Friday Tours highlight conservation solutions for local communities

Since 2022, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County's Water & Natural Resources Protection Action Team and the McHenry County Department of Planning and Development have been hosting a series of Friday “Talks & Tours” that showcase some of the Best Management Practices being implemented in McHenry County.

The events are held on Friday afternoons, to make attending them convenient for staff of municipalities, townships, school districts, park districts, libraries, schools and churches, as well as the general public.

Sign up the next “Talks & Tours: Natural Landscaping for Commercial Properties,” set for Friday, June 26,

It will be 1 to 3 p.m. with Sarah Voska, sales manager at Bluestem Ecological Services at Woodstock Public Library, 414 W. Judd St. Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a walk around the library, where natural landscaping was installed last year, to observe Best Management Practices implemented in that setting.

To improve the resiliency of our communities and sustainably manage resources, it is becoming increasingly important to implement the Best Management Practices showcased in these workshops.

See these inspiring projects in action and learn from the experts how they can be successfully implemented in your communities. Learn how you can save money and resources for your communities or facilities by implementing these best management practices.

The term Best Management Practices, or BMPs, was coined as a way to describe state-of-the-art practices implemented to protect and maintain the integrity of natural resources and promote conservation of land, water and energy.

A Best Management Practice can be a structural “thing” that you actually install on-the-ground. Examples include stormwater treatment trains, rain gardens, energy-saving buildings, etc.

A Best Management Practice can also be part of the “process” that you use to plan, design, construct and conduct your operations. Examples include energy conservation measures, conservation design for developments and practices such as sensible road salting programs.

The next event will be Sept. 25 on “Sustainability Measures at Wastewater Treatment Facilities” where attendees visit the Woodstock South Wastewater Treatment Plant and its wastewater reuse infrastructure.

To see videos of many past “Talks & Tours” and the schedule of upcoming events, visit tinyurl.com/FridayBMPTours.