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Spring is the time of year when the world around us goes through its annual transformation from dormant to alive. As the landscape transforms from the drab of winter to the lush green of summer, consider taking one step a week to become greener. Here is one idea for each of the eleven weeks between now and June 21 st,the first day of summer! Week one (April 4-10): Sign up for a CSA. There are three Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) offerings in the Woodstock area: M’s Sustainable Farm in Woodstock (815-338-8148), Salute! Farm & Vineyard just south of town ( 312-718-0157) and Walkup Heritage Farm on Walkup Road in Crystal Lake (815-459-7090). Each provides 10-20 weeks of fresh local produce during the growing season. Week two (April 11-17): Install a compact fluorescent lightbulb. According to the Illinois Bureau of Energy and Recycling, if every household in the state replaced just one incandescent lightbulb with a compact fluorescent bulb, that would save as much energy as removing 74,000 cars from Illinois roads each year. Week three (April 18-24): Make sure the car’s tires are properly inflated. Winter took a toll on most cars, and now that it is safely behind us, be sure that the tires are properly inflated. This is not only a safety issue, but is also a simple way to improve gas mileage. Week four (April 25-May 1): Visit a local woodland to see spring-blooming plants. Plants known as “spring ephemerals” are likely to be blooming by the end of April. The plants are called ephemeral (meaning lasting for a brief time) because they are only visible for a few weeks each year before they die back to the ground as the trees leaf out. Spring woodland plants to look for include trilliums, Virginia bluebells, Trout lilies, and mayapples. Week five (May 2-May 8): Visit the Woodstock Farmers’ Market. May means the farmers’ market is open on the Woodstock Square from 8am-1pm on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Stop by to purchase fresh produce and meet the people who raise the food they are selling. Week six (May 9-May 15): Install a rain barrel. Rainwater is clean and free. What’s not to love? Sixty gallon rainbarrels are available from The Land Conservancy at a wholesale price of $79 if they are ordered by April 23 rd, and picked up on May 9 th or 10 th. Please visit www.conservemc.org to place an order. Week seven (May 16-May 22): Plant a rain garden. Choose a relatively low spot in the yard, remove the sod, and plant some water-loving native plants. Ideal rain garden species include bulrush and sedge species, great blue lobelia, blue flag iris, wild bergamot and other colorful plants that thrive in wet places. The deep roots of these and other native species will help draw water down into the soil. Week eight (May 23-May 29): Plant an oak tree. The two best times to plant an oak tree are twenty years ago and today. Oaks are more than just trees, they are part of the fabric of our local heritage in a way that few other tree species are. Week nine (May 30-June 5): Dry the laundry on a clothes line outside. Warm breezy days are the norm this time of year, meaning perfect weather for hanging clothes on a line to dry. Air-drying saves energy. Consider that an electric dryer is responsible for about 10% of a household’s energy use. Week ten (June 6-June 12): Join a local environmental organization. The McHenry County Defenders is the county’s oldest environmental organizations. The Defenders advocate for and educate the community about sound land use policy, water resource protection, and waste reduction issues. The group’s website is www.mcdef.org. The Land Conservancy of McHenry County (TLC) was started as a committee of the Defenders nearly 20 years ago for the purpose of preserving land by working with private landowners. To date, TLC has preserved 1,415 acres of land in the county that would otherwise have been lost to either development or neglect. The group’s website is www.conservemc.org. A basic membership in either organization is $40 a year and includes a quarterly newsletter in addition to invitations to events throughout the year. Week eleven (June 13-June 19): Don’t mow, fertilize or water the lawn this week. The average suburban lawn will receive ten times as much pesticide (per acre) as the average farm, a gas lawnmower emits 10 times more pollution (per gallon of fuel burned) than the average car, and 30% or more of summer water use is for watering residential lawns. Instead of doing any lawn care this week, spend that time thinking about ways to reduce the amount of turf grass in the yard. The first day of summer is on June 21 st , so this eleven-week program to a “greener you” will be complete just in time for the official summer season to begin! ----- Mark your calendars for these up-coming “green” events:
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