Share the Drop . . . → Read More: C3 Leader Sharon Pincham Spare the Drop Water Conservation Workshop]]> Join C3 Leader Sharon Pincham for a very special event filled with fun games, prizes and loads of quality environmental education. Attend this workshop and become the lucky winner of a rain barrel, an I-GO care sharing gift certificate and many more. The incentives are endless so what are you waiting for?

Share the Drop Water Conservation Workshop
Saturday, July 24
Taste of Park Manor, 83rd and King Dr
1:00-3:00pm

Attention C3 leaders and trainees: Team leaders are needed to supervise water bottle recycling efforts at the the 2010 Taste of Chicago. You will be working with teams of students to collect recyclables and help to bring conservation actions to this hallmark event of consumerism.

Event Details Thursday, July 1, 2010 1:00 pm- 5:00 pm Meet at the corner . . . → Read More: Volunteer with the Water Bottle Awareness and Recycling Effort at the Taste of Chicago]]>

Attention C3 leaders and trainees:
Team leaders are needed to supervise water bottle recycling efforts at the the 2010 Taste of Chicago. You will be working with teams of students to collect recyclables and help to bring conservation actions to this hallmark event of consumerism.

Event Details
Thursday, July 1, 2010
1:00 pm- 5:00 pm
Meet at the corner of Balbo and Columbus.
Transportation assistance will be available if necessary.
Please email M. Grace Sielaff grace@mgracedesigns.com if you are interested in helping out.

Not a C3 volunteer? You are still eligible to participate.
Get in touch with Grace immediately!

With your help, we can make a difference by nurturing our city, conserving our natural resources, and protecting the environment!

And the fun doesn’t stop there.
Join Grace at the celebratory After Party
Thursday, July 8th
8:00pm
Organic Looms
1019 West Fulton Market
Healthy food and great drinks

Illinois . . . → Read More: Illinois Native Seed Bank, Sustainable Backyards and Mayor Daley’s Landscape Awards]]> Today we celebrate the 2010 Summer Solstice as the official start of summer.  As you are packing in all your outdoor activities into the three most beautiful months of Chicago’s seasonal transformation, be sure to take advantage of these three great opportunities to enjoy beauty of the season and make a positive impact on the environment.

Illinois Native Seed Bank Project
The Dixon National Tallgrass Prairie Seed Bank at the Chicago Botanic Garden is working to conserve the genetic diversity of our native plants by collecting and preserving seeds from across the tallgrass prairie region in long-term cold storage. This project is being coordinated in conjunction with National Seeds of Success (SOS) program that is apart of an international seed conservation initiative known as the Millennium Seed Bank Project (MSBP).
Goals
-Ultimately seeds of multiple populations will be collected for over 3000 plant species of the tallgrass prairie. The goal is to collect seeds from one plant population (if it exists) in each of the twelve eco-regions for all 543 species.
-Initially 543 species important for habitat restoration will be collected across twelve eco-regions.
-In addition to long-term storage, the collections will be used as a resource for research and restoration projects.

For more information on volunteer opportunities and other ways to support this project, contact Emily Yates, Seed Bank Coordinator: eyates@chicagobotanic.org or David Sollenberger, Seed Conservation Specialist: dsollenberger@chicagobotanic.org
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Sustainable Backyard Workshops
Backyard Compost Bin and Rain Barrels are back!
This year, the Chicago Department of Environment has revamped the ever popular Compost Bin and Rain Barrel program. Instead of widespread distributions days, Chicago residents are encouraged to attend one of the upcoming sustainable backyard workshops. Attendees will learn basic installation and maintenance tips for composting and rain water harvesting AND receive a $30 rebate towards the purchase of a compost bin or rain barrel at your local hardware store or garden shop. For more information contact: rainbarrel@cityofchicago.org

