BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//ChamberMaster//Event Calendar 2.0//EN METHOD:PUBLISH X-PUBLISHED-TTL:P3D REFRESH-INTERVAL:P3D CALSCALE:GREGORIAN BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART:20200113T150000Z DTEND:20200113T160000Z X-MICROSOFT-CDO-ALLDAYEVENT:FALSE SUMMARY:Go Green Northfield Meeting DESCRIPTION:Monday\, December 16\, 2019\n\nMeeting Minutes\n\nAttendees: Sandy Ritterson\, Jeanine McCarthy\, Tom Whittaker\, Betsy Kochvar\, Anne Peterson\, Robin Nash\, Melissa DeFeo\, Liz Kunkle\, Terry Dason\, Patricia Gainsberg\n\n \n\nGGNF Community Partners Update\n\n Liz Kunkle\, Go Green Winnetka founding member and Zero Waste Consultant for Collective Resource\, sat in on our meeting to discuss how GGNF can continue to partner with Go Green Winnetka in the new year. GGNF looks forward to our organizations\, which have a shared history and shared goals\, working together on more community education projects/events in the future. \n\n Chamber of Commerce will be making Chamber events zero waste with the help of Chamber member\, Collective Resource. Other Chamber members can leverage Collective Resource's expertise in zero waste event planning for a fee.\n\n Chamber of Commerce is also looking to recognize outstanding citizens at its annual recognition lunch. We are invited to nominate any Northfield "people of note."\n\n \n\nVillage of Northfield Update \n\n New holiday decorations and lighting around town are a big hit with residents. Pleased to have a lovely alternative to throwing away string lights after the season. Public works will be removing the lights after the holidays and storing them for next year. \n\n 2040 plan is still a work in progress. Public draft will be coming out in early January.\n\n Skokie Valley Trail (with amended route) received funding for Phase 2 with two grants! Now Northfield only needs to contribute 10K to the project. Union Pacific would only allow Northfield to use their right-of-way if the Village purchased the entire right-of-way from Chicago to Milwaukee\, which is a tactic used to deter use of their land\, so Northfield is now looking at squeezing into the Village right-of-way that is currently home to Fields parking lots. \n\n Pollinator Garden Update\n\no Everything is planted. Garden requires three years of maintenance moving forward as it matures. Village didn't win a grant for a viewing platform\, but Melissa is looking into other grants. Village can't solicit donations directly for the garden\, but the Northfield Park Foundation could allocate funds for a bench and/or viewing platform. \n\no Trex\, the company that collects plastic bags at local groceries and the Winnetka Community House to make into planks (for decks and benches)\, runs a contest each school year to increase awareness of the kind of plastics that we can bring to these recycling drops. Each regional winner receives a bench made of Trex materials. Contest runs from November to April and the winner is whoever collects the most bags by volume. Mariano's has a bag drop off and so does Jewel. Stores don't advertise that they collect even though Trex pays for the bags. More community education can be done about plastic bag recycling since drop off locations don't really promote it. Could do collect in the schools as well. Liz says Stephanie Hicks shicks@trex.com is the Trex contact for schools. Can get recycling bins from her. Anne will look into bag recycling and the contest for D29 schools.\n\n Cannabis business activity in Northfield was tabled. Discussions will reopen next year\, giving Northfield a chance to see how it goes in other towns that are allowing dispensaries like Northbrook and Skokie. \n\n State of the Village League of Women Voters event takeaway is that Northfield's retail sector is vibrant. Medline may be physically expanding on their corporate headquarters campus.\n\n Jan/Feb newsletter articles are due this week! Melissa will report on the holiday lights and why Northfield made the change.\n\n Tree Planting Update \n\no Betsy has been planting trees with Northfield Public Works through the Open Lands tree/land conservation Treekeeper program. She observed that many of the trees planted by the Village had "mulch volcanoes\," which are detrimental to tree health. Public Works employees have been retrained on how to plant properly using "mulch donuts" instead. Trees will be a big part of climate change mitigation. We can reduce the temperature of cities by 5 -10 degrees by planting trees. Saima Abassi from Go Green Wilmette is also a treekeeper. Liz will get Betsy in touch with her. \n\n Christmas Tree Recycling \n\no Waste management will pick up real trees\, wreaths\, and garlands (remove all lights/decorations) curbside January 2nd and January 9th. Any trees left curbside after January 9th go to a landfill. \n\no If you're going out of town and need to dispose of your tree before January\, the Northfield Park District\, in partnership with Nels Johnson Tree Care\, offers a tree drop off in the Community Center parking lot from December 16 through January 5. Trees must not be bagged and cannot be decorated or taller than six feet. Trees that are recycled will go to a composting or chipping facility\, where they will produce a useful end product.