Thinking Green: Glenview Announces Winners Of Environmental Awards

GLENVIEW, IL — Since 2018, the Village of Glenview has recognized local organizations that have adopted practices to help prevent pollution, reduce waste, conserve energy, reduce emissions to air and water, and boost recycling. The annual Environmental Sustainability Awards winners were recognized at Tuesday night's Glenview Village Board meeting.

"It's always great to see people getting energized and finding new and creative ways to help with sustainability and protecting the environment," Glenview Village President Mike Jenny said.

Nominations for this year's awards were accepted through Dec. 1, 2023. Awards, are sponsored by the Village's Environment and Natural Resources Commission, are considered in the following three categories: innovation, leadership, education and research.

"Nominees can be any organization that serve the Glenview community such as businesses, schools, houses of worship and volunteer groups," said Chris Newman, chairperson of the commission.

There were three winners under the innovation category for this year's awards. The first winner recognized at the meeting was Greener Glenview, an affiliate of Go Green Illinois, "an umbrella organization of community environmental groups working to increase local and regional sustainability," according to its website.

The commission applauded Greener Glenview starting the Glenview Native Habitat program, which has set a goal of increasing the number of native and connected habitats in the Glenview community. Newman said the effort is in a partnership with the National Wildlife Federation, which is funded in part by the Judy Beck Grant. The program was promoted by 11 ambassadors at community events with the distribution of information and seed packets to establish gardens.

"Greener Glenview has received a very favorable response from homeowners with certified habitats who are interested in spreading the word about the importance of creating wildlife corridors," Newman said.

Next up for the innovation category was Princeton Village Homeowners Association, which oversees the development of the same name on Willow Road. According to Newman, Princeton Village has more than 1,000 trees.

"The homeowners association followed the example of the Village of Glenview and Glenview Park District to conduct a tree inventory to understand the diversity of the community's trees and maintain the tree canopy for future residents to enjoy," Newman said.

The commission gave the PVHA kudos for hiring an arborist to measure and assess the health of each of the trees. They then took the information that was gathered to plan routine maintenance and prioritize trees that need additional care to ensure their longevity, according to Newman.

The third organization recognized for innovation was Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church, located at 1401 Wagner Road. Calling it an "active environmental ministry," Newman said the Greek church installed 283 solar panels on a building rooftop. This action both introduced sustainable energy to the church community and others in the area.

"The system is expected to provide power for well over two decades and was financed by a church steward and available incentives," Newman said, who added that it will provide 150,000 kilowatt-hours and as many as 4 million over its lifetime.

Under the category of education and outreach, Village Treasure House, a consignment shop at 1460 Paddock Drive, was recognized. The nonprofit, established in 1997, raises funds through the resale of furniture and home furnishings.

According to Newman, Village Treasure House's community outreach resulted in more than 15,000 items being "re-homed" over the first nine months of 2023.

"They reuse as many materials as possible, including bags, ribbon, wrapping paper and tags, and encourage donation of these materials," Newman said of Village Treasure House. "This kind of reuse has reduced their purchase of packing supplies to just one order in 2023 and allows more funds to go back to the programs they support."

Newman said Village Treasure House recently started accepting donations of certain silver housewares for recycling, and the funds from selling the metal will help support local agencies "even more."

Also recognized for education and outreach was the recycling team at Valley Lo Towers I, an apartment complex located at 1910 Chestnut Ave.

With a goal to "reduce waste through promoting the best recycling, reuse, and disposal practices" to the building's residents, Newman said VLTI created education and outreach materials for its website, emails, bulletin board, residential flyers, garage signage through a new recycling guide.

The commission noted that the guide was a "major project" that engaged the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County and Groot to inform residents how to recycle a wide range of household products.

"This resulted in a website full of great recycling information that has resulted in more recycling and less contamination in their waste stream," Newman said.