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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, July 11th, without a city staff liaison present to help guide their deliberations -- AGAIN. 
 
Just like last month's commission meeting, this agenda was one of the shortest ones in recent history.  In this episode, Tia & Erik talk about the following issues discussed at the commission's July meeting:

• Farmers Market
• Tree giveaway program
• Single Use Bag Fee ordinance (ugh . . . again)
• Kane County Climate Action Plan & the online survey (Note: CLICK HERE to take the survey)
• The mysterious Elgin Carbon Footprint report and the city manager's unwillingness to release it to the commission (or the public)
• Dysfunctional commission workgroups

The BIG deep dive issue that usually happens during episodes covering commission meetings was . . . wait for it . . . drum roll please . . .
 
City of Elgin ordinance authorizing the creation of the Elgin Sustainability Commission

There was a lot of chatter among commissioners at the July meeting about "what are we allowed to do" and "would it be out-of-bounds if we ______________." So, Tia and Erik went back to the original ordinance and the recently reviewed ordinance to find some answers. If you are a Democracy Geek, then you might like this episode a little more than you typically do.  *wink*

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River? 

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Welcome to the fifth episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Cindy Skrukrud of the Fox River Study Group talk about water quality issues throughout the Fox River Watershed.

For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

For more information about Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), please visit their website and LIKE their Facebook page. If you want to read more about the history of the Fox River, there is an awesome article titled "Our Waters, Our Fox" on the FOTFR webpage. CLICK HERE to read it.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, June 13th, which marked the first time in recent  years they were without a city staff liaison present to help guide their deliberations. Oddly, this might have been one of the quickest meetings in recent history. LOL This was also Sustainability Commissioner Christ Flaherty's last meeting as a commissioner. 
  
In this episode, Tia & Erik talk about the following issues discussed at the commission's June meeting:

• Elgin Area Climate Action Now's (EACAN) presentation about the connection between waste/recycling management and climate change (and more importantly what they are asking the commission to do about it)
• RFPs, consultants, and various plans the commission is trying to undertake (e.g. climate action plan, mobility/transportation plan, sustainability action plan)
• The mysteriously missing greenhouse gas inventory report
• Farewell to Commissioner Chris Flaherty

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.
 
Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River? 

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Welcome to the forth episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Tia Aagesen and Gary Swick of Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR) talk about "The Fox," citizen engagement, and reclamation of the Fox River Watershed.

As always, today's podcast just scratches the surface. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking how we can collectively invest our time and resources in watershed restoration projects. You might even want to look into attending an upcoming FOTFR meeting or event and get more involved. Who knows?

For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

For more information about Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), please visit their website and LIKE their Facebook page. If you want to read more about the history of the Fox River, there is an awesome article titled "Our Waters, Our Fox" on the FOTFR webpage. CLICK HERE to read it.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, May 9th, which was the day after Erik's 53rd birthday. (Note: Erik was devastated the commission didn't have a cake or sing to him or provide any birthday spankings). Regardless, he was thrilled to have the chance to cover the following issues:

• Mrs. Smith's students presentation about plastic pollution
• East Side Neighborhood Garden grant
• Elgin Native Roots funding
• July Special meeting to discuss budget issues
• GrowSolar Chicagoland group buy program
• paleBLUEdot's upcoming Waste Management online survey
• Workgroup reports
• Mikala Larson's resignation (Bye, Felicia)

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

Are you following our Season Two special podcast series -- "The Fox River Story" -- which is a fun collaboration with our friends over at Friends of the Fox River? If not, then get off your butt and check it out. Gary Swick is grooooooovy!  :-)

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Tia & Erik attended the Elgin Sustainability Commission's Elgin Earth Summit on April 29th and helped bring an end to another successful Elgin Earth Month.

From their exhibitor booth, they invited event attendees to take the microphone and answer this question:

What does a more sustainable Elgin look like in the future?

There were 17 brave souls who seized the moment and provided their sustainability testimony. This group was diverse and their opinions reflect that fact.

While it is just fun to kick back and listen to what your neighbors envision as a sustainable place to live, perhaps the better question we should be asking ourselves is:

What should we do with this vision-casting exercise?

As usual, Erik weighs in with his opinion at the end of this special edition.  In short, he suggests that it is time for the Elgin Sustainability Commission to provide leadership and create a new Sustainability Action Plan for the Elgin community. 

The vision-casting is done. All that's left to do is create some goals and craft some strategies.

Giddy-up!

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Welcome to the third episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Pam Otto of the St. Charles Park District talk about habitat related topics throughout the Fox River watershed. 

