Below are a few action steps to help us take better care of our watershed. Jesse Miller mentioned these in the Creation Care homily last Sunday, and since then has added one on plastics. The list could keep growing, but this is a start! ~RPC Green Team
Sign up for Overflow Action Alerts at the bottom of the page of the Friends of the Chicago River website. When there is a lot of rain, they will send you an email or text to remind you to use less water to prevent overflow of untreated sewage. You can also use this as a reminder to pray for life in our watershed and those impacted by flooding.
Watch what goes down the drain. Use green cleaners like baking soda and vinegar. NPR has a beginner's guide to green cleaning.
Reduce plastic dependence. Refuse single-use plastics, advocate for less plastic in our communities, and join a plastic clean-up day. Learn more here.
Install rain barrels, disconnect rain spouts, and create native plant rain gardens. This slows down rain and prevents combined sewer overflows. Learn how with the Green Neighbor Guide from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago.
Visit the lake, North Shore Channel, or the river in the Forest Preserves. Ask yourself what the landscape can teach you about how to live in this place. The RoundTable has a guide to Hiking the North Shore Channel.
Learn what local nonprofits are already doing. Check out Friends of the Chicago River, the Alliance for the Great Lakes, and Natural Habitat Evanston.
