zoom in for our monthly meetingS
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!
We'll take a break from our regular meeting this month. Many thanks to all our volunteers, supporters, and the new friends we've met in 2024. Check back here for information on our 2025 meetings. Get involved. We'd love to have you!
SHAPING WINNETKA'S CLEAN ENERGY FUTURE
Tues. Dec 10 • 7 pm, Village Council Study Session
A CALL TO ACTION
The Winnetka Future Energy Forum that Go Green Winnetka co-hosted on October 22 was a resounding success. More than 120 residents (plus another 20 online) came together to learn about Winnetka’s energy contract with the Illinois Municipal Energy Agency (IMEA). If you couldn’t attend, you can watch the forum recording by clicking the button below.
On December 10 at 7 pm, the Village Council will hold a Study Session to discuss the IMEA contract and renewal process. Mark Pruitt of the Power Bureau, LLC will be in attendance to discuss alternative options for the Village's power supply beyond 2035. This is your opportunity to demonstrate public support for a clean energy future, and urge the Council to engage an independent third party consultant to help identify all viable alternatives for Winnetka’s power needs. Find the meeting agenda here.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, please email your comments to the Village Council at contactcouncil@winnetka.org.
IFSCC COMPOST INDUSTRY TOUR
Wed. Dec 11• 10 am
The Illinois Food Scrap and Composting Coalition (IFSCC) Policy Committee is coordinating a compost facility tour this Wednesday, December 11, 10 am.
The tour will educate and show first-hand how organics diversion and composting happen on a commercial scale, improving human and environmental health in Illinois while reducing methane emissions and waste and creating a more circular and equitable economy for all.
Tour Information
Where: Patriot Acres, 9800 E Central Rd, Des Plaines
When: Wednesday, Dec 11, 10 - 11 am
9th annual winter solstice
Sat, Dec 21, 5 – 6 pm
LIGHT UP THE GREEN BAY TRAIL!
Celebrate the winter solstice with a Trail of Lights Parade! Deck out your family, dog, wagons, strollers, and yourself with glowing decor. Light the night with lights and things that glow—but no candles or open flames. Celebrate the arrival of longer days. Enjoy the Abbot's Bromley Dance, an ancient musical procession performed at this time of year. Festivities will end with a bonfire and refreshments. Severe weather will cancel the event.
Winter Solstice is co-sponsored by Friends of the Green Bay Trail and the Glencoe Park District. Event updates will be posted on gbtrail.org and FGBT's Facebook page.
go green reads – the serviceberry
Mon. Jan 27, 2025 • 7 – 8 pm
THE SERVICEBERRY: ABUNDANCE AND RECIPROCITY IN THE NATURAL WORLD
A great read for the gifting season
As Indigenous scientist and author Robin Wall Kimmerer harvests serviceberries alongside the birds, she considers the ethic of reciprocity that lies at the heart of the gift economy. How, she asks, can we learn from Indigenous wisdom and the plant world to reimagine what we value most? We have surrendered our values to a system that actively harms what we love.
Meanwhile, the serviceberry’s relationship with the natural world is an embodiment of reciprocity, interconnectedness, and gratitude. The tree distributes its wealth—its abundance of sweet, juicy berries—to meet the needs of its natural community. And this distribution ensures its own survival.
Please email Go Green Reads with any questions and check back next month for registration details.
Thank you to The Book Stall and the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District for their generous support of our communities and these discussions!
NEW homeowners guide available
Reduce Your Move's Environmental Impact
Go Green Winnetka has created a New Homeowners Guide, a go-to resource to help people moving homes make a sustainable transition. The Guide has numerous suggestions for conscious choices before and after the move that positively influence our environment. Practical tips are offered, from eco-friendly packing materials to waste diversion strategies.
Please pass this link along to friends and neighbors who are moving or have recently moved.
BREAD TAGS FOR WHEELCHAIRS
Many small actions can have a big impact.
That's why Go Green Winnetka is partnering with other organizations to collect Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. These tags (bread, bagel, muffin, produce, veggies) are pristine plastic and a valuable raw material and billions are made each year. They can’t be recycled through standard curbside programs because they are too small and too lightweight to sort easily. Most are made from #6 plastic/polystyrene.
Look for Mason jars at Grand Food Center and D36 schools—and start saving those bread tags!
260,000 bread tags = 200 lbs of plastic = one basic wheelchair
Check out these websites of participating organizations for more information.
Go Green Winnetka
Glencoe Sustainability Task Force
SCARCE
Danielle Cares for Chairs
Contact Go Green Winnetka with any questions.
