Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, will host a student-focused conference on sustainable agriculture on March 31 and April 1, 2012. One of the keynote speakers is John Ikerd, a noted author and longtime advocate of sustainable farming; I’ve assigned some of his writings in my SUST and PLS classes.
See this post on the Schaumburg’s Sustainable Future blog for more details on the conference and how to register. It’s cheap ($30) and includes food and lodging. Very cool stuff is on the conference slate for people interested in community/college gardens and farms, sustainable agriculture, etc.
On Thursday, Oct. 13th, I took some time away from my normal professorial duties to attend a lunchtime forum entitled “Chicago’s Water: Protecting Our Precious Resource,” sponsored by the Chicago Council on Science and Technology. The event was held in the 18th floor “Wolf Point Ballroom” in the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza, literally right off that parking lot that sits on Wolf Point. Floor to ceiling views of the Chicago River and the skyline made for a dramatic setting for the event and the ensuing conversation about the history and future of water management in Chicago.
Combined Sewage Outfall on the Chicago River, in the Loop (M. Bryson)
I couldn’t help but notice the remarkably clear view of the Combined Sewage Outfall (CSO) location where my students and I rafted up our canoes the previous weekend in the Loop and discussed the impact of stormwater overflows of untreated wastewater on the ecology of the Chicago River. It was both odd and inspiring to view that location from up high, only a few days later.
This exceptionally interesting forum featured a keynote address by Debra Shore, an Metropolitan Water Reclamation District commissioner who, unlike most commissioners past and present, actually has a long track record in environmental conservation and advocacy. She is one of the drivers of the recent turnaround in MWRD policy with respect to the disinfection of wastwater. Shore’s presentation highlighted the history of Chicago’s development and its relation to the river, the technological changes that have been wrought upon the latter, the key issues facing us in the 21st century (water quality, Asian Carp, hydrological separation, etc.), and a broad question at the end: “Can Chicago become Nature’s Metropolis for the 21st Century?” In the latter, she implied that how we manage the river will be a large part of the answer to that question.
One key theme that repeatedly came up during the forum’s dialogue was the notion of separating the watersheds as a way to improve water conservation and prevent invasive species (notably the carp) from entering the GLs. Surprisingly, none of the engineers on the panel or in the audience claimed that such a separation was technically impossible, or even too costly to attempt. What they repeatedly cited was the need for the political will and creation of effective avenues of communication and collaboration to do it. If that happened, then the technology could be brought to bear productively. This view was even espoused by Dick Lanyon, the longtime engineer for and then manager of the MWRD who retired in 2010 and who was at this meeting (coincidentally, I sat next to him and got to bend his ear for several minutes after the program). Lanyon is a key source about water management in the Chicago region in Peter Annin’s 2006 book, The Great Lakes Water Wars .
Another issue that was discussed was the status of the current studies underway to assess the feasibility and impacts of hydrological separation. The Army Corps of Engineers’ study was cited several times, favorably, despite it’s rather slow projected timeline that has raised the pique of neighboring Great Lakes states; and Tinka Hyde, the EPA rep, noted that USEPA was collaborating with the Corps on this process.
One vision of how the hydrology of the Chicago Region might be transformed by re-separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds (Milwaukee Journal-Star)
Those interested in following up on the status of the GLC’s planning process, as well as learning more about the environmental and ecological prospects of hydrologically separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds can read more about it here and/or attend a public webinar on Oct. 24th for the GLC’s Chicago Area Waterway Study.
This October marks a couple of fascinating and educational events related to water. These would make excellent field trip alternatives for students in my PLS 391 or SUST 220 classes this fall, as well as interesting forums for anyone interested in the sustainability of Chicago’s water supply and the flooding issues impacting Illinois communities along the Mississippi River.
On Thursday, Oct. 13th, the Chicago Council for Science and Technology will present a luncheon panel discussion entitled “Chicago’s Water: Protecting Our Precious Resource.” From the program’s promo:
Invasive species have destroyed the balance of the Great Lakes ecosystem and threaten further environmental and economic hardship. The Chicago River is still a conduit for periodic releases of raw sewage and suffers from the scars of an unregulated industrial past. Climate change may create more severe storms, exacerbating flooding problems in the region. Hundreds of millions of gallons of water are withdrawn from Lake Michigan every day, used once, and discharged into the waterways. Water supplies are diminishing in the suburbs. Commissioner Debra Shore of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District will highlight the urgency and scale of these problems and the need for a grand vision of water management. Also, a panel of experts representing different point of views will discuss the potential roles played by government, industry, academia and private citizens to better manage and sustain our water resources.
