As I walked to Oak Park Earth Fest yesterday morning, I met a beautiful rain barrel.
It didn’t say anything – which would have caused me to question what was in my morning coffee – and isn’t in the traditional spot, i.e., under a gutter downspout. I’m guessing it’s there to promote awareness.
Is this your rain barrel? Let me know in the comments if so.
Anyway, once I was there, I met lots of people who did talk, including Jason LaFleur of EcoAchievers.
Thanks for letting me get a photo, Jason. He and I talked for a while and he told me about the first LEED certified home in Oak Park. We actually have one, which is exciting. It replaced a home that was in very bad shape, it’s built stylistically to blend in with the neighborhood and Oak Park, and similar homes are slowly but surely popping up all over. To learn more about LEED, I suggest reading their intro page, but suffice it to say that it’s an actual measurable way to build green with standards and a point system. It’s one thing to go for the green option when building, but it’s another to base it on sound science, and LEED does just that.
I also talked with Dave of the Green Block 300 S Humphrey (no website yet). They started with a green block party and are making incremental changes from there. I’d like to chat more with them in the near future.
Urban Sprout Gardens is a new local business that designs and installs edible gardens, and I hope to talk to them some more soon as well. I love growing my own food, so this is right in line with my own ideals.
Jennifer Murtoff of Home To Roost provides consultations on keeping chickens in an urban area. Her next event is the Urban Chicken Check-Up at the Animal Care League where she will teach you to do an external exam on your chicken(s). Given that we don’t have too many vets around who provide care to chickens, this is a valuable skill to have. The class is at the Animal Care League at 1013 Garfield from 3-4pm today. Cost is $20 per person but you can bring a friend for free. Call 708-524-5038 to register.
Aaron Adams of Chicago Solar Architects talked with me a bit about their company’s services. Looking to do solar panels, rain water management, harnessing wind for energy, that kind of thing? They look like the place to go and they’re right here in Oak Park. I suspect that green energy will become more commonplace and more affordable in the near future.
I tried to get some more pictures, but oddly enough my camera occasionally decides that it doesn’t like rechargeable batteries. None of my spares worked either. I went to an event celebrating Earth Day and my camera rejects my rechargeable batteries – no need for more irony this week, as I’ve had my fill. Among other photos, I wanted to get pictures of the worm compost bin on display at the Green Home Experts, which is not as gross as you may be thinking, by the way. I tried twice, in fact, but no joy. Ah well. Still, it was a great day and I can’t wait to see where we are as a community next year.