\n\n Holiday Lights Recycling continues through January 31st at Village Hall and the Park District.\n\n \n\nMiddlefork School Organic Garden (Patricia Gainsberg) \n\n Patricia is leading efforts to create an organic garden for Middlefork students. She is seeking groups or individuals to help maintain the garden. Financial backing from private community members and fundraising through the PTO are likely. Discussions continue with the Park District to determine the best location for a garden. Need group/s committed to garden maintenance as part of a future proposal to D29 and the Park District. GGNF supports the idea but we are not gardeners so GGNF is not the right partner for this aspect of the project. Park District summer camp students could help tend the garden over the summer. Group suggests: need parents and students on board\; think about the educational aspects of a garden\; consider scope\, scale\, and community partnerships before making the proposal.\n\n \n\nEnergy Update (Bill Hayes' notes)\n\n2019 highlights\n\n Overall Results: Not nearly enough was done to reduce CO2 pollution from fossil fuels and avoid damaging climate consequences in the future. According to scientists and the Paris Agreement\, we need to cut global emissions 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050\, which means shifting to 100% renewable energy. Some progress made with regulations and voluntary action by certain states\, municipalities and businesses\, but not enough.\n Global/National - Global emissions INCREASED 0.6% in 2019. Cost declines and initiatives to increase renewable energy occurred in all countries\, but the progress was not enough to outweigh the usual economic growth and to achieve the needed global 5% decline/year in CO2 pollution in any major country. On the positive side\, in 2019 Europe became the largest block to commit to net zero by 2050.\n State - In early 2019 Illinois joined 23 other US states in the US Climate Alliance\, committed to the Paris Agreement reductions in CO2 pollution. However\, Illinois state regulations that require increasing renewable electricity by ComEd (which is the main way to achieve the Paris Agreement) remained stuck at an insufficient 8% in 2019 due to budget constraints. \n Municipality - there are at least 16 Illinois municipalities that currently have aggregations that default to 100% renewable electricity for residences (most appear to have been added new in 2019)\, and most were able to do this at no extra cost to residents. But for every municipality that uses 100% green electricity\, there are many more that have taken little or no action to shift to the use of renewable electricity\, like Northfield. \n Businesses - As of 2019 2/3's of the 200 largest global businesses are now on track for the required 50% cut in emissions by 2030. But beyond the largest businesses the commitment lags.\n\nLooking Ahead to 2020\n\n\n For the benefit of the next generation\, it is imperative that we progress in all dimensions to achieve the Paris Agreement pathway - national regulation and voluntary action by states\, municipalities and businesses.\n Global/National - It will be incredibly important that the US rejoins the Paris Agreement and puts a national price on carbon (like HR763). US Presidential and Congressional elections in 2020 will determine the likelihood of achieving this.\n State - expectations are low that Illinois' current state 8% renewable purchases will be increased in 2020\, considering politics and budgets.\n Village of Northfield - Go Green Northfield and community members should expect that the Village of Northfield will take some steps to begin the transition to renewable electricity and to reduce its community-wide CO2 pollution. Two recommended Village steps for 2020 are: 1.) Purchase renewable electricity for at least a portion of village operations in a way that meets GHG accounting standards (i.e.