Elgin Prairie Fest to focus on sustainable living

Sustainable living.

This term is not familiar to everyone.

But for people who care about the earth and its future, sustainable living is their way of life.

Representing a specific lifestyle, sustainable living is the way people try to reduce their use, and subsequent waste, of the earth's natural resources. It's about recycling, reusing, and preserving for the good of the earth and future generations of humans and animals.

Sustainable living is the theme for this year's Prairie Fest scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4 at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, located three miles west of Randall Road on Highland Avenue.

A composite of more than 15 hours worth of presentations, workshops and other programs are packed into the fest, now in its fifth year. The informational event is free and open to the public.

"Prairie Fest is just one of our social justice programs that the church does," said fest co-organizer Bob Sandidge. "This is something we do to educate the community about these issues. It has to do with how we can live without damaging the world around us."

Thom Thomas, a sustainability expert from Geneva, is the first speaker of the day. Thomas played an instrumental role in transferring his own church in Geneva to run on 100 percent wind power. He will present, "The Sustainable Community," discussing the biggest problems facing the earth, and how individuals can do their part to help combat those problems.

"The whole goal here is for us to stop spending on our environmental credit card, which we keep spending on and not even making a minimum payments," Thomas said in a preview to Prairie Fest.

The fest has a large slate of workshops of various topics planned for the day. A sampling of those workshops include Dirk Dypold, of Advanced Geothermal, discussing geothermal energy; Dewaine Nelson, of Solar Energy Solutions, detailing wind and solar power; author/gardener Pat Hill talking about prairie gardening; and Caron Wenzel, of Blazing Star, presenting the eco yard.

Workshops detailing alternative transportation methods, eating green, running a conscious business, energy efficiency, and conservation are also planned. The workshops run 45 to 60 minutes in duration, and participants can design their own program for the day, depending upon their specific interests.

The day's festivities also offer a healthy food lunch service, a labyrinth and self-guided prairie tours all day, and, to inspire the little ones, children's global changes activities. Nancy Steinmeyer, a Bull Valley artist, will serve as the fest's Global Warming Warrior Princess and help facilitate some of the children's activities, which involve constructing a giant puzzle.

As one of the day's highlights, Prairie Fest organizers will present the Green City Panel, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The panel, moderated by Elgin city council member Dave Kaptain, will include Elgin mayor Ed Schock, green architect Keelan Kaiser, Elgin senior city planner Tom Armstrong, and representatives from other agencies.

The panel is designed to give participants insight into the steps cities are taking to reduce waste and pollution, and to promote cleaner, greener communities. As an example, the city of Elgin is in the process of creating an environmental master plan -- the Green Initiative -- to establish operational parameters in an effort to become a more sustainable community. Elgin has already begun a series of eco-friendly projects, and is in the process of selecting a consulting team to draft its sustainability plan, Armstrong said.

"This plan will include a broad range of topics including energy, land-use, transportation, waste management, recycling," said Armstrong, who expects to share much of this information as a panelist. "It touches upon every topic that relates to sustainability."

More information about the Pairie Fest schedule and presenters is available at the Unitarian Universalist Church website, at www.uucePF.com.

If you go

What: Prairie Fest: A Festival of Information and Ideas for Sustainable Living

When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4

Where: Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin, 39W830 Highland Ave., three miles west of Randall Road

How much? Free

Info: uucepf.com or (847) 658-9273