On Friday, Oct. 21st, the College of Du Page in Glen Ellyn, IL, will host the Mississippi River Basin Flood of 2011 Symposium from 9am to 2:30pm. The day’s program features expert speakers and multimedia presentations on past Mississippi River floods as well as detailed analysis of the 2011 flood event, with scheduled sessions on flood-producing weather patterns, flood monitoring technology, flood mitigation, and floodplain map development. For more detailed information on this free event, see the official flier (pdf) from the CoD Department of Earth Sciences.
Here in my hometown of Joliet, Illinois, one of this spring’s biggest events is happening this coming Saturday, May 21st, at the Public Library’s Black Road branch by the Rock Run Forest Preserve. It’s the GR2011 Sustainability Festival, a family-friendly celebration of nature, green technology and innovation, recycling, and environmental conservation.
Volunteers at last year's GR2010 Festival in Joliet
Based on the tremendous and somewhat unexpected success of last year’s inaugural festival, GR2011 should be even bigger and better. And with an impressive line-up of live music as well as local food vendors, the Festival is living proof that that promoting environmentalism and having fun aren’t mutually exclusive pursuits.
Even more importantly, in the year since the Will County Forest Preserve, the Joliet Public Library, Joliet Junior College, and the City of Joliet collaborated on 2010’s festival, the Joliet region has continued to take meaningful steps toward becoming a environmentally progressive and more sustainable community. That movement is part of a larger wellspring of environmental activism throughout the Chicago region, from the inner city to the outer suburbs.
Consider just a few representative examples here at home. Tonight at the Black Road Library is a free screening of the film, “Fresh,” which profiles farmers and food entrepreneurs who have developed creative approaches to sustainable agriculture. The movie is the fourth of weekly screenings leading up to the GR2011 Festival, and the film series has been a refreshing addition to the city’s cultural scene.
Two other key players on the local sustainability scene are JJC and USF, both of which are undertaking a variety of environmental initiatives. I visited JJC on their Earth Day celebration last month, and spoke with several students and faculty who are passionate about environmental stewardship, green design, and sustainable agriculture. The college is emerging as a regional leader in campus greening initiatives, and the faculty there are just starting to collaborate on an exciting new sustainability curriculum.
Meanwhile, USF and the recently-lauded grassroots organization Cool Joliet have broken ground on a community garden along busy Plainfield Road on the city’s near-West Side. The newly-constructed raised beds herald the forthcoming transformation of this neglected vacant lot into a productive green space.
Cool Joliet is also working on a similar garden at nearby Farragut school, which reportedly will be one of several school gardens planned in District 86. This bodes well for the 11,000 children in the district, as such gardens not only beautify school grounds, but also serve as multidisciplinary learning laboratories, points of contact with nature, and much-needed sources of fresh produce.
All these efforts show that sustainability is not just a trendy buzzword or an abstract concept. It’s a practical and fundamentally positive approach to environmental stewardship that foregrounds green entrepreneurship and social justice.
Don’t just read about it here, though. Come to the GR2011 Festival in Joliet on May 21st and see for yourself!
A warm congratulations to all the honorees at the annual College of Professional Studies awards ceremony, held on April 28th at the Chicago Campus’ Gage Gallery. Special kudos to SUST majors Jessie Crow Mermel, who won an Honorable Mention in the creative writing contest; and Kristina Lugo, who was inducted into the Alpha Sigma Lambda adult student honor society.
Details and photos are available on the College of Professional Studies blog — check it out here. And thanks to all my students this semester for your hard work and great contributions to class discussion. Enjoy this summer!
RU’s Department of History and Philosophy and the Gage Gallery, in partnership with the Illinois Labor History Society, are hosting a reception and lecture with Mark Rogovin, editor of The Day Will Come: Honoring Our Working Class Heroes, Stories of the Haymarket Martyrs.
Time/place: Friday, April 29 at 5:30 p.m. in the Gage Gallery, 18 S. Michigan Avenue.
Guest speakers are international trade unionists. The music will be by the Chicago Federation of Musicians. Drinks are donated by Haymarket Brewery.