\; not greenwashing)\, and 2.) Explore a municipal aggregation that involves 100% renewable electricity for the Northfield community\, as other Northshore communities are doing. These would put Northfield way ahead of the Paris Agreement pathway (50% reduction by 2030) at little to no cost to the community.\n\n \n\nSchool District 29 Update\n\n Waste-Free Lunch Program Research\n\no Dr. Sukenik and SRS student club Environmental Service League continue to research feasibility.\n\n \n\nComposting Update\n\n Sandy is composting through Collective Resource over the winter. She has a 5-gallon bucket that will be picked up every 2 weeks ($15 per pick up). Sandy will report back on the process and service throughout the winter. \n\n Melissa has info about Collective Resource's service if residents are interested in learning more about composting over the winter.\n\n \n\nIf anyone knows about any green events for Sandy to include in the next Go Green Events email\, please let her know.\n\n \n\nIf you are on Facebook\, please like and share posts from our Go Green Northfield page!\n\n \n\nNext Planning Meeting\n\n Next meeting is Monday\, January 13h at 9:00am at Village Hall X-ALT-DESC;FMTTYPE=text/html: \;Monday\, December 16\, 2019
\nMeeting Minutes
\nAttendees: Sandy Ritterson\, Jeanine McCarthy\, Tom Whittaker\, Betsy Kochvar\, Anne Peterson\, Robin Nash\, Melissa DeFeo\, Liz Kunkle\, Terry Dason\, Patricia Gainsberg
\n \;
\nGGNF Community Partners Update
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Liz Kunkle\, Go Green Winnetka founding member and Zero Waste Consultant for Collective Resource\, sat in on our meeting to discuss how GGNF can continue to partner with Go Green Winnetka in the new year. GGNF looks forward to our organizations\, which have a shared history and shared goals\, working together on more community education projects/events in the future. \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Chamber of Commerce will be making Chamber events zero waste with the help of Chamber member\, Collective Resource. \; Other Chamber members can leverage Collective Resource&rsquo\;s expertise in zero waste event planning for a fee.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Chamber of Commerce is also looking to recognize outstanding citizens at its annual recognition lunch. We are invited to nominate any Northfield &ldquo\;people of note.&rdquo\;
\n \;
\nVillage of Northfield Update \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;New holiday decorations and lighting around town are a big hit with residents. \; Pleased to have a lovely alternative to throwing away string lights after the season. \; Public works will be removing the lights after the holidays and storing them for next year. \; \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;2040 plan is still a work in progress. \; Public draft will be coming out in early January.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Skokie Valley Trail (with amended route) received funding for Phase 2 with two grants! \; Now Northfield only needs to contribute 10K to the project. \; Union Pacific would only allow Northfield to use their right-of-way if the Village purchased the entire right-of-way from Chicago to Milwaukee\, which is a tactic used to deter use of their land\, so Northfield is now looking at squeezing into the Village right-of-way that is currently home to Fields parking lots. \; \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Pollinator Garden Update
\no \; \; \;Everything is planted. Garden requires three years of maintenance moving forward as it matures. \; Village didn&rsquo\;t win a grant for a viewing platform\, but Melissa is looking into other grants. \; Village can&rsquo\;t solicit donations directly for the garden\, but the Northfield Park Foundation could allocate funds for a bench and/or viewing platform. \;
\no \; \; \;Trex\, the company that collects plastic bags at local groceries and the Winnetka Community House to make into planks (for decks and benches)\, runs a contest each school year to increase awareness of the kind of plastics that we can bring to these recycling drops. Each regional winner receives a bench made of Trex materials. \; Contest runs from November to April and the winner is whoever collects the most bags by volume. \; Mariano&rsquo\;s has a bag drop off and so does Jewel. \; Stores don&rsquo\;t advertise that they collect even though Trex pays for the bags. \; More community education can be done about plastic bag recycling since drop off locations don&rsquo\;t really promote it. \; Could do collect in the schools as well. \; Liz says Stephanie Hicks \;shicks@trex.com \;is the Trex contact for schools. \; Can get recycling bins from her. Anne will look into bag recycling and the contest for D29 schools.