Green Up, H-F!

GREEN TIP OF THE WEEK!

Did you know that product wraps can also be dropped off for recycling wherever plastic bags are collected? In bag drop-off bins (such as at our local Jewel Osco stores), you can recycle:

· Clean plastic bags labeled #2 (HDPE) or #4
  (LLDPE)
· Grocery bags
· Retail bags (remove hard plastic or string
  handles)
· Plastic newspaper bags
· Dry cleaning bags (remove paper & hangers)
· Bread bags (with crumbs shaken out)
· Sealable food storage bags (with hard parts
  removed)
· Bags from boxes of cereal and crackers (with crumbs shaken out)
· Plastic wraps from products such as paper
  towels, bathroom paper, napkins, diapers,
  and cases of pop

Source: Plastic Bag Facts

Visit this page often for the latest news on the H-F Park District's green initiative, as well as to find green tips and links to websites that can help you be green at home!

COYOTE RUN GOLF COURSE RECEIVES EPA AWARD

In December, representatives from Coyote Run Golf Course accepted a Certificate of Merit at the Chicago Botanic Garden in Glencoe as part of the 2009 Conservation and Native Landscaping Awards program. The awards are presented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Chicago Wilderness Society. The certificate is awarded to sites that are noteworthy in terms of use of native plants, protecting or restoring ecosystems, and/or implementation of the principles of conservation design.

Coyote Run, in particular, was being recognized for its widespread use of native plants in unmowed areas, around water features and it its restored wetlands area. According to Dave Ward, the course superintendent who selected native species for landscaping when the course was being designed, prairie plants found at the course include Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem, Indian Grass, Side Oats Grama and Prairie Dropseed. Native flowers there include the Butterfly Week, Blazing Star, Brown-Eyed Susan, Black-Eyed Susan, Penstemon, Prairie Dock, Wild Quinine and Rattlesnake Master.

“It is important to recognize and publicize landscapes that use native plants so people realize that there are more garden possibilities in our area than Petunias and Marigolds,” said Ward. “Native plants are better for the environment because they require no fertilizer or water. The local native species of animals also depend on them for food and shelter.”

Coyote Run Golf Course — located at 800 Kedzie in Flossmoor — is a facility of the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District. For more information on Coyote Run Golf Course, call 708-957-8700 or visit coyoterungolf.com

Lights for learning: cfls for sale!

Irons Oaks Environmental Learning Center has partnered with the Illinois Department of Commerce and ComED with their Lights for Learning program to offer ENERGY STAR Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs to the public at a discounted rate. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the sale of the bulbs will support educational programming at Irons Oaks.

ENERGY STAR bulbs use 75 percent less energy than a standard light bulb and last up to 10 times longer. They save about $30 or more in electricity costs during their lifetime. Bulbs currently for sale at Irons Oaks include:

• 13-watt capsule: $4.50
• 13-watt spiral: $1.75
• 20-watt spiral: $2
• 23-watt spiral: $2.25
• Three-way spiral: $7
• LED color-changing nightlight: $3.50
• Spiral sampler pack: $5.75
• LED holiday lights (multi): $8
• LED holiday lights (white): $12

In addition to the bulbs for sale, old CFL bulbs can also be recycled at Irons Oaks, which is located at 20000 S. Western Ave. in Olympia Fields. Office hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Irons Oaks is a 40-acre nature preserve and a joint project of the Homewood-Flossmoor and Olympia Fields Park Districts. For more information on the Lights for Learning program, call 708-481-2330 or visit ironsoaks.com.

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