by Tina Schultz | Dec 7, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Product Choices
You can enjoy the holidays even more when you reduce the environmental impact of your gift giving and celebrations. And shared experiences are often the best and most memorable part of the holidays. Give Wilmette Gift Cards for local shopping and dining, and hand-made...
by Tina Schultz | Dec 4, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Recycle
Every year after the holidays, Go Green Wilmette and the Village of Wilmette hold a Styrofoam recycling event, to keep holiday packaging out of our landfills. Check our calendar for dates. The Styrofoam will be taken to Abt Electronics to be melted into a material...
by Tina Schultz | Dec 3, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Recycle
New LED lights use a fraction of the energy of older holiday lights. Upgrade to energy-efficient lights this year and drop off old or broken lights at the Village’s Public Works facility for recycling. String lights only, no lighted garlands or lawn ornaments....
by Tina Schultz | Nov 21, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Reduce and Reuse
As you gear up for the holidays, remember the Earth in your planning and gift giving. Reduce the sources of waste instead of wondering later whether you can fit it all in your trash toter. For parties, use china, glassware, cloth napkins and reusable cutlery instead...
by Tina Schultz | Nov 20, 2024 | Low Impact Living
Plan a low-waste Thanksgiving If you’re hosting a dinner this Thanksgiving, start planning now to reduce the waste often generated by holiday meals. You’ll probably save money along the way! Plan to use your china, glassware, flatware and cloth napkins...
by Tina Schultz | Oct 1, 2024 | Low Impact Living
There are lots of ways to reduce the impact of Halloween. Here are just a few: Create costumes and decorations from items you already have at home. Skip the fake webbing on bushes as it can trap and kill insects and birds. As alternatives to giving out candy in all...
by Tina Schultz | Aug 30, 2024 | News, Outdoor Spaces
Go Green Wilmette is pleased to be selected by our local Orvis store to be the recipient of their September GiveBack Days. Orvis will give every customer interested in supporting Go Green Wilmette with a donation of $10 or more a 10% discount on all purchases (some...
by Tina Schultz | Jun 26, 2024 | Low Impact Living, Reduce and Reuse
Plastic Free July is a global movement to help people be part of the plastic pollution solution. Recycling, while beneficial, is not the solution – we have to reduce all plastic use, especially single-use plastic of all kinds. Here’s how: When visiting the...
by Tina Schultz | Mar 6, 2024 | Dark Skies, Outdoor Spaces
IGS (Integrated Global Studies) is a project-based, student-led creative arts class that centers around current global issues. The overwhelming student interest in environmental global issues in IGS has led to the development of the Green Team at Highcrest Middle...
by Tina Schultz | Feb 3, 2024 | Compost!, Low Impact Living
In an interview with a GGW Board Member, Central Station Coffee & Tea owners had this to say: Sustainability is an important part of our business. We continue to make improvements within the café to lighten our carbon footprint which has also sparked some great...
by Tina Schultz | Aug 1, 2023 | Low Impact Living
Are you living in an apartment or condo building in Wilmette? Go Green Wilmette partners with residents and management of multi-unit buildings to discuss the ways in which your building can go green. The focus of these conversations includes topics such as electric...
by Tina Schultz | May 14, 2023 | Low Impact Living, Reduce and Reuse
New this year, Go Green Wilmette is sponsoring a Community Bag Sharing station at the French Market on Saturdays. Normally, each item you buy at the Market gets placed in a single-use plastic bag, which has significant environmental impact associated with its...
by Tina Schultz | Apr 7, 2023 | Outdoor Spaces, Trees
Mulching is one of the most important things you can do for your trees. Mid- to late spring and fall are the best times to put down mulch. You can learn more from the Morton Arboretum or the Chicago Botanic Garden. Basics to remember are 3 – 4 inches of healthy (not...
by Tina Schultz | Apr 2, 2023 | Low Impact Living, Outdoor Spaces
“What goes up must come down.” Every balloon that has ever been released lands as a piece of litter somewhere – stuck in a tree, clogging a sewer, and possibly harming wildlife. Read more here. GGW works to help people and organizations green their...
by Tina Schultz | Mar 31, 2023 | Birds and Insects, Outdoor Spaces
Not only are mosquitoes an annoyance in summer, they carry potentially dangerous diseases such as West Nile virus. But the safest and most sustainable way to protect your family from mosquito bites does not mean treating your yard once a month with a pesticide. Not...
by Tina Schultz | Mar 29, 2023 | Outdoor Spaces, Yard Care
Green plants are beginning to peek above the soil, which can be an encouraging sign that spring has sprung. What you don’t want to see in your yard, however, are the little clumps of heart- or arrowhead-shaped leaves. This is lesser celandine, an aggressive...
by Tina Schultz | Mar 20, 2023 | Birds and Insects, Outdoor Spaces
Spring in the Chicago area brings thousands of songbirds flying north on their migration. So many fly through or stop in our area that you can follow them on radar! But migrating birds need our help. According to the American Bird Conservancy, up to 1 billion birds...
by Tina Schultz | Jan 26, 2023 | Low Impact Living, Product Choices
You can have a fun, festive party while meeting your low waste goals. Consider these ideas: Send invitations online via a service such as Punchbowl or Evite. For decorations, instead of balloons, use paper streamers, ribbon dancers or pinwheels (without sparkles, so...
by Tina Schultz | Dec 18, 2022 | Air and Water, Energy, Energy Conservation
Invest in an energy-efficient, clean-burning fireplace insert to enjoy fires that warm your house and reduce air pollution associated with conventional fireplaces. (An open fireplace can draw as much as 300 cubic feet of heated room air up the chimney every minute.)...
by Tina Schultz | Dec 2, 2022 | Compost!, Low Impact Living
Go Green Wilmette recently assisted members of the Avoca School District in their efforts to reduce waste and compost food scraps at their annual International Dinner. The popular event drew 500 guests. An Avoca parent who heads the District’s PTO Environment...