Green Parent Chicago

Swapadventure Makes Trading Hand-me-downs Simple

Two women from Mount Prospect have started a popular new way for parents to recycle gently used children's clothing and equipment and adult clothing and accessories, while helping families find items they need for free.

Swapadventure, now celebrating its 1st anniversary, is the creation of Angelika Babich and Maggie Pawelko. Each is a mom to three children under the age of 10. The pair organize free swapping events at Chicago area businesses twice a month. The only admission to each event is one shopping bag of items no longer needed to be added to the items for swapping. There is no swapping limit and attendess may take as much as they need.

Surplus swap items are donated to local organizations

Items left over at the events are donated directly to shelters and orphanages.

Swapadventure does not resell any of the items donated and ensures that the organizations  receiving the remaining items do not resell them.

Babich and Pawelko say there is no membership fee to attend a Swapadventure event and never will be one. They created Swapadventure "simply to help others" and realized that many parents have items remaining in storage that could go to those in need.

In addition, they felt parents could benefit from swapping in a family friendly public place from trusted sources, rather than online through sources like Craigslist or Freecycle, while bringing their kids along.

Each event provides not only free items for kids and adults, but generally provides free admission for kids to the swap venue and recognition of local businesses in the community.

The only items not accepted are undergarments, clothing with stains or holes, and clothing with animal hair on it.

Attendance at each Swapadventure event ranges from 50 to 200.

How can local businesses help sponsor a Swapadventure event?

Businesses interested in sponsoring an event may contact Babich or Pawelka through the Swapadventure website.

The pair said they welcome products, giveaways, advertising with Swapadventure, and goodie bags for their attendees from local businesses.

Raffles are held and 2 costumed princesses appear at each event to meet and greet children and take photos with them.

Find out more information and register for the next Swapadventure event here: 

https://www.swapadventure.com/upcoming-events.html

-Christine

 

 

 

 

 

Local Midwest Farm Training Program Accepting Applications

 

If you've ever dreamed of owning and working your own sustainable farm business, now is your chance to learn directly from Midwest farmers. Angelic Organics Learning Center in Calendonia, IL is accepting applications for their winter farmer training program.

This week is the final week to submit application materials for the center's training program, Stateline Farm Beginnings, which begins October 11. The program runs until March 2015. Organizers say Stateline Farm Beginnings has launched more than 55 new sustainable farms in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin since its inception in 2005.

Trainees receive business planning sessions, learn through field days, and one on one advising from successful local farmers. Find out more information and apply here. 

Calling All Newbie Campers: Family Camp Out at Chicago Parks

The Chicago Park District has just announced its second year of Family Camping geared toward novice campers. For a single low registration fee, families can take advantage of guided nature hikes, marshmallow roasts, fishing, fire building demos and camping under the stars at some of the most popular parks in the city. 

Registration is now open for camping at Garfield Park Conservatory, Calumet Park, Bull Frog Lake in (in partnership with the Cook County Forest Preserve), and Northerly Island.

The Family Camping registration fee is $50 per family of up to six members, including children ages 6-12.

Check www.chicagoparkdistrict.com/nature for more information and to register.

-Christine

Green Homes for Everyone: Talking Passive Homes with Evolutionary Home Builders' Brandon Weiss

 

The availability and affordability of green housing is a concern for many eco-conscioius home buyers in the U.S. today. As green building technology continues to improve, more and more home buyers are realizing the long term benefits of building green.

A recent study by the National Association of Home Builders, reports that the majority of green homeowners would purchase another green home and recommend purchasing a green home to friends. 

This weekend, the U.S. Green Building Council-Illinois is organizing the 2014 Green Built Home Tour. All homes on the Green Built Home Tour were third-party verified (or pending verification) to ensure they were built (or being built) to national standards, earning certification through programs such as: ENERGY STAR for Homes, LEED for Homes, the National Green Building Standard, DOE Challenge Home, Illinois GreenStar, and Passive House.

Brandon Weiss, founder and principal of Evolutionary Home Builders in Geneva, IL will present his firm's Uber Haus, a Passive House, that showcases a uniquely extreme approach to energy efficiency at the tour. Green Parent Chicago recently spoke with Weiss of about his firm's Passive House technology and why this method of building can bring more adaptibility and affordability to the market for green home ownership.

According to Weiss, a passive house meets the world's strictest energy efficiency and building science certification. It is also designed and specified to be one of the healthiest homes in the country. The Uber Haus is the 28th home to be built to these stringent standards thus far. Evolutionary Home Builders is seeking Living Building Challenge and LEEDv4 Platinum certifications for the Uber Haus. If acheived, it would be the first such home in Illinois to achieve these certifications.

"Passive is definitely something that makes a ton of sense financially and environmentally," explains Weiss.

The technology behind passive homes optimizes gains and minimizes losses of the home's energy. It is a virtually air-tight building primarily heated by passive solar gain and internal gains from people, electrical equipment, lighting, etc.

Passive home technology reduces the heating and cooling demand on the house by 90 percent. In addition, the special design and construction of the house keeps out moisture which can lead to deterioration and degradation, as well as conductive heat loss. By not having air leaks in the house, drafts are kept out.

"Typically air leaks are the number one source of energy loss in a home," according to Weiss. "Passive house makes sense financially. It's quality construction, better air quality, your getting a higher quality home, lower utilities cost."

The passive house building concept was developed in Urbana, IL by a German architect in the 1970’s. According to The Passive House Institute US, a passive house building can realize net zero energy consumption without applying potentially expensive "active" technologies like photovoltaics or solar thermal hot water systems. Although these can certainly be added to a passive house design. Passive houses do not need a traditional furnace or air conditioning system.

