By Derek Eder This is Part 4 of the series Electrifying Our Old Oak Park Home. Read all 4 parts here. A little over a year ago in April of 2023, we completed the electrification of our house. Since then, I’ve received a lot of interest in this project, was awarded a Green Award by the Village of Oak Park, and was even featured in the Chicago Tribune! While the blog posts I’ve written have been useful to reference and point people to, there’s one outstanding question still to address: How much money are these electrification changes saving us, and how long until the upgrades pay for themselves ..read more

By Susan Messer On Saturday, July 27, from 1 to 5 p.m., West Cook Wild Ones will host its annual native garden tour of 9 colorful, life-filled gardens in Oak Park and Berwyn, Illinois. You can find more information about the tour here. But while you’re waiting, here are three of the native-plant-loving people who have created gardens (or shall we call them habitats?) that are on the tour: Laura Derks, Monica Cecero, and Beth Fioritto. Laura Derks Q: Laura, how long have you had your garden? Rain garden A: Maybe 11 years? One priority was to get rid of as much grass as we could. In our front ..read more

Shutterstock/David Harmantas By Lois Kimmelman, LEED AP It could be argued that Frank Lloyd Wright’s life was “too unbelievable to believe,” as Chicago architect Gunny Harboe says. His was a life beset by disaster after disaster, yet marked by triumph after triumph. The designs of many of Wright’s buildings never saw the light of day, but the ones that did were literally groundbreaking and glorious. Take, for example, his Beth Sholom Synagogue in Elkins Park, PA, or Unity Temple in Oak Park, IL. Though weathered and leaky, both are celestial spaces intended for communing both with other congr ..read more

Shutterstock/DropOfWax By Lisa Biehle Files For more than a decade, One Earth Film Festival has featured films about a range of topics from climate change to plastic waste to water justice to conservation. Thankfully, with the increase in available media, arts, and storytelling, another topic has taken center stage: environmental and climate justice at home and abroad. Not only are there more shareable stories on which One Earth can shine a light, but we are grateful to be in conversation with and learning from environmental justice leaders across the Chicago region and beyond. In April, thre ..read more

“What Goes Around Comes Around” exhibit at Fashion for Good Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. All photos by Elzo Bonam. By Susan Messer This past March, my husband and I had the good fortune to visit the Fashion for Good Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands—an interactive museum that tells “the stories behind the clothes you wear and how your choices can have a positive impact on people and our planet.” Jacket design reusing brightly colored oven mitts by Nicole McLaughlin. The health of the planet is top of mind for people in Amsterdam—something we learned almost as soon as we arrived ..read more

Shutterstock/DropOfWax One Earth Film Festival usually features films about a range of topics from climate change to plastic waste to conservation. Increasingly, another topic has taken center stage: environmental justice at home and abroad. In April, three fourths of the 2024 One Earth Film Festival films focused on environmental justice, defined as the right to a clean environment (air, water, etc.) regardless of race, color, national origin, or income. Unfortunately, stories of environmental injustice abound across the globe; and some of these were featured at the Fest: “Earthbound: Nzambi ..read more

Sue Crothers leads the annual One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest Awards at Chicago’s Gene Siskel Film Center in September 2023. All photos by Gloria Araya Photography. By Lisa Biehle Files Since 2013, Sue Crothers founded and has led the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest from a local competition with a handful of submissions to a highly competitive, respected, international competition. Part of this success was her focus on the right subject at the right time, but along the way, Crothers made crucial choices to move this youth filmmaking challenge forward. Q: Last year, the One Earth Young F ..read more

Katja Esson By Helen Quinn Pasin Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Katja Esson is based in Miami. She is known for her character-driven documentaries tackling race, class, and gender. Her documentary short “Ferry Tales” garnered awards at international film festivals, was nominated for an Oscar and premiered on HBO in 2004. Other notable films include: “Hole in the Sky - The Scars of 9/11”; “Skydancer”; and “Poetry of Resilience”.  “Razing Liberty” is an award-winning documentary uncovering the untold stories of climate gentrification in Miami. Liberty City, Miami, was home to one of the ..read more

Brittany Zampella (Left) Maggie Hartmans (Right) By Helen Quinn Pasin  A Good Neighbor is a feature-length documentary about Lucy Molina, a Latina single mother fighting against environmental racism and climate change as she campaigns for city council in one of the nation's most polluted zip codes.  The film begins with Molina in the car, giving one of her famous "Toxic Tours." As she drives by factories, highways, and the looming oil refinery, she speaks tearfully and candidly about her children's illnesses. "I moved here because of that park for my kids," she says at one point, "I ..read more

From left, Ana Garcia Doyle, Derek Eder, Christine Poreba, Adrian Ayres Fischer, Chris Thomas, and Laurie Casey. Photo by Cesar Almeida. By Joshua Bynum We are thrilled to announce that One Earth Collective and Laurie Casey of COOP are both recipients of the Village of Oak Park’s 2023 Green Awards, recognizing outstanding efforts in sustainability and environmental stewardship in the community. Year-round incredible work is being done by individuals, businesses, and organizations in Oak Park to create a more sustainable future for all.  One Earth Collective is a vibrant community of indi ..read more