BREAKING NEWS

Ecology Center Update

The Ecology Center and the Evanston Environmental Association (EEA) are partnering to bring you wonderful events this summer and early fall. Plan to be at the Ecology Center for the Centennial Celebration of the North Shore Channel on Sat., June 26. Join us from 1-4pm for games, crafts, and canal exploration. This event is FREE.

The popular Duck Race and Pluck is moving from fall to late summer! A flotilla of yellow rubber duckies will be launched on Sat., August 14. Proceeds benefit the EEA’s support of the Ecology Center. Maybe your duck will win a prize for you. See below for details.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming Fourth Annual Evanston Green Living Festival on Sat., October 2. The EEA collaborates with the Ecology Center staff, other City departments and other sponsors to provide a fabulous day educating residents about environmental and sustainable options.

The Festival is a big undertaking, so we could use volunteers. Those who want to get a little involved can help for an hour or two on the day of the Festival; those who want to really pitch in can help us plan the event. To sign up, use the volunteer link at www. evanstongreenfest.org, call 847/448-8256 or send us an email.

The EcoStaff is committed to getting families outdoors. In addition to campfires and canoeing experiences in late May and early June, we’re offering one great family program each month. On June 25, the “Leave No Child Inside” family program is an exciting scavenger hunt followed by a campfire and s’mores. “Citizen Science” on July 17 shows families how to participate in the Urban Bird Monitoring program. The August 7 program, “Make a Solar Cooker,” includes cooking your lunch.

Our popular “Access to Fishing” children’s catch-and-release program is under way on Saturday mornings. There’s also a special “Fishing Frenzy” day on Sat., July 10. Read more about these FREE programs below. “Green Solutions Pest Control” on June 17 will help adults learn techniques and make recipes that control pests in a safe way. Gardeners! Don’t miss the Evanston Garden Fair on Fri., May 21 and Sat., May 22 or the Backyard Botanics Local Plant Sale on Sat., June 12. Enthusiasts also will enjoy visiting beautiful local gardens on the Keep Evanston Beautiful Garden Walk on Sun., July 11.

Speaking of walking (or running or bicycle riding), spend some time enjoying activities in the Ladd Arboretum. The Grady Bird Sanctuary awaits a visit—bring your binoculars or borrow a pair from us. The “Animal Room” at the Ecology Center is open for visits most afternoons and Fridays, so stop in to see us!

- The EcoStaff

Summer 2010 Programs are here!

Click here to see our great new Summer 2010 Programs - some old favorites, and some exciting new classes for the whole family!

For other fun and exciting Evanston programs, click this link for the City of Evanston's Arts & Recreation Magazine.

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Summer 2010 Camp Guide

Click here for more information on our great summer camps, or just click this link for the City of Evanston's Summer Camp Guide 2010, then go to pages 30-34 to see details and to register for our entertaining and educational Ecology Center camps.

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Leave No Child Inside - Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights

In 2009, the Chicago Wilderness alliance adopted its Children’s Outdoor Bill of Rights. The Bill states that every child should have the opportunity to:

1. Discover wilderness — prairies, dunes, forests, savannas and wetlands
2. Camp under the stars
3. Follow a trail
4. Catch and release fish, frogs and insects
5. Climb a tree
6. Explore nature in neighbor¬hoods and cities
7. Celebrate heritage
8. Plant a flower
9. Play in the mud or a stream
10. Learn to swim

Are you looking for ways to help your child understand and enjoy the natural environment? In addition to signing up for some of the classes offered by the Evanston Ecology Center, see our program, or click here for the KidsOutside website.

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USEFUL INFORMATION

Evanston's Role in the Climate Protection Agreement

In October 2006, the City of Evanston unanimously voted to sign the US Mayor's Climate Protection Agreement. Signed by over 800 cities nationwide (as of fall of 2008), the agreement pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 7% from the 1990 levels by 2012.

