After taking C3’s classes on Chicago’s natural resources, C3 Trainees implement environmental service projects in order to become C3 Leaders. C3 has written detailed Project Guides outlining how to plan and implement these projects. Choose one and tailor it to your community and interests, or come up with your own customized project.
Land Project Guides
- Become a Chicago Park District Steward
- Become a Forest Preserves Steward
- Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - Rethink!
- Worms Ate My Lunch!
Air and Energy Project Guides
Water Project Guides
Air, Water, Energy and Land Project Guides
Additional Resources
Below are links to several materials which may be of general interest to you and perhaps help you in planning your C3 project. Links include articles, Department of Environment electronic brochures and information sheets, tips for running an eco-friendly home, and much more. If you would like us to post additional resources, please email a link or pdf of the file to conservation@cityofchicago.org.
General
Recommended Reading List
Chicago Conservation Corps Partner Directory
Land
City of Chicago Recycling Drop-off Centers
Let’s Talk Trash by Laura Blue
Myths about Recycling from the Sierra Club
Environmental Benefits of Recycling from WRAP
The Green Guide to Plastic Containers
The Next Green Revolution by Alex Nikolai Steffen (WIRED)
LEED for New Construction Rating System (LEED-NC)
Building Better by the Sierra Club
Chicago Boosts its Growing Power by Jacob Wheeler
It Takes More Than Veggies to Make a Kitchen Green by Kim Severson
Your Lunch Leftovers Could Be Worms’ Buffet by Gary Wisby
Think Globally, Eat Locally by Anthony Flint
No Bar Code by Michael Pollan
Please Stay on the Lawn by Mary Ellen Podmolik
To Revitalize a City, Try Spreading Some Mulch by Keith Schneider
Arsenic and Old Graves by Jason Goodman
2007 Chicago CSA Map from Sustain
Chicago-area Yard Care Companies That Offer Environmentally Friendly Services and Products by the Safer Pest Control Project
Map of Green Roofs - The Future is Green from the City of Chicago
Typical Anatomy of a Landfill from Waste Management
Chicago Department of Environment’s Composting Tips
City of Chicago Street Tree Planting Program
The Care and Keeping of Worms by the Shedd Aquarium
Thou Shalt Sort Thy Plastics by Brendan I. Koerner
Polysterene Foam Report from the Green Restaurant Association
Chicago Recycles from the City of Chicago
Home Depot Offers Recycling for Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs by Stephanie Rosenbloom
What’s Accepted? List of Recyclable Materials
Study Reveals that Nitrogen Fertilizers Deplete Soil Organic Carbon By Debra Levey Larson
Illinois Food, Farms, and Jobs Act
City of Chicago Map of Urban Agriculture and Community Garden Sites
Chicago’s Eat Local, Live Healthy Plan
Air
Highway Health Hazards by the Sierra Club
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from U.S. Transportation by David L. Greene and Andreas Schafer
The Easy Guide to Natural Cleaning by the Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW)
The City of Chicago’s Vehicle Idling Management Policy
Chicago’s Clean Air Innovations from the City of Chicago
Clean Air Counts from the Metropolitan Mayors’ Caucus, U.S. EPA, Illinois EPA, Delta Institute, Center for Neighborhood Technology
Indoor Plants, Winning the Battle for Clean Air by Foliage for Clean Air Council
Energy
Energy Savers by the U.S. Department of Energy
Regional Alternative Fueling Stations by the City of Chicago
Climate Change 101 - Technological Solutions by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change
What’s So Bad About Big? by Matthew L. Wald
Turned Off by Global Warming by Katherine Ellison
The New Red, White And Blue by Thomas L. Friedman
Is Coal Golden? by Cathy Booth Thomas
Diet, Energy, and Global Warming by Gidon Eshel and Pamela A. Martin
A Calculated Loss: How to Reduce Your Global Warming Emissions by Emily Main and P.W. McRandle
Options for Reducing Fossil Fuel Use from the U.S. Department of Energy and the CBC News On-line
Carbon Light from Daily Candy
Is Your Printer Polluting the Air You Breathe? from the Scientific American
Frequently Asked Questions - Information on Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) and Mercury from EnergyStar
More than 100 Ways to Improve Your Electric Bill from the Edison Electric Institute
Alternative Fueling Station Locator
Are Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs Dangerous? by John Matson
In Flood-Prone Bangladesh, a Future That Floats by Emily Wax
Water
Save the Source by the City of Chicago
30 Smart Ways to Save on Your Summer Water Bill by Cathy Frisinger
Don’t Let Funding Evaporate for Worthy Great Lakes Plan from the Chicago Sun Times
State Tightens Spigot on Flow from Lake Michigan by Gary Wisby
It Takes a River by Paul Rauber
Some Facts About Water from Shaker Heights Nature Center in Ohio
Pabloe Calculates the True Cost of Bottled Water by Lloyd Alter
Make Your Own Rain Barrel by the Chicago Department of Environment
Rain Gardens: A How-to Manual for Homeowners from the University of Wisconsin Extension
Free Water: It’s Yours for the Taking by Beth Botts
Water Resources Handout
Message in a Bottle by Charles Fishman
Community Action
How to Plan a Sustainable Event by Concern, Inc.
For Those with Big Hearts by David King
Mother Nature Gets a Faithful Hand by Sheila B. Lalwani
Still the Sam by Sam Pratt
What Good is Community Greening? by David Malakoff
Great Green Schools by P.W. McRandle
Zero Waste Standards from the Zero Waste International Alliance
Reaching Out to Your Community
Media List prepared by the Chicago Conservation Corps
Project Leader Checklist from Chicago Cares
How to Recruit Volunteers
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Write a Press Release
Current Greening Initiatives by Campus Greening
Helpful Tips
40 Easy Ways to Save the Planet from Time Out Chicago
50 Easy Ways to Go Green by Leslie Billera
Junk B’ Gone by Mary Daniels
40 lbs… from Eating Green
Don’t Get Mad, Get Active from PETA
The Perfect Fix by Sean McCourt and Reed McManus
How to Weatherize Your Home and Save Money from the Chicago Department of Environment
Friend of Nature? Let’s See Those Shoes by Amy Cortese
What You Can Do: A Guide for Chicago Residents
Stories
The Green Season Rolls In by Jessica Herman
The Green Line: It’s Chicago to San Francisco by Erik Gleibermann
The Greening of Chicago by Erick Ferkenhoff
Feminism Meets Domesticity by Connie Lauerman
Putting the ‘Chic’ Back in Chicago by Charles Leroux and Ron Grossman