The Green Team

The Green Team (formerly The Environmental Ministry Team) is  dedicated to environmental issues within our church, the wider community and the world, acting on ways to be good stewards of the environment through education, recycling and energy efficiency. We invite everyone who has a passion for caring for God’s creation to come and learn about the work we’re doing to make Glen Ellyn a more sustainable, resilient, and compassionate community. These include efforts to focus on renewable energy and to nurture locally grown produce; if you like to garden, you’ll love what we have in store!

The Gardens are Getting a Makeover! 

A subgroup of the Garden Ministry (Nancy Bell, Dean Fischer, Jill Foucré and Jennifer Umlauf), in coordination with Property & Grounds, have completed an analysis of what it will take to eradicate a very severe invasive weed issue in almost all of the church gardens. We have attempted unsuccessfully for several years to combat this by hand with volunteers and after significant research, have reached the conclusion that the only effective method that will be successful is to take more substantial steps. Read more>

 

Bringing Nature Home:

Resources from Our Landscaping with Native Plants Workshop

We were thrilled to see such a fantastic turnout for our recent Landscaping with Native Plants session! It was inspiring to see so many members of our community eager to learn how we can better care for our local ecosystem right from our own backyards.

A special thank you to our host, Judy Grimes from St. John UCC in Arlington Heights, for sharing her expertise and passion for native gardening. For those who were unable to attend or for participants looking to dive deeper into the materials discussed, we are pleased to provide the following resources to help you get started on your own native plant journey.

Explore the “Growing Native” Presentation

Judy has graciously shared the full visual guide from the workshop. This presentation is packed with information on why native plants matter and how to select the right species for your specific yard conditions.

Looking Ahead: Summer Field Trip

The learning doesn’t stop here! We are currently planning a field trip to Judy’s personal gardens and the native plant gardens at St. John’s in late June or early July. This will be a wonderful opportunity to see a mature native landscape in full bloom and ask follow-up questions. Stay tuned for official dates and registration details.

Happy planting, and thank you for helping us make Glen Ellyn a more vibrant, bird-and-bee-friendly community!

Composting at Church and Home 

The Green Team is thrilled by the interest in composting that some folks have shown by dropping off their compostable items in and at the compost bins located behind the dumpsters in the church parking lot.  When done properly, composting enriches soil, reduces landfill waste, and mitigates climate change.  However, due to space and volunteer limitations, these compost bins at the church are available for church-generated composting only.  If you would like to continue to compost your yard and food waste, we encourage you to visit your local municipality online for information (see below-click each section for the different cities/villages). Thank you for caring for Creation!

For our Neighbors in

Need of Resources

Our harvest is just beginning for this growing season; however, if you would like to continue to support our neighbors in need, by sharing your from your abundance or if you or someone you know is in need of resources to receive food, please follow this link to the resources in our community.

The Eden Project

The Green Team supports a project to plant at least 30 raised bed gardens across DuPage County in the Spring, primarily on the property of FCCGE church members. The produce will be directed to local food pantries and individuals in need. We believe this will accomplish several important sustainability goals:

  1. Provide nutritious sustenance for the hungry in our community
  2. Teach participants the skills to grow their own food
  3. Reduce local carbon output by limiting the need for widely transported, store-bought produce that relies on industrial agriculture and extensive supply chains

Contact: Katie Miley.

New Intergenerational Camp

August 3 -6
This summer join Catherine Curtis at the brand-new Creation Care Camp on August 3rd – 6th as we immerse ourselves in the bounty and beauty of Tower Hill Camp and take action to care for the earth. Scholarships availble! Read more below.