In the fall of 2007, Evanston completed a greenhouse gas emission inventory which revealed a 13% reduction in Evanston greenhouse gas emissions was needed by 2012 to meet this goal. However, this is only a short-term goal. Long term, many support the necessity of an 80% reduction from present emissions by 2050 to curb the effects of climate change.

The City of Evanston then partnered with the Network for Evanston’s Future, a local coalition of citizens’ groups, to jointly develop a climate action plan through a citizen-based process. A climate action plan outlines strategies for reducing a community's greenhouse gas emissions.

Nine taskforces were formed, each co-chaired by a City staff and two community members, to address the following focus areas: land use and transportation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste reduction, food, the natural environment and carbon offsets, policy and research, education and communications.

At a community meeting attended by over 130 people in November 2007, residents were invited to join one of the 9 taskforces. The taskforces spent six months researching emission reducing measures, focusing on those that would be most feasible for Evanston because of their associated emissions reductions, cost, existing resources and community priorities.

In May 2008, the recommended strategies were presented for community comment at an Earth Day event attended by over 300 people.

The Evanston Climate Action Plan (ECAP) was unanimously accepted by City Council on November 10, 2008. Click here for more information.

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Since the discovery of the Emerald Ash Borer in Wilmette on July 13, 2006, City of Evanston staff will promptly respond to all suspected sightings of the insect, with a goal of responding within 24 hours.

In the last year the quarantine area surrounding the initial discoveries of the Emerald Ash Borer has widened to now include the entire Northeastern Illiois area.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture has produced this newsletter with updated information on the Emerald Ash Borer (pdf). They also have designated a Web site with information specific to Illinois' fight against the Emerald Ash Borer: www.ILLINOISEAB.com

Other resources are the Morton Arboretum Web site and www.emeraldashborer.info.

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GALLERY

A Tribute to Linda Lutz

Linda “EcoQueen” Lutz, Evanston Ecology Center Coordinator, started at the Evanston Ecology Center March 1, 1988, a bit more than 20 years ago. At the end of June she is leaving to look for a new adventure, but will be staying on the EEA Board as president through December 2008. Her staff, EEA Board/Ladd Arboretum Committee members past and present, and countless visitors to the Ecology Center over those two decades, will miss her unfailing good humor, intelligence and dedication very much.

Says Linda, “It’s been a fabulous work environment with the Ecology Center staff and I will miss that.” She sees her two main accomplishments as building up the summer camps program and the addition to the Ecology Center.

When she joined the Ecology Center, they had one camp, Wildflower, which had been started in the late 1970’s with about two dozen campers. Today the camp program has six different camps and something like 450 campers. That’s quite an accomplishment!

When Linda was beginning her second decade with the Ecology Center, the EEA board voted, with Linda’s support and guidance, to investigate the possibility of expanding the Ecology Center facility. The space could only accommodate one program at a time, and that included sharing space with the Center’s Critters. “It would be kind of embarrassing,” says Linda, “to have a public meeting or educational program going on and hear the guinea pigs squeaking and the mice running around in the background.”

With Linda’s help, the EEA board made a proposal to the City of Evanston in 1998 for a new addition. Linda spent the next six years selecting architects, meeting with the public (12 meetings!), wrestling with contractors, testing soil, working with the city, and getting grants and loans. But her work paid off. The official groundbreaking ceremony was in June 2001, and by October 2004 we celebrated the Grand Opening.

The new addition holds 112 people in its lovely 1,800 square feet, and boasts a massive wood-burning fireplace and vaulted ceiling with exposed wood beams as well as ADA-compliant bathroom facilities. Yay, Linda!

