Susan Messer

Susan Messer

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The Circular Economy: Part 1

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The Circular Economy: Part 1

Q: How has the past year—the pandemic year—affected your work and the work of those you partner with?

A: Growers and food companies that had been selling to restaurants had to go more to a retail model or not exist. After the lockdown began and Illinois was put under a shelter-in-place order, Plant Chicago helped farmers pivot toward online sales. And, despite the challenges, we re-launched the farmers market in Davis Square Park, opened our year-round marketplace, offered subsidized local food boxes, piloted a shared-use indoor victory garden, and began accepting food scraps for composting from neighbors. We store the food scraps on site for Urban Canopy to haul away. We’re just now transitioning back into working in person, and we interact with the public a lot, so we’re still masking and probably will be for a while.

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This Land Was Their Land: Forest Preserves Honor Native Americans

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This Land Was Their Land: Forest Preserves Honor Native Americans

Begin with this: Today, nearly 65,000 Native Americans, representing more than 100 tribal nations, live in Chicagoland—making this one of the largest urban Native American populations in the country.

Move on to this: I have lived in Chicagoland for over 30 years, and I only recently learned what I’ve just told you. For this new awareness, I credit the Cook County Forest Preserve Foundation’s October symposium, called “Racial Equity and Access to Nature.”

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The Mystery of the Five Oaks: Solved

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The Mystery of the Five Oaks: Solved

During the recent Wild Ones/Green Community Connections Native Tree & Shrub Sale, a customer ordered five species of oak tree. Valerie Kehoe, from the sale’s planning team, wondered why this person had ordered so many oak tree varieties. Curious minds wanted to know, and so I set off to find out.

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Art Speaks Louder Than Scientific Words

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Art Speaks Louder Than Scientific Words

In early September, I had the opportunity to speak with climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, advisor and kick-off speaker for Third Coast Disrupted: Artists + Scientists on Climate, an exhibition of newly commissioned artworks exploring climate change impacts and solutions in the Chicago area. In particular, we spoke about the challenges and rewards of communicating about global warming—sometimes described as global weirding, which is the title of her YouTube Digital Series. Dr. Hayhoe says that talking about climate change is the most important climate action we can take. How we talk about it, of course, is the key, and this became the focus of our conversation.

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'Austin Grown' Plows Ahead Despite Pandemic

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'Austin Grown' Plows Ahead Despite Pandemic

Following up on last year’s successful Austin Grown summer youth leadership program—but adding in a pandemic—proved . . . challenging. Last year, youth worked at BUILD Chicago’s Iris Farm and Peace Garden. They had their hands in the dirt. But during the first week of June, and with the program scheduled to begin on July 6, the word came in that all youth programs through After School Matters and One Summer Chicago (of which Austin Grown is a part) had to be 100% virtual.

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Black, White, and Green: Closing the 'Space Equity' Gap

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Black, White, and Green: Closing the 'Space Equity' Gap

Who We Expect to See Where and Doing What

Some of you might have already heard of Christian Cooper via the 2019 One Earth Film Festival screening of "Birders: The Central Park Effect." Far more of us had a first introduction to him via his disturbing encounter with a dog walker in Central Park on Memorial Day and the subsequent news reports.

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Treading Toward Equity: A Conversation with Ana Garcia Doyle

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Treading Toward Equity: A Conversation with Ana Garcia Doyle

"Those who have fewer resources often take the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution, but their voices and faces are now being heard and understood and seen. At long last, people are recognizing that the crucial focus of our environmental movement cannot be LED bulbs and recycling but breathable air and drinkable water. What we say about the environment must be placed in a context of justice, of anti-racism. The environmental movement in its best and broadest sense is about justice."

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Get Ready for Food Waste Awareness Week, Month, Year, Life. . .

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Get Ready for Food Waste Awareness Week, Month, Year, Life. . .

Picture the upcoming holiday season and all the laden tables that surround it. How can we become more mindful about food--buying only what we need, using what we buy, and avoiding food waste?

To address this question, the Village of Oak Park has proclaimed the week of November 3, 2019, Food Waste Awareness Week, rallying citizens, businesses, government agencies, and other organizations to become more environmentally responsible with regard to food.

Get Woke to Food Waste

Get Woke to Food Waste

"Just Eat It: A Food Waste Story" will screen at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at Oak Park Public Library, 834 Lake St., 2nd Floor Veterans' Room. This award-winning, compelling documentary tells the story of two people who, after learning about the billions of dollars of good food tossed each year in North America, pledged to quit grocery shopping and survive only on food that would otherwise be thrown away.

"Just Eat It" will be followed up by a Food Waste Workshop at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, also at Oak Park Public Library, where an impressive panel of professionals will share their knowledge about reducing food waste.