I have been a climate activist since college, because I believe it’s our generation’s responsibility to do everything we can to be good stewards and protect a liveable planet.

I believe new ideas are best developed locally, and Evanston is a wonderful place to enact bold environmental policies. Evanston committed to climate action when we passed CARP. Now it’s time to make the plan a reality!

Climate action work is a great way to connect with passionate people working to make the world better. I recently loved participating in the intergenerational climate strikes in Evanston and Chicago which also received lots of positive press coverage. Now is the time to succeed on climate action!

We have been talking about the climate crisis for my entire life. This is an issue that impacts every aspect of our lives and we have known how to solve for decades. It is wonderful to be part of a community that is taking action to create meaningful change.

As a life-long gardener, I was excited to find the people in Edible Evanston in 2013. I have learned and shared so much with this group and working with them over the years has created an undeniable connection to Evanston.

The Food Forest is a huge part of Edible Evanston, but my favorite story is a letter we received from a young man that we supported through the New Gardener Program who moved forward to study urban agriculture in college. The idea that we were part of what inspired him carries me.

All of the climate work I do now was sparked by my 4th-grade teacher Ms. Cleveland. She ran our school's Roots and Shoots club and always emphasized the importance of young people in the Climate movement. She empowered me to advocate for my community and my future.

E-town Sunrise! We were assigning leadership roles for the year-- wanted to establish a relationship with Climate Action Evanston-- and I ended up as "CAE Liaison". Initially, my only responsibility was to attend board meetings, but Climate Action Evanston has become much more to me than that.

I've gotten my family to start composting (thank you Collective Resources!), bike to school, and run 6A lunch meetings for E-town Sunrise during the school year. They may be little things, but that's what I can control by myself! I believe my biggest impact is as part of a team, so I'm here :)

My involvement with building energy efficiency began in the 1980s. Reducing building energy was primarily an economic consideration then, along with resource preservation. The connection of buildings to GHG emissions and global climate change made water, energy, and grid use an elevated priority.

I participated early in the predecessor organization, Network for Evanston's Future, and was co-chair of the Mayor’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan Working Group that produced the CARP document. Climate Action Evanston was a natural fit to continue the pursuit of Evanston's climate action goals.

To my home I've added attic insulation, new windows, rooftop solar, and electric cooking appliances. Heat pump water and space heating soon to follow. I initiated use of a composting service at home and at my work place. Owned hybrid cars for 13+ years. Work project energy savings received awards.

The future of my children and grandchildren has always been my motivation to fight for change. Throughout my career as a state and federal regulator, I worked to shape environmental policies that support climate mitigation and resilience.  It's the most important challenge of our lifetime.

EJE is committed to bringing a climate equity lens to improve the quality of life in our community and to advance opportunities for full public engagement in local decision-making, especially in under-served neighborhoods, which are hardest hit by climate change.

As a former member of the Environment Board, we helped get the Climate Emergency Resolution passed by City Council. This resolution underscored the importance of environmental equity and environmental justice in CARP implementation, to ensure the future health and well-being of future generations.

As part of Gen Z, climate change has always loomed large as both the crisis and opportunity of my lifetime. Challenging as it is, imagining and creating a more just world for all living things gives life tremendous purpose. I intend to accelerate action today, tomorrow, and the rest of my life.

I learned about Climate Action Evanston as a Northwestern student where I majored in Environmental Science and American Studies. I worked with the organization to write my thesis on the history of resident activism and climate action planning in Evanston. I am thrilled to be involved!

I develop utility scale solar and wind projects in my day job, but I am most proud of my volunteer efforts to plan the Generations of Environmental Justice Earth Day event in 2022, and my senior thesis, which helped the City of Evanston dedicate funding for more sustainability staff.

Concern that we humans are acting too slowly to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss, and hometown pride in Evanston's leadership in taking action.

Encouragement to join from the founder of its predecessor organization, its mission, and seeing it as a way to fulfill my desire to get off the sidelines and take action.

Winning a unanimous City Council vote to overturn the denial of solar panels on our home's rooftop, leading to rewritten historic district rooftop solar rules. Also our lawnless garden. It's low maintenance and it integrates habitat value and landscape architecture.

After years of complaining about why people weren't doing something, I decided to put my money where my mouth was and focus on sustainability.

I was looking for a volunteer opportunities to help birds, bees, and butterflies and stumbled upon Natural Habitat Evanston's Facebook page. I began volunteering with NHE and couldn't get enough of decreasing lawns and increasing wildlife habitat.

By creating native Prairie in my yard, local park, schools, and encouraging others to do the same, I feel a sense of hope. We can eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and use plants and soil to draw down atmospheric GHG. And the side effects are a healthier planet for all beings.

In high school I wrote my senior paper on food waste and became obsessed with reducing waste, even being zero waste at one point. I thought that helping the planet was as simple as reduce, reuse, recycle but I quickly realized how complicated climate issues were.

I had done work with renewable energy non profits in Chicago but really wanted to get involved with climate issues in Evanston. I started working with Environmental Justice Evanston and was very surprised by the difference in environmental quality from one ward to another.

I recently bought a house and being able to compost outside has been something that I have been looking forward, after many failed attempts of worm composting in small apartments :open_mouth: It has been tricky but this year I got a good amount of compost that I was able to put in my garden bed!