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September
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A city girl holds a city chhicken at
Angelic Organics Learning Center
A pumpkin field at Didier Farms
October 26, 2008
Whether it’s on my show or at a garden club talk, I always tell gardeners to shop at their local independent garden center. Yeah, yeah, I know. You want to shop at the big box store ‘cause you think the plants are cheaper. Well, how cheap is a plant that dies after you get it home because it hadn’t been watered in two weeks? And what kind of advice do you think you’re going to get from the kid who’s working there on summer break from college?
That’s why I tell people to shop at places like Sid’s Greenhouses . Sure, they’re a loyal advertiser on The Mike Nowak Show. That just makes me like them even more. But you’ll be able to talk to folks like Chris Merlin, who stopped by the beautiful Pulaski Road Showcase Studios to answer your gardening questions and chat about plants. Hey, that’s what we horticultural types do. Don’t forget that Sid’s has two locations: in Palos Hills at 10926 Southwest Highway (708-974-4500 or 800-974-7437), and in Bolingbrook at 550 S. Naperville-Plainfield Road--2 blocks South of Boughton Road at 111th St. (Hassert Boulevard) (630-904-1007 or 866-904-1007)
They’re good folks. Okay, end of plug.
Cue the chickens! Did you know that it’s legal to raise chickens in the City of Chicago? And the way the economy is going, everybody’s going to want one, though I haven't heard either presidential candidate promising a chicken in every, um, yard.
Seriously, Angelic Organics Learning Center is sponsoring a seminar called Basic Backyard Chicken Care on Saturday, November 8, 2008 from 10AM to 1PM at the
Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington. The cost is a mere $30Martha Boyd, who is the Urban Initiative Program Director, says that you will leave the workshop with the knowledge, recommendations, and resources you need for your own home flock - and you'll make connections with other chicken enthusiasts in Chicago. (Other chicken enthusiasts?)
Anyway, you can register on their website or call the Chicago office at 773.288.5462.
Crust is the Green Business of the Week. You can find out more about this eco-friendly company by going to the Green Business of the Week.
October 19, 2008Do you WEFTEC? Actually, it’s not a verb, it’s a conference and it’s happening at McCormick place for the next couple of days. The letters actually stand for Water Environment Federation Technical Exhibition and Conference and can you believe that this is their 81st annual gathering? Hey, where were my other eighty invitations?
Seriously, Linda Kelly, director of communications for the WEF says that 20,000 experts from around the world are gathering to analyze, calculate and predict the technologies and economic condition of protecting public health, accessibility, regulatory demands, and the environment in managing and using water. That sounds pretty heavy duty, I know, but let’s bring it a little closer to home.
In honor of the conference, four local organizations got together to construct a public Rain Garden in Pulaski Park on Chicago’s near northwest side. The groups are the Water Environment Young Professionals, the Illinois Water Environment Association, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago and the Center for Neighborhood Technology. The $7,000 corporate-sponsored project will leave behind a green space that will provide native plants and effective stormwater mitigation drainage to a previously plain turf area.
If you’re still thinking about spring bulbs, you might want to consider using bulbs that graced the gardens of people two hundred years ago and more. You can do that by logging on to Old House Gardens. Scott Kuntz was the founder of the company, which, remarkably, is America’s only mail-order source devoted entirely to heirloom bulbs. Let’s face it: you’re not going to find these bulbs at any box store, and the company is doing horticulture a service by preserving plants that otherwise would become extinct.
Log on to their website today. Scott says that there are still some great bargains available.
EcoGardens is the Green Business of the Week. You can find out more about this eco-friendly company by going to the Green Business of the Week.
October 12, 2008
It seems to happen every election cycle. This time, thanks to the economic meltdown, distractions about "palling around with terrorists" (are you kidding me?) what urgent problem has NOT made it to the radar?
Surprise. The Environment. Of course, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Critical environmental issues always seem to take a back seat to...well, just about everything.
Enter Environment America, and its local state version, Environment Illinois. They’re hoping that citizens who are concerned about their immediate world will agitate to get political candidates to reveal their stands on environmental issues. Staff attorney Brian Granahan says you can help out by clicking onto the candidate answers page,then onto the map of Illinois. You’re going to be distressed to see that of 61 Illinois candidates, only 13 have given positions on key questions. That’s not good enough. Now is the time to press them for their answers.
Environment Illinois is also about to release Feeling the Heat: Global Warming and Rising Temperatures in the United States, its new analysis of government temperature data. This report shows that recent temperatures are well above the historical average in Chicago, statewide, and across the country. Nice.
Finally, Environment Illinois is working with Lt. Governor Pat Quinn to challenge Governor Rod Blagojevich's proposal to cut $17 million in funds for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. That would result in the closing of 11 state parks and 14 historic sites. Read more about this issue and sign a petition to restore funding on the Environment Illinois website.
It's giant pumpkin time in the Midwest, which is when all the giant pumpkin growers fire up the forklifts and gently, oh so gently, move their prize specimens to Didier Farms for 9th Annual Great Pumpkin Weigh Off. The big event was held Saturday, October 4 and here are the results:
1st Place Gene McMullen 1163 pounds
2nd place Jeff Shenoha 1147 pounds
3rd place Tyson Naylor 1027 pounds
Youth Division Chris Hernandez 440 poundsGeorge Janowiak is a member of the Illinois Giant Pumpkin Growers Association (did you even know there was such a group?) and talked about the event.
Ten Thousand Villages is the Green Business of the Week. You can find out more about this eco-friendly company by going to the Green Business of the Week.
October 5, 2008
Back on June 8 I talked about how the Bush administration had begun emptying and closing down the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s network of technical libraries.
Thanks to groups like the American Library Association and the not-for-profit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, those libraries are now slowly opening again...AFTER TWO YEARS! But the story is far from over and there may not exactly be a happy ending. Executive Director Jeff Ruch of PEER was on the program in June and while his organization applauds the reopenings, its statement reveals that those facilities may be mere shells of what they were.
A group that has an obvious interest in what happens to the libraries is the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE). John O’Grady is the Treasurer of the AFGE National Council 238, which represents more than 600,000 Federal and D.C. government workers nationwide and overseas. He’s also President of AFGE Local 704, which covers workers in Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. Their press release in part states:
“AFGE Council 238 is pleased that the previously shuttered EPA libraries have been reopened, but our fight to have them fully reopened is not over,”.... Another area of concern for Council 238 is ensuring input from the general public...“It is still unclear what involvement if any, the public has had in this whole process, so we have asked Congress to stay on top of EPA's activity in this regard.” AFGE Council 238 has urged Congress to ensure that the Agency seeks input from the general public with respect to reopening the previously closed libraries, as well as any further “modernization” of the EPA Library Network.
Clearly, unless we remain vigilant, the Bush Administration will do as much damage as it can to the cause of scientific openness in its remaining months in office. They are shameless.
Healthy Green Goodsis the Green Business of the Week. You can find out more about this eco-friendly company by going to the Green Business of the Week.
Speaking of green stuff, the City of Chicago is offering another Green Homes Fair next Saturday, October 11, at the Chicago Center for Green Technology. Whether you live in a condo, greystone, bungalow, recent renovation or new construction, the Chicago Green Homes Fair at Chicago Green Tech will help you learn how to incorporate environmentally friendly practices and products into your home.
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