Chicago Conservation Corps Blog » Inspiration

In Honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Chicago Cares Celebration of Service, January 15th.

Britt — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 16:29:12 +0000

Through his words and examples, Dr. King inspired a new generation to better their communities. At the Celebration of Service, Chicago Cares challenges you to move from words to deeds through service to your community. When 3,000 of us gather to honor Dr. King on Saturday, January 15, we will be an active part of building and strengthening our city while keeping Dr. King’s dream alive.

Chicago Cares Celebration of Service volunteers make a difference by:

-Serving as role models for children while acting as their “tour guides” through interactive, educational World’s Fair activities.
-Joining older students to reflect on peace and diversity as we address the issue of youth violence.
-Creating a more welcoming environment at our city’s schools and agencies by painting murals, designing mosaics and building benches or banner stands.
-Making reading more fun and accessible by organizing, sorting books and revitalizing a school library.
-Throwing a festive and energetic Dr. King birthday party for adults living with disabilities.
-Brightening a senior’s day by serving a homemade meal, sharing stories and working together on a craft.

The volunteer registration deadline is Monday, January 10 or whenever capacity is reached (whichever comes first). Capacity is limited and registration is expected to fill quickly, so register today.

Earth Wine and Fire: Earth Day benefit party Fri April 23

Matt — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:28:43 +0000

Earth, Wine and Fire is a charity event intended to benefit the environment. It will occur on Friday April 23, 2010, the day after Earth Day, from 5-11PM (a movie screening of No Impact Man starts at 5:00; the party kicks off at 7:00). We expect it to be a fun party hosted by a small group of community folks who banded together to create an enlightened evening with a purpose. We intend to educate, incite action and enjoy. Buy your tickets in advance for a discount. $25 now; $35 on the day of the event. Includes: Entry, 3 tickets that can be used for drinks or the raffle, appetizers, music, entertainment and full access to all Nature Museum exhibits! Additional beverages available for purchase. Children 12 and under are free. Join the party! Buy your tickets at www.EarthWineAndFire.com!

A FOREST FOR EARTH DAY

Terrence S. — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 15:51:15 +0000

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!

The Story of Stuff

Michael Herman — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 18:20:30 +0000

Kevin Walsh of Chicago Peak Oil recommends The Story of Stuff, calling it “a great animated movie, which can be downloaded for free, that shows the story of resources from extraction, production, distribution, consumption to disposal.” . . . → Read More: The Story of Stuff

Open Book Peace Project

Samantha — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:18:15 +0000

C3 Trainee, Catherine Trzybinski is organizer of the Open Book Peace Project. Visit the website to find out more www.openbookpeaceproject.org

The Open Book Peace Project (OBPP) is a grassroots effort to create an ongoing international dialogue about peace among diverse individuals and communities. The project gives individuals the chance to have their voices heard and their minds known. The project presents millions of people with the opportunity to participate as co-authors in a collective work — an experience that can, in itself, promote the spread of peace in the world.

Videos by C3 Leader Robert Aguilar

Samantha — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 16:14:40 +0000

Check out Fall 2006 C3 Leader Robert Aguilar’s video projects at the sites below.

This is the submitted video for the Treehugger.com contest.
http://truths.treehugger.com/normal/convenient_truths_the_top_twen.php
- What Can Regular People Do About Global Warming?
- Carrying Power: Solar Energy On The Go

This submitted version is broadcasting on CurrentTV.
-Sun Powered Purses

This is a submitted shorter version that is in a contest for Current
http://current.com/ecospot
- What Can Regular People Do?

You can still help vote for Robert’s video! Congrats Robert on these inspiring projects!

River Beautification Project

Michael Herman — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:36:27 +0000

Judy MacDonald sent this along this week…

I just completed my C3 Leadership training yesterday. I’ll sure miss seeing all those motivated people every week. How to keep my inner fires burning is already a concern, so I guess that was the motivation when I suddenly found myself driving off course earlier today. I was driving my kids home from their gymnastics class.

