Go Green Des Plaines’ first Changemakers Joanna (left) and Natalia (right).
Hello, spring! Our service in this volunteerism has opened many doors and taken us down exciting roads. We are grateful for brilliant friends from our neighboring Go Greens in Mount Prospect and Park Ridge. We are joining forces in sustainability! Park Ridge has been doing this important work for well over 10 years and they have taught us so much. Thanks to their hard work, exceptional green developments have been growing tall in Park Ridge. More people are composting and using less single use plastic. They host free monthly events to share helpful information about how to reduce our carbon footprint. We are hopeful that since we have been invited to work with our city on the new Sustainability Committee we can achieve more green goals and implement plans for an environmentally friendly way of life in our community!
Go Green Mount Prospect is brand new and they inspire us more each day. Joanna Swidzinski Endo is the president and has already achieved amazing things. We are copying Go Green Park Ridge’s monthly “Changemaker” award that celebrates citizens who are making an environmental difference in our community. We are proud to announce that Joanna is our first Changemaker recipient. Joanna from Soil and Sprouts and her native plant expert friend and gardening partner Natalia Boleslawski Taseff from Backyard Prairies have dedicated their young lives to helping anyone go native in their garden. Together they harvest thousands of seeds, process, and package them in little colorful envelopes displaying their common and Latin names along with growing conditions. Natalia gives the seeds away and Joanna teaches you how to sow the seeds in a mini milk jug greenhouse.
February 4th, Joanna, Natalia, Izaak Walton and Go Green Des Plaines hosted our second annual “Sip and Sow.” This was a free event for all and everyone went home with a mini-native garden in a milk jug. The seeds will stratify in soil in milk jugs outside until springtime when they are big enough to plant in the Earth. We had a full house including Maine West seniors and Scouts Lily and Liv who are planning a native garden and seed library at Izaak Walton. They are working toward their Gold Award which is the highest award a Scout can earn. Thank you Joanna and Natalia for sharing your knowledge and seeds! The pollinators will thank you this summer when more gardens will come alive with native plants.
Bird Collisions of the Anthropocene will be at Izaak Walton March 15 for a free drop-in from 1 to 4 p.m. to teach us about what we can do to prevent bird collisions in the deadliest city for birds in the world (Chicago)! We will help Holly Greenberg create a giant quilt made of 10,836 sculpture birds. (Amount of birds that died from collisions in Chicagoland in 2023 after hitting glass). Last time I checked Holly had about 2,000 completed. This project will grow to the size of a football field and may be displayed with your bird at the Field Museum. This is a fun family and friend event!
Save the date for Pollinator Fest May 23 at Izaak Walton. We will have honey for sale, crafts, scavenger hunt, and lots to learn about ways to make your life and garden more beautiful and friendly for nature. Please visit our website gogreendesplaines.org to sign up for fun events and join us on our green quest! We need your help! Join a committee! We offer internships and service hours and love to meet new people who care about the Earth!
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