate and communicate on projects such as a community-wide Earth Month celebration in April 2023. COOP members post their events on One Earth's calendar and have a google group, as well as monthly meetings.

If you would like your Oak Park community based organization to be a part of COOP, please contact:
laurie@oneearthcollective.org

Do you seek to understand the impacts of climate change on our community? Do you worry about your family's or community's health in the face of increased flooding, heat, air pollution, etc.?

We invite you to a free presentation on February 27 (6-7:30 pm via Zoom) "Climate Change on Chicago's Greater West Side: Floods, Air Pollution, Extreme Heat & More." 

Our presenter is University of Michigan-based climatologist, Omar Gates, who will help us understand how climate change is already impacting us, how it will impact us in the future, and how we can adapt to our new reality.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER HERE: bit.ly/gws-climatechange

From Oak Park Public Library:

Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature in the Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Group, held the last Wednesday of the month every other month beginning in January 2024.

The Nature Fix: why Nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative by Florence Williams is an investigation into the restorative benefits of nature. The book draws on cutting-edge research and the author's explorations with international nature therapy programs to examine the relationship between nature and human cognition, mood, and creativity.

Register here: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-club-islands-abandonment-60941

From One Earth Local:

Climate Ready Community Outreach to Oak Park (COOP)  is an outreach and education project around the Village of Oak Park’s Climate Ready Oak Park sustainability plan (approved in August 2022), bringing diverse community groups together to promote the plan to Oak Park’s 55,000 residents. 

One Earth Local gathered COOP organizations together in October 2022 and pushes out quarterly communications tied to the Climate Ready Oak Park plan and organizes outreach events, such as the Oak Park Tree Stroll each April and October. 

COOP is a place where community activists can collaborate and communicate on projects such as a community-wide Earth Month celebration in April 2023. COOP members post their events on One Earth's calendar and have a google group, as well as monthly meetings.

If you would like your Oak Park community based organization to be a part of COOP, please contact:
laurie@oneearthcollective.org

From One Earth Local:

Climate Ready Community Outreach to Oak Park (COOP)  is an outreach and education project around the Village of Oak Park’s Climate Ready Oak Park sustainability plan (approved in August 2022), bringing diverse community groups together to promote the plan to Oak Park’s 55,000 residents. 

One Earth Local gathered COOP organizations together in October 2022 and pushes out quarterly communications tied to the Climate Ready Oak Park plan and organizes outreach events, such as the Oak Park Tree Stroll each April and October. 

COOP is a place where community activists can collaborate and communicate on projects such as a community-wide Earth Month celebration in April 2023. COOP members post their events on One Earth's calendar and have a google group, as well as monthly meetings.

If you would like your Oak Park community based organization to be a part of COOP, please contact:
laurie@oneearthcollective.org

From Oak Park Public Library:

The Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Series will meet on the last Wednesdays from August through November to explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature. Register for any or all of the discussions in the series:

• August 30: We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer

• September 27: New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color edited by Nisi Shawl

• October 25: The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life by Johan Eklöf

• November 29: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Between this book's covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings.

Includes stories by Kathleen Alcala, Minsoo Kang, Anil Menon, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Alex Jennings, Alberto Yanez, Steven Barnes, Jaymee Goh, Karin Lowachee, E. Lily Yu, Andrea Hairston, Tobias Buckell, Hiromi Goto, Rebecca Roanhorse, Indrapramit Das, Chinelo Onwualu and Darcie Little Badger.

Register: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-discussion-series-how-beautiful-we-were-48567

From One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest:

On Saturday, Nov. 4, watch 6 short, One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest honorable mention films from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. CDT, take a half hour break, and then see 6 more films from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. CDT. We will hear from each filmmaker before their film screens.

Free tickets: https://contesthonmention1.eventbrite.com

Elementary School
1) “Lost But Not Forgotten (4 min)” by Scott Lee from Georgia.
2) “The Salt Solution (5 min)” by Hasan Muhammad from Illinois

Middle School
3) “Invasive Fish in the DesPlaines River (3 min)” by Andrew Thomas Older from Illinois
4) “A Reason for Hope (5 min)” by Mason Mirabile of Virginia

High School
5) “Voices of the Water (8 min)” by Jenny Kim Ha Vu from Virginia
6) “Expedition (3 min)” by Milo Smith, Matthew Wilson, Romeo Keyser from Michigan

From Oak Park Public Library:

The Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Series will meet on the last Wednesdays from August through November to explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature. Register for any or all of the discussions in the series:

• August 30: We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer

• September 27: New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color edited by Nisi Shawl

• October 25: The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life by Johan Eklöf

• November 29: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Between this book's covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings.

