It’s Our River Day – Saturday, 9/20

A Celebration of Illinois Rivers Through Education, Recreation, and Conservation

On Saturday, September 20, a statewide celebration of our precious resources will occur in towns across Illinois. It’s Our River Day will feature dozens of activities and events promoting recreation, conservation and education about Illinois rivers.

The goal of “It’s Our River Day” – which will be held on the third Saturday of every September – is to boost awareness of rivers by offering hands-on conservation activities as well as lively recreational opportunities. Broad citizen participation is needed to protect this natural resource, and “It’s Our River Day” is an important organizing tool for private and public agencies concerned with protecting this asset.

Area Events:

Conservation
Powderhorn Prairie Stewardship Workday (60633)
9 AM to Noon
Powderhorn Prairie Nature Preserve, Exit I-94 at 130th St and travel east. Turn right onto Saginaw Ave, which becomes Brainard Ave. Cross Burnham Ave. Parking lot is on left. Chicago, IL

Join other volunteers in caring for one of the highest quality natural areas in Illinois with over 280 species of prairie plants as well as a diveristy of wildlife. We will be cutting invasive plant species to allow native plants to thrive using handsays and loppers. Gloves and tools are provided. Please wear long pants, sturdy hoes and bring water and a snack. www.fotfp.org
Alice Brandon, 312-356-9990
Friends of the Forest Preserves, Forest Preserve District of Cook County, The Field Museum

Education and Conservation (60614)
Illinois’ Urban Wildlife Workshop for Teachers (60614)
9:00 AM to 3:30 PM
Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, Chicago
$10 and must pre-register

Wildlife is all around us, even in downtown Chicago! Educators of grades four through six are invited to participate as we learn where to look for urban wildlife, what you can expect to find, how to identify species and how to improve urban wildlife habitat at your school. Natural resources professionals and educators will instruct about these topics and more, including how species adapt to the urban environment, how humans affect urban wildlife, and control of nuisance species. Receive supplemental educational materials to enhance your teaching.
www.ilcf.org/Workshop/Courses.asp
Valerie Keener, valerie.keener@illinois.gov
Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Conservation – Illinois RiverSweep
Various Locations

Chicago – Des Plaines River
Dean Parker, (312) 704-3000, DParker@hinshawlaw.com

Lemont – Des Paines River (60439)
Sue Murphy, (630) 257-2821, smurphy1146@sbcglobal.net

Frankfort – Hickory Creek Sweep (60423)
Douglas Hoag, djwillenborg@sfoecology.org

For details on the many “It’s Our River Day” activities on September 20, call the Lt. Governor’s Office at 312-814-5220 or visit the “It’s Our River Day” event page online.

Event Sponsors:
AT&T Pioneers

We encourage you to pass this message along to your colleagues and friends. For more information on Lt. Governor Quinn’s clean water initiatives, please visit: http://www.cleanwaterillinois.org

Win a Free Rain Barrel from Lt. Governor Pat Quinn!

Conserving water and protecting water quality are important to our community. Rain barrels reduce water consumption by storing rainwater for later use during droughts and dry spells. This ensures that we conserve our community’s or home’s drinking water supply for droughts and for future generations. You can also reduce pollution by storing water from your property at your home. During heavy rainfall events, the deluge can overtax sewer systems and local streams while causing combined sewer overflows and streambank erosion.

Lt. Governor Pat Quinn is giving away three professionally painted rain barrels that will help three lucky Illinois residents collect water at home. The rain barrels are donated by Austin Grammer (AustinGrammer.com), a manufacturer of rain barrels from Central Illinois.

Enter to win a professionally painted rain barrel by September 12, 2008 and kick off the campaign to make Illinois the rain barrel capital of the world! Please visit cleanwaterillinois.org for more information.