5.02.2012

Register Today: High Tunnel Workshop Series

The Green Center at Lincoln Land Community College is offering a high tunnel workshop series for local food producers and others interested in building and using high tunnels.

High tunnels, or hoophouses, are unheated greenhouses that help market gardeners extend their growing season so they can improve the profitability of their farms. These structures offer numerous benefits to produce and bramble fruit growers, from extended growing seasons and higher yields to reduced weeds and premium prices for off-season produce. To be effective, however, they must be properly built.

The first workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, 2012. The workshop, led by agriculture specialist and Four Season Tools founder Mike Bollinger, will cover siting considerations, pre-planning, and step-by-step construction of a high tunnel. Participants will assist in constructing a 22’x48’ high tunnel during the workshop. Tools will be provided.

The second workshop will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Monday, June 11, 2012. Growing in a high tunnel requires a different approach to maximize your returns. Whether you currently grow in high tunnels or haven't put one up yet, this workshop will help you develop the strategies you need to optimize your high tunnel investment. From structure options to crop and soil management, join us for a full day of tips and ideas for growing your season-extension profits.

The workshops will be held at the Workforce Careers Center at Lincoln Land Community College. The cost for one workshop is $30. A discounted rate of $50 will be charged to participants who sign up for and attend both workshops. The registration fee includes a box lunch. Participants will also receive copies of two books: The Polytunnel Handbook and The Winter Harvest Handbook.

The high tunnel workshop series is being hosted in conjunction with the University of Illinois Extension and is funded with the assistance of the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

To register, click here. Or contact Julie Bates at julie.bates@llcc.edu or at 217.786.2434.
The registration deadline is May 8 for the first workshop and June 6 for the second workshop.

3.22.2012

New Sustainable Lawns & Landscapes Workshop Scheduled

Sustainable Lawns & Landscapes: Design & Installation Workshop

The Green Center at Lincoln Land Community College is hosting a Sustainable Lawns & Landscapes: Design & Installation workshop on April 7, 2012, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Workforce Careers Center (room 1169).

This course is perfect for beginners as well as those who have already taken our introductory Sustainable Lawns & Landscapes workshop.

In the 3-hour class, instructor Cathy Bilow of Grieder Landscaping will cover designing your landscape for energy efficiency (including your own), water conservation, and biodiversity. Learn how to evaluate what you have and prepare a master plan and budget. We will also cover proper installation practices that will result in healthy, long-lived plantings. There will be many inspiring ideas to help you create your own sustainable, beautiful, yet functional Midwestern oasis.

The cost is $12 for students with a valid ID and $24 for all other attendees. Click here to register or contact Julie Bates at julie.bates@llcc.edu or 217.786.2434. The registration deadline is April 4, 2012.

2.23.2012

Two Green Opportunities for LLCC Students

RiverWatch Training Scholarship


Become a RiverWatch Citizen Scientist and help monitor and protect local streams!

The Green Center is offering two scholarships for students interested in attending the Illinois RiverWatch Network Training Workshop on Saturday, April 21 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Benedictine University (Dawson Hall, Room D11). The registration fee, which will be covered by the Green Center, is $50. The scholarship application is due March 16 and can be downloaded at the Green Center website.


Participation in the Springfield SDAT Program


The Springfield Sustainable Design Assessment Team (SDAT) Steering Committee is looking for LLCC students to participate in their program. Springfield has been selected as one of seven communities participating in the American Institute of Architect’s Center for Communities by Design, which brings together architects and other local professionals to create a roadmap for communities seeking to improve sustainability. Participation would allow students to see policy and planning related to sustainability first-hand. The SDAT team will be in Springfield May 7-9. Students who wish to participate for all or part of that time may be asked to assist with: errands, drawing computer graphics, research and collaboration, and assisting with development of a PowerPoint presentation. Interested students should contact Melody Lamar at malama@uis.edu.

Greenfire Showing at Illinois State Museum March 20 at 7 p.m.

ILLINOIS NATIVE PLANT SOCIETY will host a free screening of a new film called Green Fire, the first full-length, high definition documentary film ever made about legendary conservationist Aldo Leopold. The film explores Aldo Leopold’s life in the early part of the twentieth century and the many ways his land ethic idea continues to be applied all over the world today.

The showing will be held on March 20, 2012, at 7 p.m. at the Illinois State Museum.


Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time is a production of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, the US Forest Service, and the Center for Humans and Nature. The film shares highlights from Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation in the twentieth century and still inspires people today. Although probably best known as the author of the conservation classic A Sand County Almanac, Leopold is also renowned for his work as an educator, philosopher, forester, ecologist, and wilderness advocate.