Additional workshops are being hosted by C3 leaders citywide. For more information on these workshop, visit C3 event calendar under the “Explore Environmental Service” tab.
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Mayor Daley’s 2010 Landscape Awards
The 54th Annual Mayor Daley’s Landscape Awards Program is the City’s way of acknowledging the individuals, businesses, community groups, schools and other public institutions who contribute their time and energy to make our city the greenest in the nation. You are invited to share your gardening accomplishments with other and perhaps you will find yourself as one of the lucky winners. To enter complete the Mayor’s Landscape Awards Application

Don’t delay! Applications must be postmarked no later than July 2, 2010. Please include the application and two printed photos (no polaroids or digital photos).
Send your application materials to:
Mayor Daley’s Landscape Awards Program
Chicago Department of Environment
445 N. Sacramento
Chicago, IL 60612
Email and fax will not be accepted

The 4th Annual Chicago Virtual Charter School Field Day Event will be a lot greener this year as students incorporate green games with track and field events.

Yvonne will coordinate the addition of a Green Resource Center designed . . . → Read More: Green Field Day June 11 9:30-12:30 at IIT]]> Friday, June 11
C3 Trainee, Yvonne White-Morey:
On Track for the Environment –Greening a School Field Day Event
9:30 am -12:30 pm

The 4^th Annual Chicago Virtual Charter School Field Day Event will be a lot greener this year as students incorporate green games with track and field events.

Yvonne will coordinate the addition of a Green Resource Center designed to educate students and their families on Recycling/Upcycling options, Vermicomposting, improving indoor/outdoor air quality by making green cleaning solutions and taking alternative transportation, energy efficiency and water conservation. Students will receive refillable water bottles. Families will take the $800 Savings Challenge.

Following awards and raffle prizes, families will gather on the lawn of Illinois Institute of Technology for a picnic lunch and hear a green literacy reading of Seeds of Change by Author Jen Cullerton Johnson, from her book based on the life of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman and environmentalist to win the Nobel Peace Prize. (Four C3 leaders or trainees willing to make ten-minute presentations on the environment to students and families are still needed.) 

For volunteer opportunities, contact C3 trainee Yvonne: ywm@alumni.depaul.edu
773-944-0757

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Attend C3 Leader, Morgan Conlon’s Rain Barrel Installation workshop at the Friends of Portage Park Earth Day Celebration Saturday, April 24 11am-12pm Portage Park Field House 4100 N . . . → Read More: Earth Week Volunteer Opportunities]]> How will you contribute to Earth Day this year?
C3 has a has several ways you can make an impact on the 40th anniversary of Earth Day.
For more volunteer opportunities visit C3 Event Calendar

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Attend C3 Leader, Morgan Conlon’s Rain Barrel Installation workshop
at the Friends of Portage Park Earth Day Celebration
Saturday, April 24
11am-12pm
Portage Park Field House
4100 N Long

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Work as a volunteer steward at the Park District or Forest Preserve:

Whistler Woods Restoration Day
Saturday, April, 24
10am-1pm
134th and Halstead
Oak Rescue and brush cutting
Contact: Rebecca Blazer 773-972-8080

Nature in the Neighborhood of Englewood
Saturday, April 24
10:30am – 4:30pm
Join this initiative to enhance open space for welcoming gateways, trail sites and habitats. Exciting activities include mosaic installation, mural painting, native garden planting and more Sites include 6300 S. Yale 400 W. 62nd, 550 W. 63rd, and Edmond and Junction Grove playlot
Contact rina@stayfcs.org 773-759-3273

Openlands Clean Up Day
Saturday, April 24
10am-1pm
89th & Buffalo
Please contact John Pastirik 773-991-0613

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Take your recyclables to a neighborhood drop-off center

Recycling Center Drop Off map

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Earth Day may end in April but the philosophy lives on in May.
Here’s a preview into May’s volunteer opportunities.

Attend C3 Leader, Jason Greenberg’s Green Bike Tour of Logan Square and Humboldt Park

Saturday, May 1st
Bike readiness workshop 10:00 – 11:30
Green neighborhoods bike tour 11:30 – 3:30
Socializing & after-tour discussions 3:30 – 4:00
Meet at the Humboldt Park Field House
(Sacramento just north-east of Division)

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18th Annual Chicago River Day
Saturday, May 8
9am-12pm
Get ready to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty on this very important day of stewardship and service. This is Chicago’s day to give back to the river that gives so much it’s citizens.

