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In the format of open, group discussion and smaller breakout rooms, the community members of the Northside were able to talk together about the issues they are currently facing due to the environmental changes in the neighborhood. Ideas were flowing about potential solutions and future advocacy in order to make saving 30% of the country's natural land by 2030 a reality. 
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Hello EEC friends, community members, and environmental stewards. Below in this message you will find the 8/11 agenda with associated materials, community connections, save the dates, and in case you missed it.
On Wednesday, we will have some special guests with People's Gas/ComEd Energy Efficiency Programs and Hoan for Congress. We'll have discussion on our focus areas of energy, housing/development, stewardship, and transportation. Plus, as always, hearing updating from the variety of projects and initiatives our community is working on. We look forward to seeing you soon! MEETING AGENDA View the agenda below for our monthly meeting on Zoom. We strive to keep the meetings to an hour and sometimes the conversation extends us to an hour and a half. Meeting ID: 829 1770 2982 By Computer: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82917702982 By Phone: +13126266799,,82917702982# US We look forward to seeing you! VIEW AGENDA AT THIS LINK SIGN IN SHEET Community Connections CLARK STREET PROTECTED BIKE LANE A new protected bike lane is coming to Clark Street between Hollywood and Devon. This will MAKE THE STREET MORE COMFORTABLE FOR EVERYONE —whether they walk, drive, bike, or take transit—and IMPROVE ACCESS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES. FACT SHEET PDF HERE #IPD4IL (INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY COALITION) UPDATES & NEXT STEPS September 16th at 10 am will be the next Cook County Board meeting in which we will need as many of you who are willing and able to attend IN PERSON at 118 N. Clark Street. We will likely gather at 9 am in the lobby area, and will be scheduling a press conference. We may try to do matching t-shirts for everyone. TBD. Please take a few minutes to complete this Google Form to let us know your availability/interest in attending. PLEASE SAVE THE DATES, an Indigenous Peoples' Day Celebration & Press Conference on Monday, October 11th at 10 am in Rogers Park, even if Cook County doesn't officially make the change on their calendar (yet/still)! Save the Dates UPCOMING EVENTS WEBPAGE8/12 6PM: IEC NORTH SIDE 30X30 LISTENING SESSION 8/21: BIOSWALES & RAIN GARDEN WORKSHOP @ VEDGEWATER 8/21, 9/18, 10/16 : VEDGEWATER WORK DAY 10AM-12PM (3RD SATURDAY OF THE MONTH) 8/21, 9/18, 10/16 : WEST RIDGE PRESERVE STEWARDSHIP: THIRD SATURDAYS 10 AM 8/28: TREEKEEPER STREET PRUNING WORKDAY 9:30 AM – 12:30 PM 8/29, 10/10, 11/21: HOLLYWOOD BEACH STEWARDSHIP 9/8: NEXT WEDNESDAY MONTHLY MEETING, 9AM 9/9 4PM: EEC GROUP ORIENTATION 10/11 10AM: INDIGENOUS PEOPLES' DAY CELEBRATION & PRESS CONFERENCE MONDAYS 3-7PM: EDGEWATER FARMERS MARKET WEDNESDAYS 3-7PM: ANDERSONVILLE FARMERS MARKET Last Saturday of the month: Litter Free Edgewater Clean Up In Case You Missed It
Hello Friends and Neighbors!