I’d taken a different route and found myself sitting at a stoplight at Damen and Berteau. As I sat there idling, trying not to think of the emissions I was pumping out as I waited for no traffic to move, I looked up at the street sign and remembered what my C3 classmate Graham had talked about as his project: a river beautification that included reintroduction of native plants. Graham had said that the site was already beautiful, so without a word to my kids, I turned left and drove to the river.

They we’re a bit confused when I pulled them out of the car in unfamiliar territory saying, “Let’s go explore!” But that’s the kind of direction kids particularly like getting from their parents, so just a few questions and a lot of forward motion followed. That in itself is a beautiful thing, and it complimented the ever more beautiful scene we enjoyed as we drew closer to the river. Little songbirds flitted between the fading flowers. We saw splashes of color here and there among the green and brown of the fall flowers and grasses, beautiful textures of myriad seedheads, colorful beetles hanging out on milkweed pods before we even got to the river’s edge.

On the water we saw a dozen mallards quacking loudly at a group of people who were canoeing our way, hound dog in the prow howling her joy at being out in the “wild.” We worked our way up toward Montrose along tree lined, wood chipped paths with rustic little handmade fences. Along the way parts of the bank were too eroded to navigate, so we walked along the alley for a bit and nipped back into the greenery whenever we could.

At the Montrose end, among the exposed roots of a tree, we found a little hole some mysterious animal had dug for a home. The kids had a great time exploring up and down the paths and we saw several others walking along in pairs or with dogs — even a large multi-generation family out enjoying this beautiful bit of nature on a rainy October afternoon. The prairie section at the south end was by far my favorite but you can see how the neighbors further north are working away at making the whole strip of river a beautiful place to be.

Thanks to Graham for telling us about this place and to all who have worked so hard and continue to make this bit of the river the gem that is.

And thanks to Judy for sharing this. Reminds me of the Kids and Nature summit meeting I facilitated a couple of weeks ago, as well.

Convenient Truths: A Green Video Contest

Robert Aguilar — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 11:10:03 +0000

Channel your inner eco-critic. Seventh Generation, Inc. and TreeHugger.com asked citizens to share their solutions to climate change. Help out our expert judges by watching and rating the submissions.

I submitted two videos to the Convenient Truths: a green video contest.

My first film asks “What can regular people do about global warming? This film takes a look at how average Americans perceive the climate crisis while giving practical, everyday tips toward reducing our Carbon dioxide footprint.”

My second film takes a look at how one business has combined style with sustainability to create solar paneled bags. Its a great way to integrate renewable energy into daily life!

Here are the links…

What Can Regular People Do About Global Warming?

Carrying Power: Solar Energy On The Go

Enjoy!

kids challenge gov’t minister to energy reduction competition

TedErnst — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 20:20:09 +0000

From Chris Corrigan:

In the Netherlands, a group of kids has challenged a government minister to see who can reduce their power consumption the most.And guess who won? The kids reduced their energy consumption by 33% beating the minister’s . . . → Read More: kids challenge gov’t minister to energy reduction competition

What can you do?

TedErnst — Tue, 16 Jan 2007 22:20:15 +0000

Jean ~Nurture Girl~ Russell says:

work from home (don’t drive much at all).
radiate love at the people I interact with.
turn off lights, water, energy consumption, whenever possible.
assume the best in people (and thus avoid negativity and conflicts).
support and encourage people doing good.
nurture people building social purpose organizations.
avoid the news–twisted and spun as it is.
give money and energy to causes where I know leaders personally.
work with/support individuals transforming philanthropy.
love the people in my life as the precious people and relationships they are.
Listen. listen. Listen. To what we have–the birds and animals, the wind in the trees, the voices around me. To what we want–the dreams and visions spoken now about an imaginative and creative future.

What can you do?