Address replies to: Erik S. Gellman, Assistant Professor of History (egellman@roosevelt.edu)
Normally Friday nights are pretty quiet at RU’s Schaumburg Campus. But not this past Friday night. Despite pounding rain and a brief hailstorm, around 60 people converged on Alumni Hall for the special Earth Day screening of the new Aldo Leopold documentary film, Green Fire. In attendance were several Roosevelt faculty, staff, and students; but the bulk of the crowd came from the larger community. Folks like Steve and Jill Flexman, veteran restoration volunteers from the Poplar Creek Prairie Stewards; Jean and Jim DeHorn of the Chicago chapter of Wild Ones; and a prospective student from Joliet Junior College who drove all the way from Joliet (just like me) to see the film and meet some current RU Sustainability Studies students.
This small sampling of the eclectic audience at last night’s screening gives a hint of what proved to be a dynamic gathering of academics, environmental stewards, and social activists who live and work in the northwest suburban region . . . and beyond. After the film we engaged in a spirited discussion of Leopold and his classic 1949 book A Sand County Almanac, local environmentalism, the need for a more ethical relation to the land (and each other), and the value of ecological stewardship. Schaumburg’s Sustainable Future, a website created as a collaborative research project by the students in my SUST 210 Sustainable Future class this spring at the Schaumburg Campus, aims to provide a platform for keeping that exciting conversation going.
Special thanks go to Gavin Van Horn, Director of Midwest Cultures of Conservation for the Center for Humans and Nature in Chicago (one of Green Fire‘s co-producers), who helped me introduce the film and moderate discussion afterward; Jessie Crow Mermel, a Sustainability Studies major and educator at Angelic Organics farm in Caldonia IL, who planted the idea of getting Green Fire to screen at Roosevelt and provided a student’s perspective on the important of Leopold’s Land Ethic in her introductory remarks; Schaumburg Campus Provost Doug Knerr, who provided planning support and encouragement for this event from the get-go; RU professional staff Yvette Joseph, Jackie Talerico, Tim Hopkins, Jon Resele, and Sharon Del Prete for their incredible support and hard work in the planning and logistics for last night’s screening; and the students of my SUST 210 class — particularly Mary Beth Radeck, who provided superb content for and great student leadership on this project.
Here’s a photo of this morning’s prescribed burn of the wetland detention pond at RU’s Schaumburg Campus. A historic day — the first such use of controlled burning as a ecological management tool at Roosevelt; but certainly not the last, given the plans underway for revamping the physical landscape of the university.
Image credit: Kenton Franklin, Sustainability Studies major at RU. Click here for a full slideshow of photos from the burn event.
On Earth Day — that’s Friday, April 22nd — Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg Campus is proud to host a free public screening of Green Fire, the new full-length feature documentary of Aldo Leopold, a remarkable conservationist, scientist, and writer who helped shape the modern environmental movement in the US and beyond. As the Green Fire website notes, Leopold’s ideas and writings (most notably the 1949 classic, A Sand County Almanac) “remain relevant today, inspiring projects all over the country that connect people and land.” This film is an extraordinary co-production by the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Center for Humans and Nature; its world premier was on Feb. 5th in Albuquerque, NM. RU’s screening will be the one of the first in the NW suburban Chicago region.
We are very pleased to have Gavin Van Horn, Director of Midwest Cultures of Conservation at the Center for Humans and Nature, join us on April 22nd for the Green Fire screening and a post-film discussion. Popcorn and refreshments will be provided — this will be a fun movie night as well as a chance to connect with the environmental community at RU and in the Schaumburg region.
When: Friday, April 22nd (Earth Day) — 7:00pm Where: Roosevelt University’s Schaumburg Campus (1400 N. Roosevelt Blvd), Alumni Hall Cost: Free! RSVP / Questions: Contact Prof. Mike Bryson at mbryson@roosevelt.edu / 847.619.8735
I received word of this upcoming sustainability conference via email. The theme of the gathering is “Environmental Equity in the 21st Century,” and many of the events are free. Majora Carter is a major force these days in urban sustainability and social justice, having started her activist work in the Bronx.
The first annual Northwestern University Summit on Sustainability will be held April 1 & 2 on the Evanston campus. A keynote speech by Majora Carter, a MacArthur “Genius Award” Fellow, will take place on Friday, April 1st from 7 to 9 PM. The event will continue on April 2nd, with sessions on Policymaking for Environmental Justice; Sustainable Urban Planning; Food as a Lens for Understanding Inequities; Stories of Local Transformation; and Sustainability in Corporations.
Other speakers include:
– Michael Dorsey, assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth – Mari Gallagher, principal of Mari Gallagher Research and Consulting Group – Nia Robinson, the former Director of the Environmental Justice and Climate Change (EJCC) Initiative