This past week, we graduated out of our fiscal sponsorship and now we need a 501c3, which will open up more opportunities for us. An official board is currently being created and voted upon. We also discussed various developments around the neighborhood, how to become more involved in a more sustainable lifestyle when it comes to energy consumption, and more! See highlights and summary for the full recap. We hope you will join us at our upcoming events, such as the next Vedgewater Work Day 8/21 and our next coalition meeting on Wednesday August 11th. VIEW THE MEETING SUMMARY HERE Highlights
Fall Tree Planting! Please join us, Openlands, and Chicago Regional Tree Initiative in bringing the gift of trees to Edgewater! Not only do they beautify our neighborhood, but they also absorb harmful carbon dioxide, creating a healthier space. If you have a space (churches, schools, neighborhoods, parks, etc.) where a tree is needed and will be taken good care of, sign up! The deadline is July 28th. Click on this link to register and get more information! Community Connections Vedgewater Work Day Get the gardening gloves for July 24th and head to Vedgewater Garden! Helping out with the neighborhood gardens provide food and connection for the community. VEDGEWATER SIGN UPS Composting Policy Updates Curious about composting? There has been new updates in the policies regarding food scraps, composting, and food waste reduction since July. Click here for the document. Thanks to Liz from the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition for sharing. Mindful About Idling Emissions We are trying to come up with ideas on how to address the lingering emissions around Edgewater coming from those who leave their cars running. By leaving the car on, CO2 and other harmful green house gases are being released. Email intern.sustainedgewater@gmail.com with catchy and kind slogans. Native Plants Native plants are the harmonious marriage between the love of plants and sustainability! To grow these beauties, no harmful fertilizers required, and they need less water. Burton DeWilde has made native seed bundles and Kevin Ericson has been growing them in the Loyola University greenhouse. They will be distributing them. Save the Date
ALL UPCOMING EVENTS In Case You Missed It
Hello EEC friends, community members, and environmental stewards. Below in this message you will find the July agenda with associated materials, community connections, save the dates, and in case you missed it.
On Wednesday, we'll hear about a fiscal sponsorship update and a new park coming to the neighborhood. Plus, dig into energy topics with residential and efficiency programs, and solar for all. We'll also talk about a many current and upcoming initiatives; from development to native plant starter kits to school partnerships and others! A special thank you to all our community photographers that have submitted pictures including the ones you see above. MEETING AGENDA View the agenda below for our monthly meeting on Zoom. We strive to keep the meetings to an hour and sometimes the conversation extends us to an hour and a half. Meeting ID: 829 1770 2982 By Computer: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82917702982 By Phone: +13126266799,,82917702982# US VIEW AGENDA AT THIS LINK SIGN IN SHEET ENERGY FOCUS CHECK OUT THIS NEW EEC BLOG ON REDUCING YOUR ELECTRIC BILL IS A GREAT WAY TO REDUCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT! By new members Dave! It's reviews: The Hourly Pricing program / The Peak Time Savings program / The Central AC Cycling program Join the Facebook discussion group Hourly Pricing to learn more and contact Dave Brost (david.brost3@gmail.com) if you have any further questions. Dave is a co-founder of the energy solutions company qilo. Follow qilo for updates on the development of an app that will optimize the use of Hourly Pricing. SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS TO MAYOR LIGHTFOOT ON WHAT YOU WANT CHICAGO'S ENERGY FUTURE TO LOOK LIKE WITH HELP FROM DEMOCRATIZE COMED! SAVE THE DATES VIEW UPCOMING EVENTS TO RSVP HERE7/17, 8/21, 9/18, 10/16 : Vedgewater Work Day 10am-12pm (3rd Saturday of the month) 7/17, 8/21, 9/18, 10/16 : West Ridge Preserve Stewardship: Third Saturdays 10 AM 7/19: SOIL WORKSHOP @ VEDGEWATER 7/25, 8/29, 10/10, 11/21: HOLLYWOOD BEACH STEWARDSHIP 8/12 6pm: IEC North Side 30x30 Conservation Listening Session 8/11: Next EEC Wednesday monthly meeting, 9am 8/21: BIOSWALES & RAIN GARDEN WORKSHOP @ VEDGEWATER Mondays 3-7pm: Edgewater Farmers Market Wednesdays 3-7pm: Andersonville Farmers Market Last Saturday of the month: LITTER FREE EDGEWATER CLEAN UP COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS A grassroots effort aiming to provide critical relief and engage in mutual aid practices with those in our community.
