Madison Street has long been a street that does not meet the expectations of safety for walking and biking for Oak Park. The Oak Park Board of Trustees will meet December 8 to discuss a plan to invest TIF money to redesign Madison Street. Let’s take this opportunity to make a significant difference in the degree of biking and walking friendliness in our community. Please see the letter/petition to OP Village Board.
With Spring finally "sprung," and the last day of school soon approaching -- neighbors' minds and hearts turn to that annual homage to communal grilling, sidewalk chalk, water fights, and big-and-little-people tricycle races. The Block Party is a sacred thing in many places across the country -- not least in Oak Park and River Forest. Here, block party fun is serious business. And to some local citizens, greening their block parties is seriously cool and important business. The great news is that the villages of Oak Park and River Forest are both supporting GREEN BLOCK PARTIES this year! Why? Read on for the why's, who's, what's, and how's of green block parties.
Our Green Block Party Guide will give you everything you need to know in order to host your own Green Block Party! Click here for the complete article.
The Village’s fifth annual celebration of green living — Earth Fest — is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Sat., April 26, in the LEED® Gold-certified Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd. This year’s event will highlight green block party planning, eco-friendly businesses, local chefs and restaurants, games and activities for children, items for sale and entertainment. In addition, Recycle Alley is back by popular demand, with drop-off boxes for prescription glasses, hearing aids, rechargeable batteries, cell phones and old blue jeans. Start gathering your unwanted items now!The Village of Oak Park’s fifth annual celebration of green living — Earth Fest — is scheduled for 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Sat., April 26, in the LEED Gold-certified Public Works Center, 201 South Blvd. For more information on Earth Fest 2014, call 708.660.1443 or e-mail maria@ghexperts.com. Information also is posted online at www.oak-park.us/earthfest.
Along with celebrating the microbrews of the most skilled craft brew masters in the region, attendees can also celebrate sustainable living while sampling select food tastings that incorporate organic food from local farmers. And to make sure minimal event waste is sent to the landfill, this festival models Zero Waste best practices.
Ticket Options Include:TASTER’S CHOICE TICKET (3pm - 7pm)
This 4-hour pass includes: --Main event access to craft beer tasting from 3pm – 7pm Early Bird Rate: $40 (SOLD OUT) Standard Pre-Event Rate: $45 (while they last) At the Gate: $50 (If available)
CRAFTER’S CHOICE TICKET (2pm - 7pm) This 5-hour pass includes: --Main event access to craft beer tasting from 3pm – 7pm --(1) hour pre-event access to ICBG ReplicAle project beer tasting (see description below) from 2pm – 3pm Early Bird Rate: $45 (SOLD OUT) Standard Pre-Event rate: $55 (while they last) At the Gate: NOT AVAILABLE
MASTER’S CHOICE “VIP” TICKET (1pm - 7pm) This 6-hour pass includes: --Main event access to craft beer tasting from 3pm – 7pm --(1) hour pre-event access to ICBG ReplicAle project beer tasting (see description below) from 2pm – 3pm --(1) hour “VIP Reception” with specialty craft beer tastings not available any other time during the event paired with food tastings, 1pm – 2pm --Exclusive access to the VIP Tent for duration of the fest which will include hourly specialty food/beer pairings, 2pm – 7pm Early Bird Rate: $90/ticket (SOLD OUT) Standard Pre-Event rate: $100/ticket (while they last) At the Gate: NOT AVAILABLE
The Oak Park Environment & Energy Commission is presenting Green Awards in recognition and appreciation of specific deeds or actions that embody and advance the mission of the Village of Oak Park to work toward a sustainable and secure future. By celebrating these achievements, the EEC hopes to inspire more such ventures. Nominations for 2013 must be received by September 20, 2013. NOTE NEW DEADLINE - NOW EXTENDED! Get the nomination form here: 2013 Green Awards Form
Nominations may be submitted by anyone on behalf of any person, organization, group, or business. For questions contact Karen Rozmus at 708.358.5707 or e-mail rozmus@oak-park.us. Nominations for 2013 must be received by September 20, 2013.
2012 Green Awards Winners
1. Robert Morris University in recognition of its sensitivity to Oak Park’s sustainability goals in the development of Eyrie Restaurant.
2. Beye Elementary School in recognition of excellence in Zero Waste practices and 4th and 5th grade Green Ambassadors.
3. Sam and Phyllis Bowen in recognition of their creative use of space by building a vegetable and flower garden on the roof of their new garage.
4. Debbie Becker for leading the way to change the village ordinance to legalize beekeeping.
5. Jim Doyle & Ana Garcia Doyle in recognition of their commitment and tenacity in obtaining the first permit in Oak Park to install a greywater system.
6. Park District of Oak Park in recognition of excellence in the renovation of Taylor Park.
7. Cary-Laszewski Residence in recognition of being the first house built in Oak Park to obtain LEED Platinum status.
Please join friends and neighbors at one of 3 garden parties to learn more about The Sugar Beet Co-op! The Sugar Beet Co-op will be a full-service, member-owned grocery store in Oak Park that celebrates local, sustainably grown foods. They are deep into their membership drive and are eager to share their story with like-minded neighbors to gain support and gather opinions from the community. Co-founder Cheryl Muñoz will tell the inspiring story of this project and all of the ways in which a food co-op can benefit the health and well being of our community and beyond. Learn more at the Sugar Beet Co-op website at www.sugarbeetcoop.com
Where: Home of Estelle Carol, 323 S. East Ave, Oak ParkDates and times:
• Saturday, June 22, 1:30 to 3:30 pm
• Sunday, July 7, 2:30 to 4:30 pm
• Saturday, July 27, 3 to 5 pmFood: We will provide snacks and drinks. You are welcome to bring additional food or drink to share.
