by Kevin Harvey | Nov 21, 2024 | Air and Water, Outdoor Spaces
With winter comes snow and ice. Although we all want safe walks and driveways, salt is damaging to the environment, yards and gardens, and pets. Salt can damage and crack pet’s paws, it corrodes metal and concrete and is damaging to grasses, trees and plants. Also,...
by Kevin Harvey | Mar 11, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Recycle
Recycling consumer goods, food scraps and yard waste is an important part of reducing waste and preserving our natural environment. Recycling reduces the consumption of raw materials by reusing materials that have already been processed. It saves the energy and water...
by Kevin Harvey | Mar 24, 2023 | Outdoor Spaces, Parks and Nature, Yard Care
CHECK IT OUT! Download our GGW Green Lawn Care Guidelines If you’re ready to make “green” changes to your lifestyle, your yard is a great place to start. Greening our lives means taking a fresh look at old attitudes. Many of us consider our yards only as an extension...
by Kevin Harvey | Dec 2, 2022 | Food Choices, Low Impact Living, Product Choices
The way we eat, cook and clean every day has a profound impact on our environment. Green your kitchen with these simple tips. REDUCE YOUR ENERGY USE Use energy efficient appliances with the Energy Star seal of approval. Replace old appliances, especially refrigerators...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 25, 2022 | Low Impact Living, Transportation
CAR SHARING WITH I-GO OR ZIP CAR Rather than buy a new car, sign up for membership with a car-sharing program such as Enterprise’s I-Go or Zipcar. These programs allow you to reserve and drive cars by the hour — and they cover the cost of the vehicle,...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 25, 2022 | Low Impact Living, Transportation
Fuel efficiency, maintenance and how we drive our vehicles determine how much gas we use. Great tips are at your fingertips, including steps to take before you leave your driveway. See below. Rethink that large car – can you get by with a smaller one? Can you rent a...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 24, 2022 | Food Choices, What and Where You Buy
What we eat every day profoundly impacts our personal health and our environmental “food print.” Eating unprocessed fresh foods from local and sustainable farms reduces our carbon footprint by using less transportation, better farming practices, greener...
by Kevin Harvey | Jul 23, 2022 | Food Choices, Low Impact Living, Product Choices
There are a number of ways to make your party a greener, low impact affair. First, keep in mind the environmental impact of every aspect of your party. Pre-plan ways to reduce the amount of paper, plastic, fuel, energy and water used for the party. Send an e-mail, or...
by Kevin Harvey | Apr 20, 2022 | Low Impact Living, Transportation
Go Green Wilmette participates with Bike Walk Wilmette to make Wilmette a better place to bike and walk. We work with residents, schools, the Park District and the Village to improve the safety and accessibility of active transportation in our community. You are...
by Kevin Harvey | Feb 25, 2022 | Low Impact Living, Transportation
Wilmette is a bike-friendly community with a bicycle advocacy group working to make Wilmette an even better place to bike. It is just over 5 square miles with quiet streets and bike trails. Many destinations can be comfortably and safely reached on a bicycle. You can...
by Kevin Harvey | Feb 28, 2021 | Compost!, Food Choices
The best option always for food waste is to COMPOST it. Composting food waste creates fertilizer to be used in your garden, improves your soil and increases drought resistance. However, not everyone has a yard and some of us don’t have the time or inclination...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 10, 2019 | Programs and Events
Go Green Wilmette organizes a Sustainable Yard Tour (formerly called Alternative Yard Tour) each summer highlighting yards that work hard managing storm water, producing healthy organic food, composting food and yard waste, and providing critical native habitat for...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 9, 2019 | Programs and Events
Go Green Wilmette hosts a Tree Walk each year in the autumn in partnership with the Village of Wilmette and the Wilmette Park District. Wilmette has many beautiful parks with majestic trees, so each year we select a park as the venue for a free, guided tour. The...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 8, 2019 | Programs and Events
Go Green Wilmette partners with the Wilmette Park District to host bird walks each Sunday morning in May at Gillson Park. Migrating birds love Wilmette’s lakefront! Gillson Park is an important place for them to rest and eat on their way north in the spring,...
by Kevin Harvey | Jun 4, 2019 | Low Impact Living, Recycle
Abt Electronics accepts computers and electronics, including calculators, cameras, power tools and cords, shredders, faxes and typewriters at no charge. Fees will apply to CRT monitors, TV’s and large quantities of computers, small appliances and electronics. Park at...
by Kevin Harvey | Nov 3, 2016 | News
One of the best ways to raise a child who is environmentally aware is to raise a child who loves to be in the outdoors. Encourage your children to play outside, bike, garden, learn about bugs, birds and bees. A child who loves the outdoors will grow to be an adult...
by Kevin Harvey | Oct 19, 2016 | Transportation
More than twenty people participated in a walk audit in Wilmette with Mark Fenton. Interested residents, active transportation advocates, Village trustees, planners, and engineers, and School District 39, Park District and Police Department representatives observed...
by Kevin Harvey | Sep 29, 2016 | Birds and Insects, News, Outdoor Spaces
While we spend a lot of time and effort convincing homeowners to include native habitat in their yards, we also help the Park District create and maintain habitat in our parks. In 2016, the Park District partnered with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to create...
by Kevin Harvey | Apr 29, 2016 | Birds and Insects, Outdoor Spaces
It’s easiest to identify backyard birds in the spring, when their breeding colors are on full display. Try a bird walk offered in Wilmette or another local community. Go Green Wilmette offers guided bird walks in Gillson Park every Sunday in May at 8 a.m. The bird...
by Kevin Harvey | Feb 4, 2016 | Outdoor Spaces, Yard Care
Most of us love our local wildlife and are excited to see deer, coyotes or fox near our homes. The internet has abundant videos of adorable looking wild animals enjoying suburban back yards but it is important to remember that feeding wild animals – no matter how...