The film is being shown in community screening venues like this one throughout 2011. It will then be released on public television in 2012.

“Aldo Leopold’s legacy lives on today in the work of people and organizations across the nation and around the world,” said Aldo Leopold Foundation Executive Director Buddy Huffaker. “What is exciting about Green Fire is that it is more than just a documentary about Aldo Leopold; it also explores the influence his ideas have had in shaping the conservation movement as we know it today by highlighting some really inspiring people and organizations doing great work to connect people and the natural world in ways that even Leopold might not have imagined.”

Green Fire illustrates Leopold’s continuing influence by exploring current projects that connect people and land at the local level. Viewers will meet urban children in Chicago learning about local foods and ecological restoration. They’ll learn about ranchers in Arizona and New Mexico who maintain healthy landscapes by working on their own properties and with their neighbors, in cooperative community conservation efforts. They’ll meet wildlife biologists who are bringing back threatened and endangered species, from cranes to Mexican wolves, to the landscapes where they once thrived. The Green Fire film portrays how Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about both people and land—his call for a land ethic—ties all of these modern conservation stories together and offers inspiration and insight for the future.

“The making of Green Fire has been a process of discovery,” says Curt Meine, the film’s on-screen guide. Meine’s doctoral dissertation was a biography of Aldo Leopold, published as Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988). To give the film its modern perspective of Leopold’s influence in the conservation movement today, Meine was charged with conducting hundreds of interviews with people practicing conservation all over the country. “Meeting all those people has really yielded new connections between Leopold and nearly every facet of the environmental movement, including ocean conservation, urban gardening, and climate change—issues that Leopold never directly considered in his lifetime but has nonetheless affected as his ideas are carried on by others,” said Meine.

“The making of Green Fire has been a process of discovery,” says Curt Meine, the film’s on-screen guide and Director of Conservation Biology and History at the Center for Humans and Nature. Meine’s doctoral dissertation was a biography of Aldo Leopold, published as Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work (University of Wisconsin Press, 1988). To give the film its modern perspective of Leopold’s influence in the conservation movement today, Meine was charged with conducting hundreds of interviews with people practicing conservation all over the country. “Meeting all those people has really yielded new connections between Leopold and nearly every facet of the environmental movement, including ocean conservation, urban gardening, and climate change—issues that Leopold never directly considered in his lifetime but has nonetheless affected as his ideas are carried on by others,” said Meine.

The Aldo Leopold Foundation is distributing the film to community screeners, and is a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization based in Baraboo, Wisconsin. The foundation’s mission is to inspire an ethical relationship between people and land through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Leopold regarded a land ethic as a product of social evolution. “Nothing so important as an ethic is ever ‘written,’” he explained. “It evolves ‘in the minds of a thinking community.’” Learn more about the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Green Fire movie at www.aldoleopold.org.

If you go: TUESDAY, MARCH 20 (7 PM): SPRINGFIELD, IL at the ILLINOIS STATE MUSEUM

For more information: Randy Belville 217-801-5127 or Bell532@sbcglobal.net

11.11.2011

Green Center Profiled on AACC's SEED Center Website

Check out this article about Lincoln Land Community College, the Green Center, and its sustainability-related efforts on campus and in the community. We're featured as a "Success Story" on the SEED Center website.

11.02.2011

Springfield Green Businesses: Get Certified Today!

On November 1, the Green Business Network of Springfield officially launched its Member Certification Program.

Become a member today so you don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

The Green Business Network of Springfield Member Certification Program helps local member-businesses take steps to “green” their operations and recognizes businesses for their efforts in areas including energy and water use, business practices and organization, community involvement, paper use, transportation, and more.

GBNS Member Certification Program provides member-businesses a way to:
  • Differentiate your business from your competition.
  • Spread the word about your outstanding business sustainability efforts—through the media, on your website, and more.
  • Help you track your progress toward your company’s sustainability goals.
  • Make an action plan for steps you want to take to “green” all areas of your business.
The interactive online certification tool we use is powered by the Green Business Bureau. It makes it easy to identify actions steps to take and track your progress at any time.

All content, initiatives, and information included in the GBB platform is available at no cost to members. To download the certification seal, members will pay a small annual fee to cover the costs associated with running the online program.

NOTICE: FOR A LIMITED TIME, GBB IS WAIVING THE ANNUAL FEE TO ENCOURAGE GBNS MEMBERS TO JUMP INTO THE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM. BECOME A MEMBER, GET STARTED WITH THE PROGRAM, AND DOWNLOAD YOUR SEAL BY DEC. 1, 2011, FOR FREE!