Includes stories by Kathleen Alcala, Minsoo Kang, Anil Menon, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Alex Jennings, Alberto Yanez, Steven Barnes, Jaymee Goh, Karin Lowachee, E. Lily Yu, Andrea Hairston, Tobias Buckell, Hiromi Goto, Rebecca Roanhorse, Indrapramit Das, Chinelo Onwualu and Darcie Little Badger.

Register: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-discussion-series-darkness-manifesto

From the Delta Institute:

BOOST (or "Building Opportunities for Original and Sustainable Thinking") is an annual event where you—the audience—vote for your favorite environmental changemakers to determine how we will award a total of $25,000 to all of this year's finalists!

With Delta Institute celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, we wanted to do something extra special for BOOST. For the first time ever, we have selected four all-star anniversary finalists from our cohort of past BOOST winners. This year's finalists include Chicago Eco House/Southside Blooms, Gardeneers, Lillian Augusta Hair, and Zumwalt Acres. Join us for food, drinks, and an inspiring evening promoting climate action!

Register here: https://delta-institute.org/event/boost-2023-a-special-anniversary-celebrating-sustainability-entrepreneurship/

From Oak Park Public Library:

The Earth Lounge Environmental Book Discussion Series will meet on the last Wednesdays from August through November to explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature. Register for any or all of the discussions in the series:

• August 30: We Are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer

• September 27: New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color edited by Nisi Shawl

• October 25: The Darkness Manifesto: On Light Pollution, Night Ecology, and the Ancient Rhythms That Sustain Life by Johan Eklöf

• November 29: How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Between this book's covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings.

Includes stories by Kathleen Alcala, Minsoo Kang, Anil Menon, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Alex Jennings, Alberto Yanez, Steven Barnes, Jaymee Goh, Karin Lowachee, E. Lily Yu, Andrea Hairston, Tobias Buckell, Hiromi Goto, Rebecca Roanhorse, Indrapramit Das, Chinelo Onwualu and Darcie Little Badger.

Register: https://oakpark.librarycalendar.com/event/earth-lounge-environmental-book-discussion-series-new-suns

From One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest:

The Earth needs a makeover and these young filmmakers will provide their tips on the best ways to improve the health of the planet. Adam Joel of Aggressively Compassionate will host the Global Contest Awards Celebration, where you can meet these young filmmakers in person or online and see their extraordinary films.

• Film details forthcoming

• Doors open 11 a.m. for check-in/registration

• Program begins promptly at 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time

• Program ends 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time

• Free popcorn

• Free beverage

Register in person: https://oneearthyfcawardsinperson.eventbrite.com

Register online: https://oneearthyfcawardsvirtual.eventbrite.com

Since 2013, the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest has awarded over 100 prizes to short environmental films from youth age 25 down to 3rd grade. A jury of 31 environmental and film professionals selected the final, top films from among 403 submissions around the world in this first year as a global, rather than national contest. Each film is 1 to 8 minutes long and ranges from animation to live action to documentary.

Thank you to our illustrious jury: Deborah Adelman, Felice Bassuk, Amy Brinkman, Kathleen Brennan, Laurie Casey, Hussain Currimbhoy, Lisa Daleiden-Brugman, Steve Cohen, Layla Dade, Mary Ford, Sophia Fowler, Monica Fox, Paula Froehle, Bill Gee, Jim Gill, Kathryn Hempel, Patrick Thomas Keen, Adrija Kundu, Angelo Lavel, William Kim Lyons, Jennifer Maiotti, Jonathan Moeller, Julie Moller, Elaine Petkovsek, James Rohn, Vicky Solano, Jessie Wahlers, Karen Weigert, Risé Sanders-Weir, Marc Wellin, and Gary Wilson.