This Saturday: Two Moving Planet Events in Springfield

Here are two Springfield-area events in connection with September 24 Moving-Planet, an international event mobilizing folks from all over the world to get moving beyond fossil fuels. (Learn more about Moving Planet by clicking here.)

Bike Ride - Moving Planet Jubilee Farm Ride
Saturday, September 24, 2011 9:00am Capitol Complex Visitors Center

A Springfield Bicycle Club-sponsored ride for all levels – We will ride from the Capitol Complex Visitors Center 425 S. College St. at 9:00am to the Jubilee Farm Fall Festival and back - about 22 miles altogether. The route utilizes part of the new Sangamon Valley Trail on the ride back from the farm.

Jubilee Farm Fall Festival
Saturday, September 24, 2011 10:00 – 3:00
6760 Old Jacksonville Road (3.8 miles west of Veterans Parkway).

Walk the trails/labyrinth or find a bench or chair and enjoy the gift of a new season. Pottery Studio will be open, bake sale, games for younger children, as well as the opportunity to visit with the llamas and chickens. Displays include the importance of bees, organic food production, green babies, and sustainable living. For more information: http://www.jubileefarm.info/.

Sunday: 10/10/10 Global Work Party

Join the Green Center this Sunday as we participate in the great events scheduled around Springfield for the 10/10/10 Global Work Party.

It's a day when communities all over the world roll up their sleeves and get to work solving the climate crisis by tackling community projects designed to generate awareness of and celebrate climate solutions at a local level.

It's an initiative spearheaded by 350.org, the organization working to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 10 percent in 2010 (which brings us one step closer to a healthy level of CO2 emissions in the atmosphere).

There are 18 local events you can participate in around Springfield on Sunday.

Why not attend the Indian Summer Festival at Lincoln Memorial Gardens, clear invasive plants at Adams Wildlife Sanctuary, participate in workdays at Starhill Forest Arboretum and Jubilee Farm, visit the Healthy Springfield Expo at the Illinois State Fairgrounds, or bring items you no longer want or need to the UIS Free Trading Post?

For a complete list of events, visit the springfield350.org website.

Glass Recycling Event Saturday

If you're like me, and you stockpile glass bottles and jars in the garage until you have an opportunity to drop them off somewhere in town, you're in luck.

From 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Oct. 2, the city of Springfield is sponsoring a glass recycling drop-off event at the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

All colored glass bottles or jars that previously contained food or drink will be accepted. Just leave kitchenware, window glass, and eyewear at home, because these types of glass won't be accepted.

To drop off your bottles, enter the fairgrounds through Gate 11.

And if you can't make it to the glass drive Oct. 2, stay tuned: I'll be sharing info about a recycling drive at the Lincoln Land Community College campus soon.

Tonight: Green Jobs Discussion

Tonight, a group of environmental, labor union, wind-farm, and utility representatives is co-sponosoring a panel discussion on green-job opportunities. The forum is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the Carnegie Room of the Lincoln Library in Springfield. The event is free and open to the public.

Sustainable Springfield, Inc.; the Sangamon Valley Group of the Illinois Sierra Club; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 193; City, Water, Light and Power; and American Wind Energy Management Corp. all will participate.

I'll be there and hope you will attend too!

Free Flour at the Farmer's Market

Yesterday, I headed downtown to the Old Capitol Farmer's Market to see what terrific fresh produce I could find. It was incredibly humid, but there were still plenty of vendors and shoppers lining the street.

After purchasing a glass of lemonade to cool off, I proceeded to fill my shopping bag with peaches, blackberries, homemade soap, a loaf of bread from Sweet Kneads, and even a cilantro plant.

Oh, and perhaps most importantly, a bag of flour.

But this wasn't just any flour. It was free flour packaged and handed out by Illinois Stewardship Alliance executive director Lindsay Record.

It was shipped to the Illinois Stewardship Alliance as part of the Industrial Harvest project, which aims to distribute flour purchased through the Chicago Board of Trade to food banks, soup kitchens, local farmers, and more as part of a project to learn about how commodities travel through the system.

You can find out more about the Industrial Harvest project and see photos of the bags of flour at the ISA website. And if you're interested in baking something with your own bag of flour, you're in luck. ISA will be handing out more flour at the Illinois Products Farmers Market today and at the Old Capitol Farmers Market on Saturday.

Just get there early, because the wheat flour goes fast!