Fill out our form - Become a recurring donor - facebook - instagram Farmers Market Extended into July & August! We need more volunteers to greet, welcome, and count, please sign up if you can help! SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER HERE Fall 2021 Sustainability Leadership Training The Chicago Conservation Corps is now recruiting for its Fall 2021 Sustainability Leadership Training Series. Take part in an introduction to the unique, urban environmental challenges Chicago confronts by learning from community and environmental leaders, finding opportunities for change, and then leading a sustainability service project in your community with support and resources from the Nature Museum. Attend an orientation to learn more; visit www.naturemuseum.org/c3 or call 773-755-5100x5277. to reserve a space IN CASE YOU MISSED IT SIGN UP FOR YOUR FALL TREE We are recipient of an Openlands Treekeeper tree planting grant. This form is to collect candidate locations for the new trees in the neighborhood! FIND FORM HERESURVEY OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION AFFILIATIONS FOR EEC Please let us know the organization where you are a member or actively participating in. Also let us know whether we can use your name and email contact information on a list of these environmental organizations that we can share with our EEC core team. We are hoping that sharing this networking information will help make us stronger and more interconnected. COMPLETE 3 MIN SURVEY HEREEEC ORIENTATION INTEREST Complete form below to express interest. Renee will then follow-up to schedule a time that works best for everyone. SUBMIT INTEREST HEREA REQUEST FOR EDGEWATER PHOTOS! 📸 Help EEC out by sharing with us your Edgewater pictures to use in advocacy and for content, design, and marketing. Please feel free to ask any questions and share your photos with us by emailing sustainedgewater@gmail.com or replying to this email! Take advantage of these ComEd Projects to save money and reduce your emissions!Rainstorms and snowmelt events can cause release of sewage from the combined sewers into the Chicago River system. If we minimize our water usage during these events, we can mitigate the sewage overflow. Similarly, electricity usage has times of increased air pollution. High pollution hours are also expensive. Electricity notifications can tell us when these dirty, expensive hours happen so we can alter our usage and reduce our pollution footprint.
Here are three options available to ComEd customers to know about these hours: The Hourly Pricing program helps us be mindful of electricity usage by showing the benefits of shifting our usage to different times. It keeps the dirtiest power plants offline and reduces pollution in our neighborhood. Hourly Pricing lets you pay a rate based on hourly market prices for electricity. You can manage your costs by running appliances like the dishwasher when the price of electricity is lower, such as nights and weekends. Customers typically save at least 15% on their bill. The program is administered by Elevate Energy and ComEd. To learn more and sign up, visit ComEd's Hourly Pricing Program. New participants receive $20 if using a Referral Code. If this referral code doesn’t work, please email Dave Brost (dave.m.brost@gmail.com) for a new code. The Peak Time Savings program sends you notifications when electricity usage is the dirtiest and most expensive. These notifications typically occur in the afternoon between the hours of 11am to 7 pm, usually on 3 to 6 days in the summer. When you participate, ComEd will credit your monthly bill for reducing your energy use during Peak Time Savings Hours. A credit will appear as actual dollars off the total amount due on your next energy bill or the following bill. There is no penalty for not participating. To learn more and sign up, visit Peak Time Savings. The Central AC Cycling program reduces central air conditioning electricity usage when it is dirtiest and most expensive. This program is available to customers who own their own home and have central air conditioning. Participants can earn up to $40 in bill credits distributed between May and October. ComEd will install a Direct Load Switch on the side of your home or directly on the air conditioner's compressor panel, which allows ComEd to turn the compressor off, so it safely uses less energy during a cycling event. Your air conditioner’s fan may remain on to circulate cool air to keep your home comfortable. To learn more and sign up, visit Central AC Cycling. Customers who participate in Hourly Pricing can additionally participate in Peak Time Savings or Central AC Cycling; customers cannot participate in both Peak Time Savings and Central AC Cycling. Join the Facebook discussion group Hourly Pricing to learn more and contact Dave Brost (david.brost3@gmail.com) if you have any further questions. Dave is a co-founder of the energy solutions company qilo. Follow qilo for updates on the development of an app that will optimize the use of Hourly Pricing. To take action on energy legislation in Illinois, visit ilenviro.org/iec-action-alerts/ and The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition at ilcleanjobs.org/. To learn and join the campaign to Democratize ComEd, visit https://demcomed.org/. With the democratization and municipalization of ComEd, an elected utility board could ensure programs such as these are more accessible, equitable, and meaningful, as well as, move to a decarbonized future. Citizens Utility Board has an updated (and free) Guide to Home Savings. It’s filled with tips on how to cut your energy and telecom costs at home. Hello Friends and Neighbors!
