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Join The Conservation Foundation for a canoe trip down the Fox River at noon on Oct. 25, 2008. They’ll gather at the C & M Canoe Rental on the Fox River in Wedron and they’ll return around 4:30 p.m. The area visited is the section called the Lower Fox and is known as the most scenic of the segments in Illinois. The Conservation Foundation is drawn to its sandstone cliffs, hill prairies and spring wetland seeps. Tickets are $30 per person. For more information, visit The Conservation Foundation’s website.

On Sept. 29, 2008, on WGN’s News at Noon “Lunch Break” segment, Tony Fulmer of Chalet offered some autumn tips on maintaining one’s lawn, trees and shrubs and perennials, such as roses. This was also to preview his free garden seminar on creating an autumn bird sanctuary. Click here to view the clip.

“What do Americans say they want for a natural environmental and energy policy?” That’s the question addressed by the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund during The Conservation Foundation’s Fall Membership and Awards Dinner on October 21, 2008. The evening is being hosted by the foundation and is sponsored by Waste Management. The event will include networking sessions and environmental awards presented over dinner. Tony Massaro, senior vice president for political affairs and public education, is responsible for overseeing lobbying and policy for the League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. The fund aims to educate and mobilize citizens as informed voters and advocates for sound environmental policies. The original article appeared in the Naperville Sun on Oct. 5, 2008.

Dawn Aulet of The Herald News wrote on the Sept. 22, 2008 edition of the Naperville Sun, “The Conservation Foundation is trying to make the world better one house at a time.” Jim Kleinwachter is quoted in the article saying, “Your own house or one garden isn’t going to change the world, but it’s the incremental portion.” The foundation has launched their “Conservation at Home” initiative, where they visit homes to educate homeowners on the importance of rain barrels and native plants. So far, nearly all the homes in the Tuscan Hills subdivision in Monee are Conservation Foundation homes. The foundation uses green methods in their demonstrations, including natural plants, creating rain gardens and using permeable concrete. One afternoon, they installed rain gardens where the gutters drain from a new building. Now the native plants around the building need less maintenance from homeowners.

GreenParentChicago.com observed the “Worldwide Day of Play” on Sept. 28, 2008 in Chicago and neighboring suburbs. The celebration began in 2003 by Nickelodeon kids networks in an effort to fight childhood obesity and promote active play and healthy living. The Conservation Foundation took part in the endeavor, hosting family games and nature exploration activities at the McDonald Farm and Dickson-Murst Farms.

The Kane County Chronicle wrote on Sept 29, 2008, “The first time The Conservation Foundation received the four stars, Brook McDonald thought it was nice.” For more than 30 years, The Conservation Foundation has worked with Chicago-area organizations to preserve open space. Charity Navigator recently recognized The Conservation Foundation for the second year in a row as one of the region’s top charities. The company reviews financial records of more than 5,300 charities nationwide based on an organizational efficiency and growth. Of the charities that get evaluated, only 17 percent have received a four-star rating two years in a row. McDonald said larger donations started coming in as a result of the first-four star rating. Not only do they like getting the ratings, she added, they advertise it.

The Conservation Foundation’s famous rain barrels had a two-minute thirty-second segment on CBS 2 News Chicago at 5 p.m. on Sept. 10, 2008. Meteorologist Don Schwenneker said rain barrels provide an easy way to save money that’ s also good for the environment. The Chicago area gets nearly three feet of rain water each year and with the rain barrel, you can put that water to work. By attaching a rain barrel to any downspout outside your house, you can catch it and use it later. It’s not a new concept according to Jim Kleinwachter, conservation specialist of the Conservation Foundation, “Your grandmother might have had one, and they just went out of focus as we became free with our water use… A typical home can generate as much as 200 gallons on a quarter-inch rain.”

Using that stored water will help reduce water bills and since the water is untreated it doesn’t contain chlorine or other chemicals.

 Click here to see the entire article and to watch the video.

Dawn Aulet of The Herald News, covered The Conservation Foundation’s home conservation initiative in the Lifestyles section of the Sept. 12, 2008 edition. Conservation members visit neighborhood houses and team up with participants to help plant native species in areas that absorb groundwater, keeping water on-site and reducing runoff into storm drains. In addition to teaching the public about native plants, rain barrels and permeable concrete. “Everything we’re doing is as green as we can do for demonstration purposes,” said Jim Kleinwachter, the DuPage River Watershed Coordinator.

Read the entire article here.

“Plainfield touts rain barrels” is the headline from Janet Lundquist in the Aug. 6, 2008 edition of The Herald-News. The village of Plainfield, Illinois is developing an incentive plan for residents to conserve water by offering rain-barrels at a lower price in spring. The article has data provided by The Conservation Foundation, stating average homeowners pour up to 40 percent of their household water on lawns and gardens each summer. It also states that using rainwater, instead of water from the house will not only save money, but will also put fewer pesticides in natural rivers and streams and reduce the threat of erosion and floods. The article also mentions that while most the village trustees think issuing rain barrels to residents will encourage water conservation, others remain skeptical of the village subsidizing the program. The 55-gallon plastic rain barrels sell for $85 and the village is looking at offering them for $65. With or without the discounted price, the environmental value of a rain barrel remains its greatest incentive.

Christine Moyer interviews The Conservation Foundation’s in her July 28, 2008 article for The Fox Valley Villages Sun, “Going green, saving green: Rain barrels becoming trendy as homeowners try to save money and the environment.” McDonald says rain barrel sales have grown so hectic that they had to limit buyers to once a week otherwise the staff had no time to help other customers. Rain barrels are nothing new, she says, people have been collecting water in them for decades, but now it’s become trendy. If environmental problems persist this trend may very well turn into a permanent solution. In the article, Moyer also goes into explaining what rain barrels are, how they work and some of the benefits.

Click here to read the article.