"LEED homes are great for the holistic green approach, but the energy side of that isn’t as great as passive homes," says Weiss. “The absolute easiest way to get [net zero] is a passive home.”

In terms of health and air quality, a passive house has a "balanced ventilation system" and continuous exchanges of air to allow moisture from the kitchen and bathrooms to be exchange for fresh air that is filtered.

Because a passive house is "performance based" Weiss says it is a technology standard that can be applied to various types of construction and sizes of home.

"We don’t concentrate on a certain aesthetics or price," he says. "Passive house can be (very adaptive). Whatever method you can use to get [to passive house certification]. It's open ended, it allows for creativity, it's not just putting points together."

Tour the Uber Haus and 17 other green built homes at the Green Built Home tour, this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Tickets, map and info, available at the link)

-photo credit: Green Built Home Tour

-Christine

 

 

Chicago Parks To Continue Free Swimming Classes for Kids and Teens This Summer

The Chicago Park District will once again offer a free session of swim lessons to new enrollees age 6-17. The Park District initially offered the popular program this past January.

The first session (10 weeks) of Learn to Swim classes for kids and teens ages 6-17 will be free, when using coupon code FIRSTFREE. 

Fees will apply for Learn to Swim classes in subsequent sessions, or for an additional class in the same session.  The Learn to Swim fee is $22 for each 10 week session. (This fee may be waived for qualifying families.)

The FIRSTFREE coupon code can be used when registering online or in-person at the parks.

Chicago Park District pools and splash parks open Friday June 13. View this list to find a park district pool in your neighborhood.

-Christine

-photo credit: Chicago Park District

The 606 to Host "Trail Mix" of Events For Families and Design Enthusiasts

Chicago's soon to be completed new park, The 606, has a variety of events in store this summer around the city for families and those interested in the design and construction of the park, which is currently under construction along the site of the former Bloomingdale Trail.

"Trail Mix" kicked off on Tuesday with a conversation at The Darwin School Auditorium on native plants that will inhabit the park, and continues June 7 with a family bike ride and potluck at the McCormick Tribune YMCA.

Organizers say Family Days are geared toward children ages 3 to 12 and their caregivers and will include fun, hands-on activities. Evening events in the series are for adults who would like to join behind-the-scenes Conversations with experts working on The 606’s history, design and construction. All events in the series are free, but registration is required.

View the park's website for the full schedule of events and RSVP here.

-photo credit: The 606

Dress Like a Tree, Get in Free at The Morton Arboretum on Arbor Day

The Morton Arboretum will host an Arbor Day celebration April 25 with a costume contest for prizes and free admission for visitors who "dress like a tree". Additionally, members who ordinarily get free admission can obtain one free guest pass at the membership desk on that day. 

The event is part of the Arboretum's week-long Arbor Day celebration, which begins with an Arbor Day 10K Run this Sunday, April 13, followed by spring plant sales, and a tree planting and storytime with Curious George. 

For a full schedule of events visit: 

http://www.mortonarb.org/events/celebrate-arbor-week-2014

Cargo Bike Week 2014 & Cargo Bike Roll Call This Sunday!

In celebration of the upcoming Roscoe Village Kidical Mass bike ride and Cargobike Roll Call this Sunday, I”m kicking off another Cargo Bike Week here at Ding Ding Let’s Ride!

First.. let’s make sure you have all the info for the Sunday event:

So what kind of cargo bikes can you expect to find at the Roll Call this weekend? Well, since we’ll be there,  you should expect to find at least one Yuba Mundo, a long-tail style of cargo bike.

Three Yuba Mundo cargo bikes with slightly different configurations at a March 2013 Kidical Mass ride in Logan/Palmer Square.

The organizers have stated they’ll have at least one WorkCycles brand bike there, and with the addition of my bike, that should make at least two of the Dutch-style utility bikes in attendance.

My WorkCycles Dutch utility bike, called am Omafiets. (Obviously this photo was taken in much Spring-i-er times.)

Sounds like this this WorkCycles FR8 cargo bike will be there too. This bike can haul some very heavy loads.

They’ve also mentioned that they’ll have a Bullitt cargo bike at the Roll Call ….

Getting a delivery via Bullitt cargo bike right to our front door.

and a Bakfiets!

A baby in a Bakfiets at the November 2013 Roscoe Village Kidical Mass ride.

Who knows what other bikes will be at the ride!?  Come join everyone for a short family bike ride/parade and stick around to look at cargo bikes!

-Samantha

This article originally appeared on Samantha's family biking blog Ding Ding Let's Ride where she writes about everyday biking in the city, bike activism, family biking, and adaptive biking for special needs children.

Get Outside, Get Physical and Fundraise as a Family for Your Favorite Org

The Muddy Cheer Challenge is coming to the Chicagoland area this summer on June 28 and 29 in Wilmington, IL. It's a fun way to get the whole family involved in charitable giving while having a great time in the great outdoors. All ages are welcome. 

Here's how it works:  Sign up as a "host group". For every runner that signs up under your name (at any location), Muddy Cheer Challenge will give you back a portion of the registration fee.  Muddy Cheer Challenge will donate to your group $15.00 per every adult runner (13 and over) and $10.00 per every child runner (12 and under). In return, the host group will provide volunteers to work at the event (the number of volunteers will be based off of the size of the event and the size of the host group. This number will be determined closer to the event date). The host group will advertise and promote the mud run on their website and social media sites, posters and flyers.

 

Each runner will receive a Muddy Cheer Challenge T-shirt and a finishing medal.   

Green Parent Chicago readers:

Get $10 off each ticket to the event with the code: Single (this code is case sensitive)

 

-photo credit: Muddy Cheer Challenge

 

 

Things to Do Today in Chicago: Instead of hitting the mall