Last week, we passed a resolution supporting the Water for All Ordinance. Check out the meeting summary for details! We also talked about action plans for summer and fall, upcoming events (there are many!), and received updates on the Indigenous People’s Day Coalition, composting, reuse, and plastics projects, We hope you will join us for our upcoming events and our next coalition meeting on Wednesday July 14th at 9am. VIEW THE MEETING SUMMARY HERE Highlights
EEC Wins Big Blue Stem Award for Environmental ImpactFor a project had a significant environmental impact. It serves as an example of how people working together can effect change for the better in our local and global ecosystems. Every Halloween, over one billion pounds of pumpkins are tossed in landfills throughout the US where they are left to rot amongst other materials releasing methane. Edgewater Environmental Coalition, in partnership with SCARCE had an pumpkin composting initiative, Pumpkin Smash. We are always impressed by EEC's projects and the way they engage their community and are proud to have supported such an impactful community project embodying the Big Blue Stem Award for Environmental Impact. Congratulations EEC! Save the Dates
VIEW EVENT DETAILS HERE Community Connections Illinois Environmental Council's Chicago City Council Environmental Scorecard Receiving input from EEC and other Chicago based IEC affiliates, there is a newly released scorecard. Congratulations and thank you to the alders receiving 100% environmental scores, including our own Andre Vasquez! VIEW THE FULL 2021 SCORECARD HERE Use Openlands' Amplification Toolkit to spread the word on the Urban Forestry Advisory Board I need your help and it should only take a couple minutes of your time. The City Council is going to vote on an ordinance to establish an Urban Forestry Advisory Board on June 23, 2021 - but it won’t pass it unless they hear from people like you. The Urban Forestry Advisory Board (UFAB) would bring together forestry leaders and City departments to create a strategic and cohesive plan and policies to increase, protect, and support our Urban Forest. CDOT Shared Streets Mapping CDOT announced the return of Shared Streets. Shared Streets use temporary traffic control devices to create a more comfortable and spacious atmosphere for people to walk, bike, and roll safely through their neighborhoods. The program began last year in response to social distancing needs related to COVID-19 and we're bringing it back this year as part of the city's ongoing recovery efforts. NEW THIS YEAR - you can suggest a Shared Street location by drawing a line on an interactive map and answering a few questions about what makes your suggestion a good candidate for a Shared Street. You can find the interactive map and learn more about Shared Streets by visiting chicago.gov/openstreets. Bike Week, June 25th Let’s make Chicago a better place for biking! Chicago Bike Week provides the perfect opportunity for learning how you can support the movement for better biking in your neighborhood and throughout the city. Sign up now for one or more of these exciting events, all of which you can learn more about at activetrans.org/bikeweek. West Ridge Nature Preserve Volunteer Workday, Saturday, June 19th, 10 AM Saturday, June 19th is the third Saturday of the month. This is an opportunity to volunteer at the Workday at West Ridge