Creating a Solid Foundation: Green Building Legislation

Hopefully May will bring warm weather and warmer smiles. This week was the last workshop of the series. This workshop was entitled Creating a Solid Foundation: Green Building Legislation.

You may view the video here or by clicking the title of this blog entry!

Raising the Roof: Organizing Strategies for Homes or Whole Communities

It is hard to believe that five workshops have already taken place! Here are the videos:

Window to the Groups Who Make it Happen

On April 18th, our workshop focused on the different programs and groups that can help you start weatherizing today! Each of our presenters showcased different ways that you can get funding and credit for taking the important steps towards making your home, condo, or apartment more energy efficient. Most of these programs are free and are a readily accessible way for you to start saving green!

You can watch a video of this workshop embedded below or on our YouTube page:

Earth Day 2011

Last weekend, the communities of Andersonville, Edgewater, Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, Rogers Park and Uptown celebrated the fourth annual North Lake Shore Earth Day, titled “Saving Green Together.”  Held in Loyola University’s Life Science Building, this year’s Earth Day celebration featured a variety of speakers and presentations, not to mention an abundance of local vendors offering free food, information, and merchandise to all attending.

A big part of this year’s Earth Day were the various presentations throughout the day that anyone could attend to learn a little bit more about saving green! The subjects ranged from “Creating Green: Gardening in Our Urban Landscape” to “Community Bike Ride and Bike Repair Workshop” to “Walking Green: Creating Pedestrian- Friendly Neighborhoods.”  These presentations were active and engaging for the leaders and the community members—during a presentation about creating pedestrian- friendly neighborhoods, many audience members engaged with Thom Green (a local architect known for his recent work redesigning the streets of Andersonville) on how to effectively transform community space into something that can actually unify the neighborhood and foster cooperation, collaboration, and general sociability among residents and visitors alike.

Aside from the presentations, there were many vendors to visit who offered a plethora of educational resources. In just one hallway, you could easily visit tables representing the Edgewater Historical Society, Mercy for Animals, the Recyclery, Yoga Chicago Magazine, and even Whole Foods.  And if in need of a short break, you could venture off and enjoy the free and sustainable food offered in Foster Hall. 

Although the Earth Day event only officially lasted for five hours, the progress we made that day will continue to grow into the future.  As members of these neighboring communities came together to learn how to live a “green lifestyle” and to make their communities more sustainable, we hope that the knowledge gained through the events offered on this day, along with new friends made, will help strengthen and expand our work in making this neighborhood and the world more sustainable!

Saving Green Starting with the "Studs"

For our workshop on April 11th, a group of home renovation experts came out to engage in a little Q&A with the community about advanced steps in making your home more efficient. They fielded all kinds of questions that could help you to save money and help the environment.

If you want to know more about how to get these renovations done, or if you want to remember the answer to a tricky question you can watch the video of this week's workshop embedded below or on our YouTube page:

Crossing the Threshold to a More Energy Efficient Home

The second of six workshops in Rogers Park, Chicago, IL about Home Energy Efficiency.

The workshop helped people discover what they can do to start saving energy and money with simple, affordable materials like weather-stripping and caulk. See how it's done, and then try your own hand at practical, low-cost weatherization! If you missed the workshop, you may view it embedded below or on our YouTube page.

A Blueprint for Saving Green @ Home

On March 28th members of Chicago's Rogers Park community joined us at the United Church (1545 W. Morse Avenue) for our first workshop titled A Blueprint for Saving Green @ Home. They learned just what weatherization means and how it can help them save money while also saving the environment! Attendees were also invited to fill out a free, quick, and simple energy audit that could lead to significant reductions in energy costs for anyone.

If you weren't able to join us on the 28th or if you want a refresher on what our experts discussed, you can watch the videos from this first event embedded below or on our YouTube page. You can download the PowerPoint presentation here (PDF).