The value of the GBNS certification lies in the fact that it’s local, and it provides a way for other businesses and community members to clearly see the moves you are making to become a green business—lending your sustainability initiatives credibility and transparency.

Want to know more about our certification program and its benefits? Contact Julie Bates at julie.bates@llcc.edu or 217.786.2434. Or join GBNS today so you can get started with the certification program!

10.19.2011

Green Fair October 20 at LLCC

Are you looking for more great tips on how you can green your life? Look no further than the Green Fair at the Trutter Center at Lincoln Land Community College from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday.

At the Green Fair, you can learn all about topics including recycling, saving energy and water, green cleaning, local food, renewable energy, and more from the local businesses and organizations who have displays at the event. In addition, we’ll have 20-minute mini “green” workshops running throughout the event. Plus you’ll have the chance to watch a live cooking demonstration performed by Chef Charles Campbell (and taste the results!) and can sign up to win some great green prizes. For the schedule of events and more information, head to the Green Center website.


And don’t forget to join Professor Tony Rothering for a nature walk and some bird-watching from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, too. We’ll meet outside of A. Lincoln Commons to start the nature walk. Anyone who’s interested is welcome!

10.07.2011

Glass Recycling Collection This Saturday

A free drop-off recycling collection for ALL COLORS of glass bottles and jars will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2009, from 8:00 am – noon at the Illinois State Fairgrounds. (Enter at Gate 11 at Sangamon Ave. and 8th St.)
Note that other recyclables will NOT be accepted at this collection; only glass bottles, jars or jugs that food or drink came in will be accepted. Please do not bring light bulbs, vases, kitchenware, windowpanes, eyeglasses or other types of glass. PLEASE rinse bottles/jars/jugs clean and remove lids prior to dropoff.

This collection is open to all area residents and is co-sponsored by the City of Springfield and Illinois Department of Agriculture.

10.03.2011

Submit Your Recycling Videos and Win!

Recycling Has Last Laugh
Keep America Beautiful and Partners Launch "Recycling Is No Joke" Contest for American Recycles Day
Have you ever thought, "Recycling doesn't make a difference." We hate to be blunt, but you are wrong. It benefits our economy, creates jobs, saves energy and protects natural resources. So help Keep America Beautiful and its partners show that "recycling is no joke" by participating in the first-ever America Recycles Day (ARD) video contest, open to contestants of all ages. Contestants are eligible to win $1,000 if they can make the judges (and the public) laugh.

The video contest runs through October 21, 2011. Submissions can be anything ranging from a one-liner, to a comic strip or skit about recycling, but the video must show recycling in a positive, humorous manner. The video needs to be uploaded to the ARD YouTube page by October 21, 2011, as a response to a short video that explains the competition. The ARD Video Committee will vote on the top 10 winners and upload them to a YouTube playlist on our ARD page by November 8, 2011. During the following week, the public will pick the winning videos by clicking the "like" button associated with their favorite video. Voting ends on America Recycles Day. Full rules found here.

9.28.2011

Wanted: Renewable Energy Instructors

Lincoln Land Community College is currently accepting applications for contractual instructors for the Renewable Energy Academy through the Workforce Development department. These contractual positions are non-benefited, grant-funded and will require 12 – 24 hours per week. Compensation will be no less than $40 per hour. These accelerated, daytime courses are set to begin January 2012 and will be based at the main campus in Springfield. Courses to be taught included:

• Energy and Electricity Basics

• Introduction to Renewable Energy

• Solar-Thermal Installation and Maintenance

• Solar-Photovoltaic Installation and Maintenance

• Small Wind Turbine Installation and Maintenance

• Introduction to Geothermal

Applicants must have at least 2 years of demonstrated experience in a field related to the course(s) being taught. Applicants must also have attended a hands-on installation training session in the past two years or must have successfully installed at least three systems (please include references for the project owners of the systems that were installed). Preferred qualifications include 2 or more years teaching and/or field-specific training experience; successful completion of NABCEP Entry Level Exam and/or NABCEP installation certification or other relevant, recognized industry certifications; experience teaching diverse populations and adults. To apply, please send a cover letter, resume and copies of certifications to:
Julie Rourke
Director Workforce Development
Lincoln Land Community College
5250 Shepherd Rd.
P.O. Box 19256
Springfield, IL 62794-9256
julie.rourke@llcc.edu

Lincoln Land Community College is an equal opportunity employer and a drug-free workplace.