Nature Park. First of all–pray for rain, the NP needs it much more than a workday. If it’s not raining, however, we plan on removing Black Knot fungus from our red Chockberry trees, blocking an off-path trail, and moving some much into the Nature Play Space. We’ll meet at 10 AM at the south end of the pond. We’ll have gloves and tools, sunscreen, insect repellent and water. An outdoor Potty is available. If you plan on attending, it would be useful for planning to email Tom Murphy at tjm2040@rcn.com In Case You Missed It UPDATED ORGANIZATION STRATEGIC INTENTIONS Summary Blog Post View presentation NEW STRATEGY ON WEBPAGE HERE Town Halls View post-meeting recap and materials here. Website Check out our recent blog posts. Your Guide to Connecting and Sharing with EEC This message is to support and guide you in newly connecting or staying connected with the EEC community! Edgewater Monday Market www.edgewater.org/programs/farmers-market Hello EEC friends, community members, and environmental stewards. Below in this message you will find the June 9th meeting agenda with associated materials, community connections, save the dates, and in case you missed it. On Wednesday, we'll be sharing our action plan for July-November, hearing updates on Edgewater development and the Water for All Ordinance, as well as several updates on waste related current and upcoming projects! We look forward to seeing you soon! AGENDA JUNE 9TH 9AM View the agenda below for our monthly meeting on Zoom. We strive to keep the meetings to an hour and sometimes the conversation extends us to an hour and a half. Meeting ID: 829 1770 2982 By Computer: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82917702982 By Phone: +13126266799,,82917702982# US We look forward to seeing you! VIEW AGENDA AT THIS LINK SIGN IN SHEET Meeting Prep STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR THE WATER-FOR-ALL IN CHICAGO CHECK OUT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S DAY COALITION FACEBOOK AND THIS Q&A FOR THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’ DAY RESOLUTION FOR COOK COUNTY Save the Dates NEXT EEC MORNING MEETINGS: 6/9 9AM, 7/14 9AM 6/20: EEC SUNDAY SUMMER SOLSTICE CELEBRATION 6/19, 7/17, 8/21, 9/18, 10/16 (3RD SATURDAY OF THE MONTH) VEDGEWATER WORK DAY 10AM-12PM & WEST RIDGE PRESERVE STEWARDSHIP 10 AM HOLLYWOOD/OSTERMAN/ARDMORE BEACH STEWARDSHIP KICKS OFF 5/2 10:30–12:30P RECURRING SUNDAYS ON 6/13, 7/25, 8/29, 10/10, 11/21 Community Connections READY FOR 100 FILM We are planning to create a series of short films about the Ready For 100 campaign. We are interested in filming short clips of Chicagoans expressing their support for a transition to clean energy in the city. If you would be willing to be featured in a short clip, please let Alex know - Alex McLeese <amcleese@gmail.com>! https://www.edgewater.org/programs/farmers-market/ In Case You Missed It UPDATED ORGANIZATION STRATEGIC INTENTIONS Summary Blog Post View presentation NEW STRATEGY ON WEBPAGE HERE THEY ARE
WASTE & HOUSING & WATER & TRANSPORATION TOWN HALLS View post-meeting recap and materials here. RECENT BLOG POSTS All About Water Earth Day 2021 With EEC EEC & The Monday Market - Volunteers Needed! Cork Recycling at In Fine Spirits  This is a summary from a November 2020 energy focused meeting along with information on energy resources, taking action, and getting help with energy issues.
