Kane County Reporter

City of Geneva Natural Resources Committee met Oct. 4.

Here is the agenda provided by the committee:

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

Jay Womack Bill Doeckel Adam McMillen Jeanine McMillen Tom Dickinson Carrie Carter John Frankenthal Stephanie O’hara Dan Ludwig Kelvin Limbrick Rachel Ratos Mel Rooney Steve Matravers Autumn Bruno Sam Kresler (GHS Liaison), David Monaco (SPAC Liaison)

3. Amendments to the Agenda

4. Approval of Minutes from last meeting

5. Active Projects:

• Earth Day Event

i. Keep the light on at Peck Farm for 2024.

• Eastside Fire Station Natural Landscaping Project

i. Dan Ludwig continues to monitor the plants.

• River Clean-up Day

i. The cleanup was a huge success, again! Thanks to everyone that helped put it together.

ii. Winners of the Grahams gift cards were chosen and awarded for Most Bizarre, Largest Item, Heaviest Item.

• Rain Barrels for sale

i. Jay has barrels. Barrels are $75 each.

ii. NRC donated 1 barrel to the Geneva Park District Fndtn for Autumn Fair fundraiser.

• Greening Geneva Initiative

i. Locations at James and 5th have been approved by Public Works.

ii. Location at parks have been approved. Need to stake the locations with Carl..

iii. Quotes for trees has been received from Wasco Nursery. Email votes by NRC has approved quotes.

iv. Wasco Nursery to plant 28 new trees and replace dead trees this Fall.

• Wine, Cheese, and Trees

i. WCT 2024…

ii. Library has already reserved all rooms for the next event.

• Fabyan Preserve Stewardship

i. Workdays will start again in October 2023. Schedule has been sent.

• Elm Park Restoration Work

i. Update from Kelvin

• NRC Facebook page and Instagram

i. Updates from Mel and Kelvin.

• Recycling Bins on 3rd Street

i. The bins are in place and being utilized.

ii. It has been noted that many of the recycle bins are overrun with material and need to be emptied sooner so that they are not overwhelmed with garbage as well.

• Pumpkin Recycling

i. Pumpkin Smash is a go! The event will be held Saturday, Nov. 4th, 10 to noon, at the Districts Community Gardens.

ii. Autumn is coordinating with her Middle School, Kane Cty Collects, Kane County Farm Bureau,

SCARCE, Geneva Market (Mark Weaver), and Flat Can Recycling.

iii. Flyers are being made by District and Flat Can Recycling.

iv. Autumn, Jay, the District, and Kat will meet on Oct 20th at plots to review circulation and setup.

• NRC Lecture Series

i. NRC will begin a quarterly lecture series on environmental education opportunities. The lectures will be held at the Library.

ii. The second lecture will be the Kane/DuPage Soil and Water Conservation District on Dec. 9th.

iii. The third lecture will be Designing with Native Plants for the Home and Garden in March, 2024.

iv. A calendar of ideas was created by Rachel.

• Dark Sky Initiative

i. NRC to continue to promote the Dark Sky Initiative.

ii. Geneva Park District has adopted a Resolution to be Dark Sky Compliant.

• Tree Ordinance

i. Based on NRC recommendations, there are several sections of the City Code that need to be amended in relation to tree preservation, tree protection, and landscaping.

6. New Initiatives

• Create an annual Environmental award – recognize a community member who is making a difference.

• Create an education piece to reduce plastic and styrofoam at restaurants. Attend Cantigny seminar?

• Continue to support educational opportunity to move Spring leaf collection into May, not April.

7. Treasurer’s Report

8. Additional business

9. Adjournment

https://www.geneva.il.us/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Agenda/_10042023-2227