By Sarah, on March 29th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 27th, 2013 Evening of fashion show, dress creation, and upcycling waste, Monday, April 1, 2013.
 Pretty Dirty Goes Runway merges art and waste in a unique fashion show highlighting dresses made from trash. The fashion show includes Pretty Dirty dresses made from trash collected in six Chicago neighborhoods in addition to two pieces made that very night from waste collected at Uncommon Ground (one of the greenest restaurants in the nation) on Monday, April 1st from 8 pm – 10 pm. Event attendees can also contribute to the making of a dress and vest out of trash in real-time and brainstorm new ways to reuse what most throw away.
Pretty Dirty is a dress-making performance series, where a team of artists create a dress – on the spot – from interesting pieces of garbage at street festivals and events in Chicagoland neighborhoods. The mission of Pretty Dirty is to playfully encourage people to explore the waste their lifestyle generates and inspire them to see the beauty, use, and fun in giving their trash innovative uses.
 Pretty Dirty Goes Runway will showcase six dresses from performances conducted in Andersonville, Ravenswood, Wicker Park, Pilsen, and Evanston. Additional pieces to share the spotlight include a cocktail dress that has won two eco fashion shows in Chicago and San Francisco and a wedding party dress croqueted from 238 plastic bags by New York designer Meagan Cheung. The fashion show will be directed by Carron Little, an interdisciplinary artist, educator and writer, who founded Out of Site, Chicago in 2011 and is Eyeporium Gallery Director. She received her undergraduate degree from Goldsmiths’ College, London, U.K. and her Masters from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Little has performed and exhibited in numerous venues around the city, including 6018North in Private Vs Public exhibition in October, 2012 and at Slow Gallery in February, 2013. She is currently working on a year long project entitled Dream Minds and sits on the Wicker Park Bucktown Arts Committee and on the Board of Defibrillator Performance Art Gallery.
Christine Shallenberg, a multimedia artist who lives in the Edgewater neighborhood and whose work spansinstallation, research, performance, and community engagement, will create a dress – on the spot – fromUncommon Ground restaurant’s trash. Jessie Rochon, an interdisciplinary artist whose work includes sitespecific installation, sculpture, performance, and film, will create a vest – on the spot – from UncommonGround restaurant’s trash as well. Event goers are encouraged to watch as these art pieces get made live andeven contribute to the attire-making. The event will conclude with a runway walk of the completed dress and vest.
By Sarah, on March 26th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 14th, 2013 
The Chicago Conservation Corps (C3), a program of the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, is now recruiting teachers to lead school-based environmental clubs for the 2013-2014 school year. Attend an orientation to learn how C3 can help you start and run an environmental service club for 6th-12th grade CPS students.
Club projects include recycling, worm composting, water conservation, anti-idling campaigns, and much more. Teachers involved receive a stipend, materials, project guides, CPDUs and other resources. This program is at no cost to the school.
Orientations will take place:
Tuesday, April 2
Schurz High School
3601 N. Milwaukee
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 3
Chicago Center for Green Technology
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 4
Coles Language Academy
8441 S. Yates Blvd.
5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Please reserve a seat at an orientation by visiting www.naturemuseum.org/C3clubs or calling 773-755-5122.
To apply you must be a CPS* teacher (6th – 12th grades) and attend an orientation. If you are accepted into the program, you must attend three workshops in the 2013-2014 school year, held at the Chicago Center for Green Technology, 445 N. Sacramento Blvd.
*Charter Schools that receive any percentage of funding from CPS are eligible to apply.
For more information about C3 or to learn about other volunteer opportunities, visit www.chicagoconservationcorps.org or email c3@naturemuseum.org.
By Sarah, on March 14th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 11th, 2013
DriveLessLiveMore is more rewarding.
Less driving earns more points for more and more rewards, and more chances to win. Here’s what’s driving us in March:
- An RTA transit package: winner’s choice of CTA, Pace, or Metra!
- Free bicycle tune-up from Get a Grip Cycles
- The “146″ Package: a two-night stay at the opulentPalmer House Hilton Hotel, plus two passes to the Field Museum. Includes free transit!