Citizens Utility Board represents IL utility ratepayers & advocates for cheaper and cleaner energy. Our guest speaker Christina discussed the Clean Energy Hierarchy (ranked from most impactful to least impactful) Clean Energy Hierarchy 1. Directly installing solar on your property; 2. Community solar 3. Green plans Citizens Utility Board has an updated (and free) Guide to Home Savings. It’s filled with tips on how to cut your energy and telecom costs at home. Visit CUB's solarinthecommunity.com for all the resources. CUB's consumer hotline: (800) 669-5556 To view Christina’s full presentation for EEC, visit here. Public Interest Research Group is a public interest advocacy group that has both national and state chapters, and they work on any issue that falls under that umbrella. Currently, they are focusing on gas utilities, specifically a surcharge enabled by the state in 2013 that allows the gas utilities to charge customers more for infrastructures that at the time was to address safety concerns, but unfortunately, they are not prioritizing safety and still spending billions of dollars in Chicago with People’s Gas. PIRG is advocating for a policy that will end this surcharge altogether. The bill that PIRG introduced in February, called the Heating Affordability and Utility Act represents a significant reform to the alternative retail energy supply industry. A summary of the legislation and a list of supporters can be viewed here. ComEd Programs
Common Energy works with state-supported clean energy programs that lower emissions and offers guaranteed savings on your electricity. Because of limitations on roof access and roof suitability the majority of Americans cannot install solar panels or other clean energy technologies on their properties. Common Energy solves this problem by partnering with clean energy developers and local utilities to connect new clean energy to the grid. By signing up with common energy, you will: receive guaranteed savings on your electricity bill each month for up to 20 years, make a positive impact for your community by lowering pollution, and support local clean energy and local jobs. As an incentive to support the project, each month you will receive credit that lower your bill. To view Luke’s full presentation for EEC, visit here. Take Action To take action on energy legislation in Illinois, visit https://ilenviro.org/iec-action-alerts/ and The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition at https://ilcleanjobs.org/. To learn and join the campaign to Democratize ComEd, visit https://demcomed.org/. With the democratization and municipalization of ComEd, an elected utility board could ensure programs such as these are more accessible, equitable, and meaningful, as well as, move to a decarbonized future. Get Help Utility Assistance from Utility Companies
Democratize ComEd Resource Collection https://www.demcomed.org/mutual_aid_resources/energy_shutoff
Free Assessments Several utilities offer energy assessments in which experts will install water- and energy-efficient items, such as faucet aerators, light bulbs, and a low-flow showerhead, for free (Peoples Gas/ North Shore Gas, ComEd, Nicor Gas) Resource Links:
We are happy to be a community partner to the Edgewater Chamber in bringing back the Farmer's Market. We thank Andrew and his team for making this happen for the community!!!
EEC will have a table at the market with educational materials and programming bi-weekly, on 6/14 and 6/28! We'll see you out there! Make sure to stop by and say hi! We need volunteers to help at our table those days and with general market needs on all the Mondays. If you can help out on any of the days, please sign up to volunteer here or email sustainedgewater@gmail.com Responsibilities:
Sign up for a volunteer slot here Beginning Monday, June 7 The Edgewater Market is Back on a Brand New Day While the farmers market was not held in 2020, the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce is excited to welcome back vendors for the 2021 season! The Monday Market will take place every Monday in June from 3 to 7 p.m. with quality meats, fruits, vegetables, fresh pastries, and prepared foods available at the Broadway Armory, 5917 N Broadway. The Monday Market is the perfect place to stop on your way home from work or as you make your way over to the beach. Vendors Include:
Tell your family, friends, neighbors and colleagues to shop the Monday Market – our vendors need your support more than ever! We look forward to seeing you at the Broadway Armory and we appreciate your patronage! Market Website Here For Earth day this year, we had three priorities and activities. First off, we had a wonderful beach stewardship event, more information below! We shared our sustainability with a tool kit found here. We had two Earth Day Litter Free Edgewater days. Sign up for the next Litter Free Edgewater Day here.    |
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The Edgewater Environmental Coalition (EEC) is an all volunteer group - and a partner of the Overhead Project, a 501(c)3 non profit group.(EIN 46-4457047) (See Note for link information). Donations to EEC are tax deductible under IRS rules.*
Use the button above to donate via a secure PayPal link. Thank You! *Check with your accountant if you have any questions. ______________________________________________ Note: More details regarding the Overhead Project and the partnership with EEC under its 501(c)3 umbrella, can be found by clicking on the following link then > Projects: http://www.overheadproject.org |
Donations are welcome. Here are a few of our activities & projects:
EEC is a proud affiliate of the Illinois Environmental Council (IEC) |