Turners Discussions

In the weeks before Garden Planning Sessions begin, we will have two Turners Discussion Group opportunities via zoom. 

We can begin with thoughts on Birding to Change the World by Trish O'Kane. In this uplifting memoir, a professor and activist shares what birds can teach us about life, social change, and protecting the environment. O'Kane details the astonishing science of bird life, from migration and parenting to the territorial defense strategies that influenced her own activism. A warm and compelling weave of science and social engagement, this is the story of an improbable band of bird lovers who saved their park. And it is a blueprint for muscular citizenship, powered by joy.

Our hope is that this will inspire our community to share similar stories and ideas of their own. You need not have read or finished the book to participate, but it is an encouraging read!

We will meet via zoom on two Wednesdays in January:

Sustain DuPage TURNERS Zoom Meeting
Time: Jan 15, 2025 AND Jan 29th 6:30- 8:00PM Central Time 

Join Zoom Meeting  https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86314635339?pwd=cdvc0a3tFmSibJsT9sqkq6uEdSQOom.1
             Meeting ID: 863 1463 5339                   Passcode: 349022

Seed Cache Inventory Day!

On Saturday, January 11, 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M, we welcome detail-oriented volunteers to help us with our yearly seed inventory! We will meet in the Dining Room of First United Methodist Church, Glen Ellyn to weigh and label seeds and update our spreadsheet. Most tasks are seated, and we are gathering on the main level for this accessible activity!

We hope to keep training more volunteers in these tasks. "Many Hands Make Light Work!" Contact Elena to RSVP and for more info.

Stay Up to Date With Sustain DuPage

Did you know 2025 marks Sustain DuPage's 10th anniversary? We're excited about the year ahead and have many programs and activities planned through our various mission projects. As you can see from the image above, that's a lot of projects to keep track of. We do our best to give you the highlights through our monthly newsletter, but many of our main projects also have their own mailing lists that can keep you up to date with their specific events and news.

If you'd like to receive periodic, focused information from these projects, like meeting opportunities and important updates, click on the project name to be taken to its sign-up form.

Gardeners: A living classroom for teaching sustainable practices through growing food and gardeners 

Compost Crew: Actively supporting soil health, reducing waste, and sequestering carbon through composting and education

Food Security Squad: Connecting gardeners to local food pantries in order to decrease both food waste and hunger

Seed Cache: Building food sovereignty through the practice of saving and sharing seeds.

Community Cooking: Sharing traditions through preparing meals from local, seasonal, and sustainably grown foods.

Turners Reading Group: Building community and broadening understanding through discussion of sustainability topics and literature

Creators: Using art and creativity as a tool for sharing skills and for cultural transformation

Protectors: Nurturing our landscape for the benefit and diversity of our native plants and wildlife

DOFS (DuPagers Organized For Sustainability): Amplifying sustainable practices in DuPage county through reasonable, local public policy reform

 

Calendar

Check your calendars! After a December brainstorming session, we are happy to announce that most of our major events for the 2025 calendar year are already scheduled and posted on our Google Calendar. Additional details will be added as events approach, and we will most likely be adding more workshops as the year unfolds. However, this should help all of us plan ahead for our favorite events! 

Please note: Under our calendar in the link above you will see an information box titled SD Public with the local timezone listed. This is the name of our calendar. By clicking the "Add to Google Calendar" link, our SD events will show up in your personal Google Calendar so you won't miss a thing!

 

Seed Cache 

The new year brings us longer days and the promise of a new growing season. In January, take time to go through your seed stash to make sure you have everything you plan to grow this year, setting aside the Open Pollinated or Heirloom seeds you would like to share.   

 

Sustain DuPage will be sharing seed, including the 2025 One Seed, One Community selection at the following seed swaps:  

Feb 1, 12-3 PM, Morton Arboretum Seed Swap, Lisle. Get your ticket here.  

Feb 19, 6:30-8 PM, Lombard Garden Club Seed Swap, Helen Plum Library, Lombard.

Feb 22, 1-3 PM, Seed Swap with Sustain DuPage at Wheaton Public Library, (not yet posted on their website but should be soon). 

Any questions about seed swaps, email Betty here  OR email Lisa here.   

 

Food Security Squad

We have planned a group volunteer activity for Saturday, February 15^th from 8:00 - 11:30 am at People’s Resource Center food pantry in Wheaton.  

From PRC: "Saturdays are one of the days when our clients come to shop for food for their families and our volunteers help by packing bags with food, filling carts, helping clients select food, and helping them take their food to their cars.  We will be so grateful for your help! In our Food Pantries, group members aren't extra workers but are part of our small teams that run the Food Pantry."