Go to “My Rewards” for more information on the great prizes you could win.
Area business owner? Donate a prize for our monthly reward and receive in-kind marketing value! Contact:
Brian Morrissey, Program Coordinator
(312) 427-3325 x243, brian@activetrans.org
The RTA’s Trip Planner helps you to stay on schedule with real-time next bus/next train travel information to your next destination. It even includes driving, biking and walking directions.
www.RTAchicago.com
By Sarah, on March 8th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 7th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 5th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 5th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 4th, 2013
By Sarah, on March 1st, 2013 
Get in for $10, or pay $5 for Active Trans members… Get great deals on bikes, parts, clothes, gear and more. You’ll also get one free raffle ticket (you can purchase as many as you like to increase your odds). Enjoy presentations, kids games, activities and coffee while meeting new bike friends.
Got an extra bike or two you want to sell or trade for a really good deal? For $5 per bike (limit three per person), you can place them in our corral.
We’ll tag and monitor the bike/s that you want to sell or trade. Then feel free to walk around and enjoy the fun. If there’s interest in your bike, we’ll give you a call while you’re at the event. Just don’t forget to bring your cell phone!
Keep rolling into the evening at our Chicago Bike Swap After Party (details coming soon).
Some larger retail vendors will accept debit/credit cards. Smaller merchants and individuals likely will not. Therefore, we recommend you bring plenty of cash. Each vendor manages its own sales.
Vehicle Parking
We’d love for you to walk, bike or take transit, but if you have to drive, we’ve got parking!
Vehicle parking at a discounted price will be in a nearby lot. Details to follow.
Got a question not answered on this website, email swap@activetrans.org.
By Sarah, on February 25th, 2013 
When: Saturday March 9, 2013, 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM CST
Where:South Shore Cultural Center,7059 S. South Shore Drive,Chicago, IL
Contact
Maria Dmyterko Stone
Friends of the Parks
312-857-2757 x17
stonem@fotp.org
Please join Friends of the Parks and the Chicago Park District on Saturday, March 9, 2013 for the 4th Annual Parks Advocacy Conference. This year’s Conference will focus on giving Park Advisory Council’s a sense of ownership to their parks.
The Conference breakout sessions will highlight Communications, Programming, Finance, and the Chicago Park District’s strategic plan.
8:15 am registration and networking
9:00 am keynote address
10:00 am Breakout Session
11:00 am Breakout Session
12:00 noon Breakout Session
1:00 pm Park Security Summit
Following the sessions please participate in the Park Security Summit.
With summer right around the corner park advisory council members want to be proactive about keeping their parks safe. From numerous conversations with PAC’s we understand that it is important and necessary to discuss safety and security in our parks.
The PAC Conference Committee has coordinated a panel of community members and officials to hear concerns, ideas, and successes from PAC’s across the city. The panel will share ideas and plans for park safety this summer and give the park advisory councils advice on working with the Police Department and the Park District to improve security issues in parks.
This panel would focus on security issues in the parks that our park advisory councils have identified as problems including drug sales, gang turf issues, vagrants taking over the parks, security cameras (both police and OEMC), and vandalism .
Invited to participate on the panel are: Superintendent Garry Mc Carthy (Chicago Police Department), Sargent Chapman (3rd District), Thomas Byrne (Chicago Park District Security Manager) and Alderman Cappleman.
We want you to share with us your thoughts on park safety! When you register please submit any questions of success to be included in the panel discussion.
By Sarah, on February 19th, 2013 
CONNECTING CHICAGO COMMUNITY GARDENERS
Planting the Seeds of Community
This gathering is for all Chicago-based community gardeners to connect, network, share ideas and resources, and create change.
This day is about collective strength among the dozens of community garden groups and hundreds of community gardens throughout the city. How can we be stronger? Share resources? Network more? Ensure sustainability? As the role of food gardens and green space increases in our city, how can we – as leaders and passionate participants – positively shape our future and have a powerful, collective voice with our city leadership?
Join us for a panel discussion, workshops, and a chance to network with gardeners in your neighborhood and citywide. A light breakfast and lunch will be included.
All NeighborSpace gardens in attendance will receive a new and improved NeighborSpace sign.
