People learn about going green in Elgin

Natalie Voss of Elgin remembers that as a child she threw garbage out the windows of moving cars.

Thankfully, she says, “we’ve come a long way since then” and she’s proud to recycle.

Today, Voss is a mother of three boys. On Friday afternoon, she took them all to Elgin’s Green Expo, a free event that’s in its fourth year.

Voss home-schools her children and brought them to the expo as a field trip. Her two older boys, Bryce, 8, and Gabe, 6, took great delight in identifying several species of fish inside a giant aquarium on wheels — all of the fish were caught in the Fox River near Plano.

“We’re just absorbing it,” Voss said. “I was told it was a fun thing to do with my kids.”

Voss and her the boys were among about 1,500 people who descended on the Centre of Elgin on Friday to learn about all things green. The event, which features a symposium, food, green cars and local vendors, continues Saturday.

For event organizer Sigi Psimenos, being green is more than just recycling and energy efficiency and limiting pollutants. It’s about creating sustainable communities. So the businesses featured at the expo are all within 250 miles of Elgin, she said. “The money stays local, so what we’re trying to do is connect the dots,” she said.

One of the exhibitors was Dr. Felicia Chu, a dentist with an office in Elgin. She is proud to run a an office that follows the guidelines of Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design for commercial interiors.

“I felt that I was creating an environment that was healthy for my staff and my patients,” said Chu, who lives in St. Charles.

Elgin residents weren’t the only ones soaking in the day’s events.

Carpentersville Village President Ed Ritter was due to give a presentation at the symposium on efforts his village has taken to limit stormwater runoff, which can cause pollution. In the future, he said, he’d like officials to take more of a role in river cleanups and education.

“There’s a lot of things to be done,” Ritter said. “Every place has its problems and Carpentersville is one of them.”