Presentations, Events & Actions

Events & Activities - 2021
Town Hall Tuesdays: Where are we now? What can we do in 2021? What can we do in the long-term?
Link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/org/29438695399?ref=eofblike
Zoom Information: Meeting ID: 821 2567 4211 
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82125674211?pwd=MXhBc3NobXJ6U2RZSUhaNjhXRzhHUT09

• Waste Town Hall: Tuesday, January 26th at 7:00pm. Discuss Chicago's waste collection, recycling, reuse, and regeneration. Join industry leaders including Megan (Walton) Conway of the Delta Institute, Carter O'Brien of Chicago Recycling Coalition, Stephanie Katsaros of Bright Beat and Chicago Sustainability Task Force, and community innovators Erlene Howard of Collective Resource Compost, Nance Klehm of Spontaneous Vegetation, and Joanne Rodriquez of Mycocycle, and others, as we discuss old and new ways of managing and minimizing our individual and collective waste.
• Housing Town Hall: Tuesday, February 23rd at 7:00pm. Discuss Chicago's current overview of the role of housing in sustainability.
• Water Town Hall: Tuesday, March 30th at 7:00pm. Discuss Chicago's current overview of water issues.
• Transportation Town Hall: Tuesday, April 27th at 7:00pm. ​Discuss Chicago's current overview of sustainable transportation.

Events & Activities -2020
Virtual Meeting on Zoom: Wednesday, May 27th 6 pm 6018 North hosted EESP's virtual evening meeting  Discussion topics: waste, open space & public health, native plants and gardening. 

Osterman Beach Stewardship select Sundays from 10:30 a.m. – 12 noon, 6/7, 7/19, 8/30, 10/11, 11/22

April 30 EESP Town Hall via Zoom
Recording is up on EESP’s you tube account, and overall was a success, Around 60 people joined the virtual meeting. Takeaways from breakout rooms include Renee beginning to work on a letter about lakefront access (how to reduce capacity but still give people access to natural spaces)

Earth Day: April 25th was remembered by individuals and small groups (with masks & social distancing).  Gardening, litter pick up and clearing of park & parkway areas, including mulching trees were all part of the activities.  

*Ash Tree Assessment - Since the city has stopped treating Ash trees, EESP is interested in doing an Ash Tree
Assessment in the neighborhood based on awareness campaigns from other neighborhoods. The awareness campaign  would include ribbons or labels on the Ash trees.  Allen Stryzcek & Anne Comeau shared the history of the early EESP assessment & our cooperative effort with John Lough of Chicago's Bureau of Forestry in inoculating ash trees in 2013. Red Medallions placed on the street side mark those trees, which are still on the parkways, even today. Sadly, the Park District did not inoculate & lost their trees.

*Democratize ComEd aims to renegotiate the ComEd contract and make power public. A municipal ownership of utilities supports a green new deal, deals with energy efficiency, and leads to greater flexibility for climate friendly changes.
EESP voted on whether or not to join Democratize ComEd’s campaign/coalition.
Motion passed and EESP is joining the Democratize ComEd campaign and is in full support of Democratize ComEd. For any campaign questions, email demcomed@gmail.com

* Native Planters    EESP unanimously voted to collaborate with Andersonville on creating native planters. It is expected to be in a focused area & include signage describing the types of plants. Signage will include the info that the planters are co-sponsored by EESP & Andersonville. Timing: Late May, early June.  (The funds for this initiative will replace corner garden grants).

*Effective Waste Management is a continuing concern & EESP teams are involved in a cooperative effort with other groups and city officials.  Contact us if you wish to participate.
   
* EESP will hold evening meetings at 6018 N Kenmore (7 pm) so those neighbors who cannot join the Wednesday am monthly meetings can learn more & become involved if they wish.  Agendas will be released in advance.  In addition to general meeting updates, the quarterly evening meetings will each have a focus topic.
February 26th was waste;
May 27th is "the green dream" - ecology & biodiversity;
August 26th is sustainable transportation;
November 25th is energy (dates may be subject to change)
 
*2020 marks the 10th Anniversary of the Edgewater Environmental Sustainability Project.  Planning for a celebration of this event is ongoing.  A name change is being contemplated for EESP and suggestions will be entertained before being voted upon.

Sustainability Fair at Uncommon Ground ​1401 W. Devon Ave., Wed. March 11, 2020 
What you can do at home to shrink your environmental footprint? EESP co-sponsored the following groups that provided information:
Shedd Aquarium: plastic reduction
Gaggero & Tully Real Estate: tips for reducing household energy usage & recycling best practices
​Certasun: residential solar
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance: city/state energy efficiency incentives
Collective Resource: residential composting service
EESP: Edgewater's environmental initiatives
HodgePodge: green moving & storage
Chicago Bungalow Association: resources for retrofits 
To learn more? Email georgetully82@gmail.com.
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Action Plan & Goal Setting for 2020
At the EESP meeting of Wednesday January 8th: the draft of the 2020 Action Plan was presented. It was circulated to the larger membership for their review & comment.  Click on the link to find the plan map & provide comment.

Also included under different tabs are:
- Asset map
- Bills/Ordinances Tracking
- Active Development/Construction Project Tracking
- and an Active Community Group Partnership Listing
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​​Waste Reduction: On January 3rd, there was a team call on the waste initiative. Here are the notes from the call: EESP Waste Initiative Team Notes w/ Waste Not Want Not Event Recap & Follow-Up.​

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