For this opportunity, we must ask that all volunteers are:

• Able to be active for the entirety of the shift
• Able to lift bags of groceries 
• At least 13 years of age 
• Willing to work inside or out as may be necessary

"Junior” SD Members are encouraged to attend with an adult. We must provide the names of all participants 2 weeks in advance; please RSVP no later than January 30th via email to Diane here. This allows PRC to fill up any unused group spots by offering them to their regular volunteers. It's very important they are fully staffed for every shift.  

 

Gardeners

Our Gardeners project is sleeping through the winter, but it will be waking up again in February for our group planning meetings. We will have sessions into early March covering crop selection, infrastructure projects, as well as interesting group-buy opportunities. Please sign up for our mailing list above to make sure you don't miss out!

 

 

The Sustain DuPage Gardeners project was thrilled to be a 2024 recipient of the Wheaton Garden Club's generosity, which came in the form of a $500 donation. One hundred percent of this gift will be applied in our quarter-acre communal garden space on the grounds of the Theosophical Society. Chosen by their philanthropic committee, we are honored to count ourselves among the many notable local organizations and causes which have been supported by the Wheaton Garden Club over their storied 100 years of operation. Founded in 1925 by local gardening luminaries, their dedication to service, conservation, education, and civic beautification has lasted a century. 

We are proudly looking forward to hosting their members during their centennial year in our garden for a thank you tour and event! For more information on the fascinating history of the Wheaton Garden Club, please check out their website at https://wheatongardenclub.org/ .

 As a completely volunteer organization, it is generous donations like these which allow Sustain DuPage to keep focused on our work, putting 100% percent back into our projects and community. From our heart, we thank you. 

 

Once again we give our thanks to the Chair of the local River Prairie Group of the Sierra Club, Connie Schmidt, for her thorough reporting on the December meeting of the DuPage County Forest Preserve. You can find the details here by clicking this link. Please note this is a .docx file. 

 

 

In Our Community

01/01/25 11 AM River Prairie Sierra Club - New Year's Day hike at the Indiana Dunes Info here

01/02/25 7 PM DuPage Organic Garden Club - Sharpening Garden Tools Start the new year by giving your garden tools a fresh edge! Join Ken Benson as he dispels the myth that garden tools come sharp from the store and demonstrates how to properly sharpen pruners, shovels and other garden tools using various sharpening stones. Feel free to bring a hand pruner or lopper for critique and, if possible, sharpening or polishing. RSVP here.

01/04/25 10 AM - 4 PM Craft Swap at the Wheaton Public Library Bring craft supplies (current and in good condition) to the Welcome Desk between 12/30 and 1/2 to receive a ticket. Ticketholders will be first to "shop" 10 to 11:30 am. All remaining craft materials will be available to everyone from Noon to 4 pm, no donation necessary. Please see rules and details here. 

01/24/25 12:30 Lombard Garden Club - Spring into Vegetable Gardening Guest Speaker Lisa Hilgenberg, Regenstein Fruit and Vegetable Garden Horticulturist at the Chicago Botanical Garden.  Details here.  

01/25/25 9-12 PM DuPage Extension Seed Swap See details here.

02/11/25 1:30 PM IL Extension Zoom Webinar: Four Seasons Gardening  Register now ! Join Illinois Extension Horticulture Educator, Nancy Kuhajda, for a lively discussion on winter sowing annual flowers, vegetables, and herbs. Winter sowing is a practice of starting seeds during winter outside using empty plastic jugs. No more thin, weak seedlings, winter sown seedlings are stout with huge root systems. FREE, register here.  

Wild Edible Plants of the Midwest -   The Marram Foundation will be offering this in-depth course on how to identify, understand and utilize the wild plants that occur in northeastern Illinois.  There will be 6 full day courses spread throughout 2025 and led by Pat Armstrong. Click here to learn more and register. 

Coming up in Sustain DuPage

2/1/25 12-3 PM Morton Arboretum Seed Swap - Sustain DuPage will be sharing our seeds, including the 2025 One Seed, One Community selection: Norfolk Spinach. Get your ticket here.  

2/15/25 8-11:30 AM Sustain DuPage Group Volunteer at People's Resource Center - As detailed in article above, we will help fill a shift at the food pantry in Wheaton. Deadline to RSVP is January 30th. RSVP to Diane here.    

2/22/25 1-3 PM Seed Swap with Sustain DuPage at Wheaton Public - Sustain DuPage will be sharing our seeds, including the 2025 One Seed, One Community selection: Norfolk Spinach.

If your organization's event falls within the mission of Sustain DuPage and you'd like to advertise it in our newsletter, please contact us at info@sustaindupage.com.