It's a Non-Profit Kind of May Day
It's a Non-Profit Kind of May Day
Compost week reminder, tool lender, and summer camp, plus a rainbow
Somewhere Over There Rainbow
I was cleaning up some work loose ends late Monday when Barb told me to look at the window, as there was a pink glow in the distance that suggested a rainbow might be forming. Sure enough, she was right.
It’s hard to tell exactly how far away the rainbow was. Thanks to our area’s flatitude, we can see all the way to the northwest Indiana factories from our 30th story perch. My guess is it was somewhere in the middle between Navy Pier, four miles away in the foreground, and said factories.
The colors of the spectrum were muddled by distance and haze, but still a pretty glorious sight, don’t you think? A longer shot is below.
UI Extension Appy Hour and Other Compost Week Events
My friends at University of Illinois Extension Cook County asked me to share their invitation to their “‘Appy Hour” that takes place on Friday, May 12, 4 p.m., at UIC Forum, 1213 S. Halsted on the University of Illinois Chicago campus.
Their request prompted me to post a reminder about the full slate of activities that also are part of International Compost Awareness Week.
Here’s what Extension has to say about its event, presented in coordination with the Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition:
All are invited to a social ‘Appy Hour to celebrate Compost Awareness Week with U of I Extension and the Illinois Food Scrap Coalition, on Friday, May 12 at the UIC Forum, 1213 S. Halsted St., Chicago.
Join composting professionals for networking, appetizers and the opportunity to win compost-related prizes. Learn what was discussed at the Building a Culture of Composting in Greater Chicagoland Summit held earlier in the day. FREE but RSVP required (click the button below to register).
The use of compost as a nutritional soil supplement has been gaining significant traction as more and more farmers and gardeners seek natural alternatives to synthetic fertilizers. International Compost Awareness Week, a project of the Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition, kicks off on Sunday, May 7 with an Adventures in Composting self-directed tour.
There will be a total of 20 events open to the public, and many will take place in the Chicago-area counties of Cook, DuPage, Lake, and Will, as well as Bureau and Champaign counties downstate. According to the organizers:
Cruise over to one or more destinations in Illinois for conversations with backyard composters, gardeners, farmers and others with a variety of interactive experiences throughout the region! Learn about and experience the joy of compost while enveloping your senses and seeing, smelling, touching & feeling it.
While there may be items for purchase at some events, all are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Come on out and there will be many happy, passionate folks waiting to meet and greet you. It’s a very unique opportunity to have some fun, but also learn how you can impact your little corner of the world with your own adventures in composting. Know that you will also be playing a part in something that reaches and impacts the greater planet beyond.
Click the button below to learn about each of the events (and all other events planned that week) and register.
Sign Your Kids Up for Summer Nature’s Farm Camp
Nature’s Farm Camp has opened registration for its three five-day/three-night overnight camp sessions that will take place from July 16 to August 3 at Angelic Organics Learning Center in Caledonia, Illinois (just east of Rockford and about 90 miles northwest of downtown Chicago).
The camp is available to anyone regardless of ability to pay, as the organization provides “Camperships,” its word for scholarships.
According to Nature’s Farm Camp, “Campers experience a lifestyle that is simple, rugged and exciting. Helping to run the farm, the setting offers a safe, yet challenging environment for kids to discover, grow, do and make while enjoying the great outdoors. Campers take part in a wide variety of activities, e.g. build, cook, craft, and farm chores are always a part. Camp meals provide structure to the day and there's also siesta time, forest hikes, free play, games, camp fires and more.”
Click below for more information and to register.
Windy City Toolbank Aims to Help Non-Profits Save
I had the pleasure of attending the Grand Opening ceremony for Windy City Toolbank, a non-profit that helps other non-profits save money on their projects by lending them tools at low cost.
Windy City Toolbank, located near O’Hare Airport in suburban Elk Grove Village, is an affiliate of the national Toolbank USA organization. According to the parent organization, “The ToolBank’s signature lending model allows charities to focus on their mission by relying on ToolBanks to provide, store, and repair critically needed tools and equipment. ToolBanks share their resources with charitable groups so they can equip volunteers to efficiently complete work in less time, with the right tools, at minimal costs. Using ToolBank tools, community-based organizations avoid the expense of purchasing, repairing, and storing tools.”
According to Jim Flory, Windy City Toolbank’s executive director, the local outlet has about 2,200 tools in its system, with roughly 800 to 900 on hand in the Elk Grove Village facility. “We have set up a display in the back that shows a typical order that has about $1,500 retail value of tools. And we will loan it to a nonprofit or community group for $50,” Jim said.
Within our own local food community, the services provided by Windy City Toolbank appear especially helpful to non-profit and community groups managing urban farming operations or community gardens; helping individuals develop their own gardens; and conducting community improvement/beautification projects.
To learn about Windy City Toolbank and inquire about borrowing tools, click the button below.
There are other tool lending programs in the area, including Chicago Tool Library, which recently moved into a new facility at 4015 W. Carroll Ave. in the city’s West Garfield Park neighborhood. I look forward to planning a visit with them soon.
The Windy City Toolbank team and board struck a pose during the April 21 Grand Opening.
I enjoyed chatting with the folks from Two Hound Red Brewing in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, who served as the event’s beer sponsor.