LAST DAY to take the Oak Park & River Forest Sustainability Survey!

Take this 10 question survey and enter a drawing to win a $100 prepaid debit card! Green Community Connections is conducting a sustainability survey which is open to all community members in the Oak Park and River Forest Area.  It is not required that survey participants have made changes in their homes or businesses related to sustainability, nor is it necessary for them to have had any experience with Green Community Connections.  Results from this survey will help us shape our work going forward.

If you haven't already  taken the survey, please take the Oak Park & River Forest Sustainability Survey  now.  We estimate the survey will take 5 minutes to complete.  The last date to submit a survey is November 15th at 5:00pm.  Once you have submitted the survey, -- complete the entry form -- to be entered in the drawing for the $100 prepaid debit card drawing.  IMPORTANT:  You will need the Survey Validation Code in order to complete the entry form.  You will find that code in Question #10 at the end of the survey. 

Please take a moment and share this survey with 3 friends and neighbors, especially those who may not be aware of Green Community Connections.

If you have any questions, please contact Sally Stovall at sally@greencommunityconnections.org. If you would like to learn more about Green Community Connections, visit greencommunityconnections.org.

2nd One Earth Film Festival reaches nearly 2,000 viewers

In its second year, the One Earth Film Festival nearly quadrupled its inaugural year attendance numbers, filling venues with viewers who came from as far away as Aurora and Grayslake to screenings throughout Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and Chicago, IL. The three-day festival, held March 1-3, also debuted its Young Filmmakers Contest, which showcased the environmental concerns of area school students.

Opening Night

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The festival kicked off with a Green Carpet Gala at Pleasant Home in Oak Park and a program that featured Lea Kichler, high school winner of the first Young Filmmakers Contest, and Gerould Wilhelm, a botanist and director of research at the Conservation Research Institute in Elmhurst.

Kichler’s film, “Let’s Talk About Water,” featured an off-camera interviewer asking kids (a few of them pictured at right) questions that tested their knowledge of water. The eight-minute film ended with a simple question: “What will you do to save water?”

As if designed to complement Kichler’s film, Wilhelm’s witty, thoughtful talk was peppered with deep insights about water and conservation. "Let us learn to treat water as a resource, not a waste product,” he said. “We must regard water as a blessing, not a bane."

Popular Films and Programming Pack the House

On Saturday morning, a sold-out crowd at Lake Street Theater watched “Chasing Ice,” the riveting documentary that captures visual evidence of climate change using time-lapse photography to show rapidly melting glaciers.

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The Sunday afternoon screening of two food-related films, “Ingredients” and “Food Patriots,” co-hosted by the Sugar Beet Co-op at Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church, took on a family-style atmosphere.  Friends of Sugar Beet served up a variety of soups and breads before families, church members and others settled in to view the films.

“Food Patriots” filmmaker Jeff Spitz facilitated a post-film discussion that “explored how community-based projects like a food co-op or community gardens can serve to educate and inspire people to make better food choices,” Cheryl Munoz, co-founder of Sugar Beet, said.

The Organizers

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One Earth Film Festival, hosted by a sustainability organization called Green Community Connections, screened 40 films in more than 25 venues around Oak Park, River Forest, Forest Park and in Chicago’s Austin community. The festival uses the power of film to create opportunities for understanding climate change, sustainability and the power of human involvement.

Festival organizers this year paid particular attention to involving young people, offering separate programs on Saturday morning at Beye Elementary School in Oak Park for young children (3-6) and older children (7-11). In between, a program recognized the elementary and middle school Young Filmmakers Contest winners.

Organizers were hoping to double last year’s attendance of 500 but instead saw a final tally of 1,910.  A fourth of those attended pre-fest screenings leading up to the weekend.  The huge attendance increase over last year both surprised and thrilled the all-volunteer team of organizers who planned every aspect of the festival.