To RSVP call Estelle Carol at 707-386-7197 or email ecarol@webtraxstudio.com
...and win a basket of fresh organic veggies. Join us for an afternoon of grass-roots inspiration, refreshments and friendship. Guests also have a chance to win a basket of vegetables harvested fresh from our garden later this summer.
The garden is a collaborative effort by three Green Community Connections volunteers – Estelle Carol, Cassandra West and Marni Curtis. It has 9 raised beds of vegetables intermingled between decorative plants. It has 3 large compost bins and 4 rain barrels. See garden photos below.
Sugar Beet Co-op’s values Economy – Create a vibrant not-for-profit business whose success stimulates cooperative activity. Wellness – Provide our community with direct access to solutions that contribute to health and wellness. Localism – Ensure that our community has access to a marketplace with healthy, safe and local goods that have a positive environmental and social impact.
Saturday, Mar 2, 12:30P/
2012/60 min
Dr. Richard Jackson explains the link between our health and the way our communities — especially our suburbs — are designed. Obesity, asthma, diabetes and heart disease are all aggravated by the auto-centric way we live our lives today. It’s no secret that today’s generation of children are likely to have shorter lives than their parents because of their unhealthy lifestyles. It doesn’t have to be this way. Well-designed communities can improve both physical and mental health, as Dr. Jackson explains in this four-part public television series and the accompanying book. Searching for Shangri-La is part four of the series.
Public health has traditionally associated the “built environment” with issues such as poor sanitation, lead paint poisoning children, workplace safety, fire codes and access for persons with disabilities. If we are what we eat, it can also be said that we are what we build. We now realize that how we design the built environment may hold tremendous potential for addressing many of the nation’s – childhood and adult — current public health concerns. These include obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, asthma, depression, violence and social inequities.
Almost everything in our built environment is the way it is because someone designed it that way. The project’s goal is to offer best practice models to improve our nation’s public health by re-designing and restoring our built environment. Our country faces grave challenges in environment, economy and health. The banquet is over. “Easy oil” has disappeared, so too other resources are being depleted. And global heating increasingly will threaten human and species survival worldwide. Economies built on ever increasing consumption have contracted and secure incomes are unlikely to be available to working people for a long time, if ever. And our medical care costs will continue to escalate for reasons of technology and population aging, but particularly as the tripling of obesity and doubling of diabetes rates show their health and cost effects.
In Designing Healthy Communities PBS Series: Searching for Shangri-La, Dr. Jackson searches past and present America for healthy, sustainable communities of all sizes and shapes that can serve as models for the rest of the nation. His journey takes him to Roseto, PA, Prairie Crossing, IL, New York City, Charleston, SC, and the forgotten 1960s urban renewal project of Lafayette Park in Detroit, MI, the brainchild of 4 men, including visionary architect, Mies van der Rohe.
Also included are walkability expert, Dan Burden, and the 1960s, humorous but insightful, candid camera-‐style studies of people in public spaces by William Holly White.
Jessica Yu/2011/105 min/Rated PG-13
Illuminating the vital role water plays in our lives, exposing the defects in the current system and depicting communities already struggling with its ill-effects, Last Call at the Oasis features activist Erin Brockovich and such distinguished experts as Peter Gleick, Alex Prud’homme, Jay Famiglietti and Robert Glennon.
Developed, financed and executive produced by Participant Media, the company responsible for AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, FOOD, INC. andWAITING FOR “SUPERMAN”, Last Call at the Oasis presents a powerful argument for why the global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century.
/60 min
Water's journey from streams entering Lake Superior to the mouth of the Saint Lawrence Seaway takes 350 years. Waterlife follows the epic cascade of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. From the icy cliffs of Lake Superior to the ornate fountains of Chicago to the sewers of Windsor, this documentary tells the story of the last huge supply (20 per cent) of fresh water on Earth.
The source of drinking water, fish and emotional sustenance for 35 million people, the Great Lakes are under assault by toxins, sewage, invasive species, dropping water levels and profound apathy. Some scientists believe the lakes are on the verge of ecological collapse.
Filled with fascinating characters and stunning imagery, Waterlife is an epic cinematic poem about the beauty of water and the dangers of taking it for granted.
The film is narrated by The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie and features music by Sam Roberts, Sufjan Stevens, Sigur Ros, Robbie Robertson and Brian Eno.
AWARDS: Official Selection at Toronto International Film Festival 2011.
Stefan Schaefer/2008/57 min (25 min clip)/FAMILY
Through interviews with leading historians, urban planners, and government officials, Contested Streets: Breaking New York City Gridlock explores the history and culture of New York City streets from pre-automobile times to the present. This examination allows for an understanding of how the city, though the most well served by mass transit in the United States, has slowly relinquished what was a rich, multi-dimensional conception of the street as public space to a mindset that prioritizes the rapid movement of cars and trucks over all other functions.
Central to the story is a comparison of New York to what is experienced in London, Paris and Copenhagen. Interviews and footage shot in these cities showcase how curtailing automobile use in recent years has improved air quality, mitigated noise pollution and enriched commercial, recreational and community interaction. Congestion pricing, bus rapid transit (BRT) and pedestrian and bike infrastructure schemes and looked at in depth. New York City, though to many the most vibrant and dynamic city on Earth, still has lessons to learn from Old Europe. Written by Stefan Schaefer.
