Own a landscape business and want to green your lawn care practices?

Attend the Natural Lawn Care Workshop, on March 23 from 8am-4:30 pm at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines.

Natural lawn care emphasizes building healthy soil, encouraging soil biology, selecting the right grass, watering properly, and managing pests naturally.  Workshop participants will be able to choose from two specialized topic areas:

• “Implementing Natural Lawn Care on Your Property” or
• “Running a Natural Lawn Care Business”

A complete agenda, presenter biographies and registration materials are available on-line.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is looking for volunteer individuals and organizations to help through the IDNR Volunteer Program.

The IDNR Volunteer Program helps coordinate a statewide network of people and organizations capable of providing a wide variety of services. Anyone, and everyone, interested in volunteer opportunities can find out more at Volunteer Projects Directory, with contact information on the IDNR staff coordinating the opportunities. Information is also available on volunteer position descriptions, waiver and background check requirements.

Who are IDNR volunteers?

For example, last summer the IDNR honored for their volunteer service:

• An Illinois State Museum docent who volunteers to assist with exhibit and education programs at the museum in Springfield;

• A father-daughter team who assist with youth fishing clinics each year the Illinois State Fair;

• A retired biologist who assists with youth education programs, youth hunts, and fisheries surveys on Carlyle Lake;

• A retired school teacher who assists with youth hunts, photography instruction, and prairie seed propagation and Eldon Hazlet State Park;

• A Fairview Heights man who helps coordinate shooting sports programs for other persons with disabilities through the IDNR Disabled Outdoor Opportunities Program;

• A downstate landowner who participates in the IDNR Acres for Wildlife program, promotes the value of habitat enhancement and wildlife management programs, and assists IDNR wildlife staff in a variety of activities and surveys;

• Members of the Illinois Archery Association, who help coordinate the National Archery in the Schools program in the state;

• Members of the Quad Cities Natural Area Guardians, who assist the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission and The Nature Conservancy with natural areas maintenance and stewardship; and,

• Members of the Salt Lick Point Land and Water Reserve Committee, who provide stewardship of that reserve owned by the Village of Valmeyer in southwest Illinois.

If you have an interest in volunteer opportunities through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, visit them online or contact IDNR Volunteer Program coordinator Diane Blasa.

Like IDNR on Facebook

Follow IDNR on Twitter

Register online at green.illinois.gov, in person at either the Governor’s Tent on Main Street at the Illinois State Fair or the IDNR Director’s Tent located just inside the main entrance to Conservation World on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

The fair runs through August 22. Online registrations will be accepted through September 12.

Buying Better is a project that makes purchasing sustainable products more simple and economical for buildings that have earned or are working toward LEED-EB certification. (To read more about LEED, visit our “What is LEED” page.)

The website is designed to help Chicagoland Building Owners, Facilities Managers, Office Managers, LEED APs and others quickly and easily identify products and services worthy of LEED points from vendors who offer significant discounts to Buying Better members. We’ll even tell you exactly which attributes of the product satisfy LEED sustainability criteria and to which LEED credits your purchases can be applied.

Visit BuyingBetter.org for more information.

Training Workshops (for new volunteers):

Training workshops are from 9AM to 4PM and include both classroom and field sessions. Please remember to wear clothing appropriate for the weather as well as for wading in water. Bring knee-high boots or waders, sun block, insect repellent, and water to drink. You will be responsible for your own lunch. Bring along a friend who can monitor with you and begin thinking about a stream site you would like to adopt. Registration is $20 and can be paid in advance or at the workshop.

Refresher Workshops (for certified volunteers):

Refresher workshops are scheduled from 10AM to 2PM. These workshops are intended for volunteers who have already received formal training through RiverWatch. Each workshop is divided into a laboratory and field session. Equipment will be provided so everyone can partake in the training. Please remember to wear clothing appropriate for the weather as well as for wading in water. Bring knee-high boots or waders, sun block, insect repellent, water to drink, and a snack or sack lunch. Refresher workshops are free.

Complete schedule available at http://www.ngrrec.org/index.php/riverwatch/241

To register, contact Vera Bojic at 618-468-4870 or email.

For more information on the Riverwatch program, please visit: http://www.ngrrec.org/index.php/riverwatch/238.

Hear three panelists discuss the design, applicability, benefits and funding for geothermal heating and cooling, the cleanest alternative energy source according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.  Panelists will include John Polich, Gabriel Environmental Services, Bob Romo, Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, and Willian Smith, Community Builders of Evanston.

Title: Geothermal Energy And Your Community – Free online webinar
Date: Friday, February 26, 2010
Time: 9:30 AM – 11:00 AM CST

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) invites the public to submit creative projects to the 4^th annual Rachel Carson intergenerational “Sense of Wonder” contest. The categories are – poetry, photography, essays and dance. The contest seeks to instill a sense of wonder for the environment among all generations and spur environmental stewardship.

Carson is considered to be the founder of the contemporary environmental movement through her landmark book, Silent Spring. Its publication is credited with reversing the nation’s pesticide policy.

Entries must be from a team of two or more persons from both younger and older generations.  EPA is working with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, the Rachel Carson Council, Inc., and Generations United to sponsor this contest.

The deadline for team entries is June 16, 2010.  The winners will be announced in October 2010. The public will have the opportunity to vote among the finalists for the winners in each category.

More information: http://www.epa.gov/aging/resources/thesenseofwonder/index.htm

Check out EcoMyths Chicago for monthly eco-mythbusting that matters to you.  The Myth of the Month for December 2009 was “Lake Michigan is so big that the Chicago area will never run out of water!”  Click here to find out if it was busted.

For additional information on water resources and conservation visit EcoMyths Chicago’s resource page.