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 the Forest Preserves of Cook County:

Did you know the way we build can help us protect our water sources? Join the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District to learn about their green stormwater infrastructure projects and projects that are coming up with the Forest Preserves. These nature-based solutions are mitigating erosion, keeping pollutants out of our waterways, and reducing flooding.

Featuring:

• John Watson, PE, MSCE, CFM, Associate Civil Engineer, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District

RAFFLE PRIZE AVAILABLE: Members of the public and staff who attend will be entered in a raffle to win a clean-water prize.

Registration Required: Register at https://tinyurl.com/FPWaterConservation2. Deadline: 7/20.

Free Online Event from Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate:

More frequent intense rainstorms and flooding are among the devastating and costly impacts of the Chicago region’s changing climate. Like other effects, they hit communities of color hardest. Learn of the health concerns, from a personal and public health perspective, and hear about the local public-private partnerships and government efforts that provide relief and increase resilience.

Elena Grossman, Program Director, BRACE-Illinois, and Third Coast Disrupted scientist

N. Masani Landfair, Third Coast Disrupted Artist

Daniella Pereira, Vice President of Community Conservation, Openlands

Debra Shore, Commissioner, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Elena Grossman is the Program Director for the Building Resilience Against Climate Effects in Illinois (BRACE-Illinois) Project. BRACE-Illinois is a partnership between the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health and the Illinois Department of Public Health to help prepare Illinois for the health effects from climate change.

N. Masani Landfair takes materials considered undesirable and redefines their worth and meaning. She uses traditional collage and assemblage to create abstract social commentary, dream landscapes, and the spaces she faces daily. She grew up in heavily industrial South Chicago, greatly influenced by her southern grandparents, who shaped her views of beauty and worth in the simple to complex dilapidations and sacred understandings of nature.

Daniella Pereira serves on Openlands' executive leadership team to strategize and implement innovative solutions to address challenges facing nature and urban communities. Along with Healthy Schools Campaign, she co-manages Space to Grow, an ambitious $50+ million, multiyear public/private partnership to retrofit Chicago schoolyards inclusively, with school and community, to create health equity in neighborhoods and increase climate change adaptation.

Debra Shore has served on the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago since 2006. She was re-elected to a second term in 2012 and a third term in 2018. She has been a strong advocate for cleaning up the Chicago waterways and for resource recovery, including the reuse of treated water and the generation of biogas.

Registration link coming soon. Visit colum.edu/thirdcoast

This program is presented in conjunction with Third Coast Disrupted: Artists: Artists + Scientists on Climate Taking place at Columbia College Chicago's Glass Curtain Gallery. The exhibition is the culmination of a yearlong conversation between artists and scientists centered on climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago region. For more information about the exhibition and other programming go to colum.edu/thirdcoast to learn more about the artist and scientist collaboration visit ThirdCoastDisrupted.org.