“It was really incredible to witness the impact this festival has on our community,” said Katie Morris, who helped coordinate the Young Filmmakers Contest and screenings at several venues. “It was amazing to see how many people came out to offer their talents, skills and knowledge as volunteers, facilitators, technicians and resource people. It was an incredible group effort, everyone working tirelessly to bring the community together over sustainability and change.”

Breaking Ground

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Moving beyond its suburban boundaries, the festival this year held a screening in the Austin community on Chicago’s West Side. “Soul Food Junkies,” a documentary that exposes the health advantages and disadvantages of a uniquely American cuisine, drew an enthusiastic, wide-ranging crowd. Following the screening, Chef Marwin Brown whipped up some healthier versions of soul food for the audience to sample.

Many who attended said they the festival opened their eyes to issues they don’t see much in the news: water shortages, petrochemicals in the environment and the work of young environmental activists—all topics that the films addressed.

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One goal of the festival was to engage audiences in thoughtful dialogue about environmental issues, ranging from the rise in genetically modified foods to climate change to water use and conservation. Short facilitated discussions followed each screening.

This year, too, organizers offered fest-goers a chance to join a Pledge Group to demonstrate a commitment to taking “concrete action” toward reducing their footprint over the next three to six months.  The festival team plans to follow up with electronic outreaches to those who signed pledge cards.

One Earth Film Festival closed out Sunday evening at Unity Temple in Oak Park with a showing of “Call of Life,” the first feature documentary to investigate the growing threat to Earth’s life-support systems from the unprecedented loss of biodiversity.

by Cassandra West, New Media Access

Photos courtesy of Eileen Molony (#1,2,3,5); Gloria Araya (#4)

Waste_Web Links

• Oak Park Village Resource & Recycling Guide
  • The Village of Oak Park’s comprehensive Solid Waste Program is designed to effectively deal with increasing amounts of trash, rising collection and disposal costs, legislative restrictions and growing environmental concerns.
  • View the guide here: http://www.oak-park.us/public/pdfs/Env 
• Earth911
  • Get answers to all your recycling questions! What can’t go in your curbside bin? How many times can something be recycled?
  • Find out at: http://earth911.com/recycling
  • 1-800-CLEANUP,  the number now provides a more efficient and streamlined way for consumers to find local recycling options via the phone 
• Freecycle
  • It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers and Membership is free.
  • Visit here: http://www.freecycle.org 
• West Cook County Solid Waste Agency
  • The WCCSWA creates the plan to provide for efficient and environmentally sound collection, transportation, transfer, processing, treatment, storage, disposal, recovery, and reuse of municipal waste.
  • Visit here: http://www.westcook.org/wccswa
  • Call the WCCSWA: (708) 453-9100
  • Local listing of Electronic Waste Centers: http://www.wsprings.com/DocumentCenter/View/183

Additional Information

epa.gov

epa.state.il.us

illinoisrecycles.org

eia.doe.gov

commerce.state.il.us

Waste_Tools

Recycling Hard-to Dispose Items

• Paint-- Village of Oak Park has occasional paint exchange days. Other options: donate to local schools, parks, theater programs. Can only be disposed of if paint is hardened. To dry paint for disposal--open can & put drying agent in the can such as kitty litter, sand or shredded paper.
• Recycle Batteries--City of Chicago libraries & Walgreens in Chicago.
• Car batteries--try automotive repair places
• Plastic bags-- Reuse at home or drop off at Jewel. Cannot put in RF recycling. We can recycle plastic bags in OP if we put all of the bags inside of a single plastic bag, tie it up and place it in the mixed recycling bin.
• Books--used book sales are sponsored by local libraries.
• Bubble wrap/packing materials--local mail services such as UPS may take this back. Some of the "packing peanuts" are compostable. It generally states so with package.
• Building supplies--Habitat for Humanity. School industrial arts dept.
• Large metal items--local scrap metal dealers.
• Tires--return to tire dealer.
• Confidential paper--Community Bank of Oak Park River Forest hosts periodic "shredding" drop off dates.
• Cell phones--many domestic violence shelters will take them if usable. T-mobile has a take back program.