Did you know the Fox River watershed is home to:

• 96 species of fish
• 32 species of fresh water mussels
• 250 bird species
• 21 reptile species
• 14 amphibians species
• 14,000 plant species (of which 77 are endangered and another 25 are on the threatened list)

Today's podcast just scratches the surface. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking how we can collectively invest our time and resources in watershed restoration projects.

For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

For more information about Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), please visit their website and LIKE their Facebook page. If you want to read more about the history of the Fox River, there is an awesome article titled "Our Waters, Our Fox" on the FOTFR webpage. CLICK HERE to read it.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, April 11th, and as always they had a lot to talk about.
 
Tia and Erik (Yep, you read that right . . . Tia is back . . . Hurrah Hurrah!) . . . they unpack and summarize all of those commission agenda items including:

• Elgin Earth Month & the commission's Elgin Earth Summit event on April 29th at ECC
• Volunteerpalooza (which is now an event in the past)
• Spring rain barrel sale
• A whole lotta miscellaneous stuff coming out of the commission's workgroup reporting
• Greenhouse gas inventory
• Waste/recycling contract renewal efforts
• And more

Erik refused to talk about the proposal Reusable Bag Fee ordinance, which was a topic of conversation at the end of the commission meeting. Erik walked out of the meeting during this discussion because there was nothing new that hasn't already been said over-n-over-n-over again.
  
The deep-dive topic for this commission focused episode was the Greenhouse Gas Inventory.  Erik explained what this type of study tell us, and he shared Elgin-specific results from a 2019 study done by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CLICK HERE to see that report. And stay tuned for more as Elgin Sustainability Analyst Mikala Larson prepares to share new data with the commission in the next few months.
 
Did we mention that Tia is back? Hurrah!

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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On March 22, 2023, city staff came back to the Elgin City Council with information to share about the proposed Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance, which was a recommended policy change from the Elgin Sustainability Commission approximately 6-months ago.
  
Rather than summarize the Committee of the Whole discussion for you. Erik shares the entire audio extravaganza of city staff, council members, and the Mayor wading through this issue at midnight on what was technically March 23rd at that point.
 
As you weigh into this murky muck  of a conversation that we call democracy in Elgin, we encourage you to ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you think city staff is on the same page as the Elgin Sustainability Commission?
• Did staff appear to bring the necessary information council needed to make a sound decision on this issue?
• Which of the city council members are truly ignorant about the impact plastics and microplastics have in our community?
• Would you rather listen to an hour of high school student council members talking about this subject or the elected members of the Elgin city council?
• What could city staff have done different to have made this public discussion more productive and less contentious?

For more information, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

For more information about how Batavia, Illinois (a smaller city right down the Fox River from Elgin) has successfully dealt with the issue of a single use bag fee ordinance, here are two previous episodes you will want to check out:

• Talkin' Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance With Batavia's Environmental Commission
• Update: City of Batavia's Single Use Bag Fee Ordinance

 
And if you haven't downloaded The Elgin Watchman's Single Use Bag Fee Advocacy eGuide, please do so ASAP:

• Go to our Waste webpage at www.elginwatchman.com/waste
• Scroll a little bit down the page and you will see it
• Expand it to full screen, read, and click the buttons/links to learn more
• Consider downloading or sharing the eGuide with likeminded friends
• Start calling and emailing Mayor David Kaptain and all city council members using the information on the last page of the eGuide. Ask them to please adopt the Single Use Plastic Bag Fee ordinance

You can make a difference. Get involved . . . get engaged . . . and always keep watch!

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Welcome to the second episode of The Fox River Story, a Season Two collaboration with Friends of the Fox River.

In today's episode, Erik Anderson and Gary Swick talk about the concept of WATERSHED THINKING, which simply stated is a viewpoint that everyone and everything in the Fox River watershed is connected.

This complicated system of individuals, organizations, and government agencies is unpacked in discussion between Erik and Gary. Additionally, Erik interviews two very involved individuals and picks their brains about the organizations in which they are involved.

NOTE: A special thanks to Tom Slawski and Ders Anderson for their participation.

Please take a moment to consider this . . . There are hundreds of municipalities, counties, states, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations interacting with more than a million people living in the Fox River watershed. How does this complicated web of relationships find common ground, shared values, goals, strategies, etc?
 
Todays' podcast scratches the surface of this question. Hopefully, it gets you (and many others) thinking because together we can figure all of this out.
 
For more information about the podcast, please visit The Elgin Watchman website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform. Follow us wherever you get your other podcasts!

For more information about Friends of the Fox River (FOTFR), please visit their website and LIKE their Facebook page. If you want to read more about the history of the Fox River, there is an awesome article titled "Our Waters, Our Fox" on the FOTFR webpage. CLICK HERE to read it.