RSVP REQUIRED. Register today (space is limited).
Suggested donation: $5 at the door.
By Sarah, on February 18th, 2013  What is Chicagoland’s vision for better transit in the years to come, and how will we get there?
February 25, 2013
8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
UBS Tower Conference Center, 1 N. Wacker Dr., Chicago, IL
Registration: $25, or $15 for Active Transportation Alliance members/donors. Includes continental breakfast with coffee.
Click here to REGISTER NOW!
Join Riders for Better Transit for a summit on Building a 21st Century Transit System: a discussion of public transportation’s future, funding and governance in Chicagoland.
We’re bringing together civic and public sector leaders in transportation to help answer tough questions about the challenges of providing a world-class transit system, including:
Governance Matters: Chicagoland transit service is managed by four different agencies with 47 board members appointed by elected officials in different levels of government. What’s working, what isn’t, and how can we improve the system? Find out in this panel moderated by Steve Schlickman, executive director of the UIC Urban Transportation Center, and featuring panelists Frank Beal, executive director of Metropolis Strategies; Dan Cronin, chairman of DuPage County; and John Gates, chairman of the RTA.
Funding Matters: Creating a world-class transit system will require increasing investment in transit, but where will the money come from? Learn about the barriers and the options for funding in this panel moderated by Jon Hilkevitch of the Chicago Tribune, and featuring panelists Randy Blankenhorn, executive director of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning; Kevin DeGood, deputy policy director of Transportation for America; and Peter Skosey, vice president of the Metropolitan Planning Council.
Also featuring: Presentations by noted urban policy expert and commentator Carol Coletta and Scott Bernstein, president of the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
Questions? Contact Brenna Conway, brenna@activetrans.org.
By Sarah, on February 15th, 2013 
Reframing Ruin features photographs of the Trail as it is now, while inviting viewers to imagine its potential benefits for all of Chicago.The exhibit is an opportunity to reflect on the ways that this railroad has captured Chicagoans’ spirit of discovery. Generations of artists have turned the embankment walls into canvases. Youths have explored the accidental nature preserve growing between the tracks. Walkers, bikers, runners and even skiers have blazed their paths, happily avoiding traffic below. And from the height of the Bloomingdale we’ve been able to see the communities along the route, and the Loop in the distance, with fresh eyes.Meanwhile, photographers have turned their lenses on this rough magic, capturing some of its grandest views and smallest details. As the park design and engineering process picks up steam, their work has inspired Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail to mount this exhibit–a look back that is intended to spark visions of the future. Reframing Ruin highlights the unique beauty artists have found in this abandoned industrial space. Our dream is for this beauty to become accessible to all as the Bloomingdale is transformed into Chicago’s next great park.
Ben Helphand, President, Friends of the Bloomingdale Trail
By Sarah, on February 13th, 2013
By Sarah, on February 11th, 2013  Angelic Organics Learning Center and Advocates for Urban Agriculture are holding their first-ever Urban Livestock Expo February 16, 2013 from 10AM to 1PM at Garfield Park Conservatory. They are partnering with the Chicago Chicken Enthusiasts and hosted by the Garfield Park Conservatory Alliance.
The Expo offers the chance to network with new and experienced urban livestock keepers and learn about raising chickens/poultry, bees, goats, and rabbits in the city. The focus is on raising animals responsibly in backyards, with representatives of many urban livestock groups, projects, and businesses on hand to tell visitors about opportunities for learning, visits, apprenticeships,
sources of supplies, networking, and more.
Very brief presentations on each “critter group” (chickens, bees, goats, rabbits) start at 10:15, followed by in-depth discussions, and then time to mingle and browse information tables. The in-depth discussions will lift up primary issues for people to consider about raising livestock in the city; for example, quality housing and care, sources of food and supplies, manure management, perceptions of
bees, concerns about attracting rats and predators, and biological lifecycles.
The goals of the Expo are to foster the health and well being of animals and people living together in the city, to highlight livestock as part of an integratedecological urban lifestyle, and to increase local food security – starting in our backyards.
By Sarah, on February 5th, 2013
By Sarah, on February 4th, 2013
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