Some of her many other accomplishments include:

• Hosting the first-ever Green Living Festival in 2007 (another one is coming up in October!). “We can’t just be reactive,” says Linda, “we need to be positive!” The festival, she says, “is a great opportunity to showcase the environment and make the EEA more prominent in the community.”
• Launching the popular Ecology Center Garage Sale, Reduce Reuse and Recycle, now in its 7th year.
• Managing 6 years of the successful Duck Race and Pluck to help sponsor the Ecology Center’s Critters.
• Continuing the tradition of the Dried Flower Sale, which ran for almost 30 years.
• Constantly working on fundraising. This included enough to pay off the entire mortgage for the new addition. Most recently, it also included securing a 5-year legacy grant of $25,000/year for the Elizabeth Archer Patterson Environmental Education Awareness project, held by the Evanston Community Foundation under the EEA.
• and working with the EEA board to create this website.

Mostly, though, Linda is proud of the work she has done “integrating what we do with the community.” She says the Ecology Center interacts with hundreds of families: “Whether it’s to help with leaf collection, do an internship or community service, attend a camp or program, we’ve really embraced the community and created a lot of partnerships.”

Charles Smith, long time EEA board member, Ladd Arboretum Committee member and friend, has collaborated with Linda on many projects. “Because of Linda’s hard work and good management the Evanston Ecology Center will continue to serve our community with wonderful youth camps, a beautiful new meeting facility and of course our 17 acre woods. I am grateful for Linda’s leadership and friendship.”

As a consistent champion of the Ecology Center, Charles says when there were attempts to cut programs or reduce resources Linda found a way to eliminate or reduce the cuts and find new resources. “Linda has been a good steward for the Ladd Arboretum, Environment Board, the Evanston Environmental Association and all things green. With foresight and vision she saw the big picture and was able to balance the interests of all who strived for a greener Evanston.”

Karen Taira, one of two Environmental Educators at the Ecology Center, says, “Linda has been the single most influential person in my 12 year career at the Ecology Center. She manages the Ecology Center with the perfect balance of what’s best for the staff and what’s best for the Center and the City. She is a great advocate for the staff and leads with a positive and diplomatic style. She will be truly missed by all.”

Beth Cullen, office manager at the Ecology Center since 2001, says, “Because of Linda’s leadership, the Ecology Center is a fun and happy place to work. It’s like being part of a great extended family! She is never afraid of trying new things and always encourages the EcoStaff to stretch our wings and fly. She has mentored many Ecology Center employees over her 20 years of service with the City of Evanston; and many come back to visit or call to say “hi.” It has been my pleasure and privilege to work with this amazing person for the last seven years.”

But there’s more to Linda then all this. She is married, with two almost-grown boys. She’s an avid outdoorswoman, knitter and photographer, and recently began taking classes on fabric dyeing. Says Beth, “Linda is generous in sharing her creations with the Ecostaff: we are decked out all winter in her amazing “Luna Knits”, and staff parties are never complete without a Linda-inspired craft project.”

Linda got her BS in Anthropology/Sociology from Kalamazoo College and her MS in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan. She taught and directed residential environmental education facilities in Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire for five years, and was Manager of Education at the Chicago Botanic Garden for four years. She also taught Junior High science for two years.

In addition, Linda is very active in the community. She is a member of the Traveler’s Garden Club, the National Parks and Recreation Association, Rotary Club of Evanston, the American Canoeing Association, and she’s the current president of the Evanston Garden Council.

We will all miss her, but wish her well as she searches for her next adventure. As Linda says, with a grin on her face, no matter how hard the day has been, “Rock ‘n Roll!”

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How much energy does it takes
to light a standard bulb versus a
compact fluorescent light bulb?

Fred Schneider, the 2008 Green Living Festival
chair, took an electric car for a test drive in 2007.

There were about 50 vendors to educate us
about their environmental products or services.

Festivalgoers who ride their bicycles or walk to the Evanston Ecology Center received a small token of appreciation.

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Carla and Jim La Rochelle stop by the rain barrel display. Rain barrels have been in short supply this summer, but the EEA ordered 50 to sell at this year’s festival.

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