Volunteer with C3 Leaders and Student Clubs at the following sites:
Eugene Field, C3 Teacher Steven Arnam: 773-450-4020
North Shore Channel, C3 Club North Side College Prep,
Barry Rodgers: rodgersbarry@gmail.com
Horner Park, C3 Leader Kevin Anderson and John O’Connell: 312 857-2757×16
Ronan Park, C3 Leader Michael Herman mjherman@gmail.com
Bubbly Creek/35th Street, C3 Leader Marissa Strassel and Sarah Hicks: shicks@saic.edu
Find more information here

Gage Park C3 Club building a vermicompost bin

You can help protect one of the worlds most beautiful and diverse rainforest habitats when you participate and recycle with public schools in Chicago just in time for the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Recycle Tech Solutions (RTS), a local cell phone & electronics recycler, is working with individual Chicago public . . . → Read More: A FOREST FOR EARTH DAY]]> A Forest For Earth Day

You can help protect one of the worlds most beautiful and diverse rainforest habitats when you participate and recycle with public schools in Chicago just in time for the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. Recycle Tech Solutions (RTS), a local cell phone & electronics recycler, is working with individual Chicago public schools through RTS’s Dream Green collection program. Our program goal is to collect 25,000 cell phones among the 600 Chicago public schools before Earth Day on April 22nd of this year. Please speak to your schools environmental leader about ways you can participate.

Brazil’s Atlantic Forest – Planting a Billion Trees Campaign

Centuries ago, the Atlantic Forest covered nearly 330 million acres, an area roughly the size of the eastern seaboard of the United States. Today only 7 percent remains, much of which is in isolated fragments. Home to 130 million people, the Atlantic Forest has taken heavy hits from urban expansion, coastal and industrial development, agriculture, ranching and illegal logging. Despite the forest’s diminished state, 70 percent of Brazil’s population relies on it for its drinking water.

How Can You Participate in A Forest For Earth Day?

One qualified cellular phone, Smart Phone, PDA device or MP3 Player plants one tree. It’s that simple. When you collect and recycle with Dream Green, you’ll contribute to the goal of planting a billion trees and help the Nature Conservancy protect and restore Brazil’s Atlantic Forest.

1-2-3 Easy Steps to Rewarding Recycling

1) Recruit your green team and set an initial collection goal of 200 cellular phones

2) Promote your program in newsletters, websites, letters, posters to local business’ and encourage students, parents, staff, teachers, PTA, community leaders to bring your school used cell phones, smart phones, PDA devices and Mp3 players to be recycled – I have 5 old cell phones at home!!!

3) Contact Dream Green (http://www.recycletech.org/dreamgreen.html) through the web at DreamGreen@recycletech.org and request shipping guidelines & postage – paid shipping materials after 50 phones / devices have been collected. We also provide postage paid envelopes for smaller shipments to be passed out to offsite locations.

RTS will donate $1.00 to the Nature Conservancy’s Plant a Billion Trees campaign in your schools name for every qualified phone collected. For more information on the Plant a Billion Trees Campaign go to www.plantabillion.org

As a bonus, for every location, when 50 or more qualified phones are recycled in a single shipment, you will receive from the Nature Conservatory:

· Personalized certificate with signature photo of the Atlantic Forest commemorating your generosity

· Colorful fact sheet about the Atlantic Forest

· Plant a Billion Trees magnet set

· World map

· Four issues of Nature Conservancy magazine to keep you informed all year about the many places the Conservancy is working to protect. (Plus, we’ll rush the current magazine issue along with your personalized certificate!)

· Great Places E-Newsletter subscription to our monthly e-communication with local conservation updates, enviro-tips you can use and stunning nature photography downloads.

Best of all, you’ll get the satisfaction of knowing you’re helping to protect this extraordinary wild habitat now and for future generations. Please help plant trees today!