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Cannabis business activity in Northfield was tabled. \; Discussions will reopen next year\, giving Northfield a chance to see how it goes in other towns that are allowing dispensaries like Northbrook and Skokie. \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;State of the Village League of Women Voters event takeaway is that Northfield&rsquo\;s retail sector is vibrant. Medline may be physically expanding on their corporate headquarters campus.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Jan/Feb newsletter articles are due this week! Melissa will report on the holiday lights and why Northfield made the change.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Tree Planting Update \;
\no \; \; \;Betsy has been planting trees with Northfield Public Works through the Open Lands tree/land conservation Treekeeper program. \; She observed that many of the trees planted by the Village had &ldquo\;mulch volcanoes\,&rdquo\; which are detrimental to tree health. \; Public Works employees have been retrained on how to plant properly using &ldquo\;mulch donuts&rdquo\; instead. \; Trees will be a big part of climate change mitigation. We can reduce the temperature of cities by 5 -10 degrees by planting trees. \; Saima Abassi from Go Green Wilmette is also a treekeeper. Liz will get Betsy in touch with her. \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Christmas Tree Recycling \;
\no \; \; \;Waste management will pick up real trees\, wreaths\, and garlands (remove all lights/decorations) curbside January 2nd \;and January 9th. \; Any trees left curbside after January 9th \;go to a landfill. \;
\no \; \; \;If you&rsquo\;re going out of town and need to dispose of your tree before January\, the Northfield Park District\, in partnership with Nels Johnson Tree Care\, offers a tree drop off in the Community Center parking lot from December 16 through January 5. \;Trees must not be bagged and cannot be decorated or taller than six feet. Trees that are recycled will go to a composting or chipping facility\, where they will produce a useful end product.
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Holiday Lights Recycling continues through January 31st \;at Village Hall and the Park District.
\n \;
\nMiddlefork School Organic Garden (Patricia Gainsberg) \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Patricia is leading efforts to create an organic garden for Middlefork students. \; She is seeking groups or individuals to help maintain the garden. Financial backing from private community members and fundraising through the PTO are likely. \; Discussions continue with the Park District to determine the best location for a garden. \; Need group/s committed to garden maintenance as part of a future proposal to D29 and the Park District. GGNF supports the idea but we are not gardeners so GGNF is not the right partner for this aspect of the project. Park District summer camp students could help tend the garden over the summer. \; Group suggests: need parents and students on board\; think about the educational aspects of a garden\; consider scope\, scale\, and community partnerships before making the proposal.
\n \;
\nEnergy Update (Bill Hayes&rsquo\; notes)
\n2019 highlights\n\nLooking Ahead to 2020\n\n\n \;
\nSchool District 29 Update
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Waste-Free Lunch Program Research
\no \; \; \;Dr. Sukenik and SRS student club Environmental Service League continue to research feasibility.
\n \;
\nComposting Update
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Sandy is composting through Collective Resource over the winter. She has a 5-gallon bucket that will be picked up every 2 weeks ($15 per pick up). Sandy will report back on the process and service throughout the winter. \;
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Melissa has info about Collective Resource&rsquo\;s service if residents are interested in learning more about composting over the winter.
\n \;
\nIf anyone knows about any green events for Sandy to include in the next Go Green Events email\, please let her know.
\n \;
\nIf you are on Facebook\, please like and share posts from our Go Green Northfield page!
\n \;
\nNext Planning Meeting
\n·\; \; \; \; \; \; \;Next meeting is Monday\, January 13h \;at 9:00am at Village Hall LOCATION:Go Green Northfield Planning Meeting Northfield Village Hall 361 Happ Road Northfield UID:e.259.12331 SEQUENCE:3 DTSTAMP:20260405T174207Z URL:https://chamber.wngchamber.com/events/details/go-green-northfield-meeting-12331 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR