FIND YOURSELF OUTSIDE
What do you do when you find yourself outside? Maybe you play on a playground, walk through a forest preserve, or even explore a backyard! Lake County is full of beautiful plants, animals, insects, and people. Different people connect to nature differently, based on where they live, what they like to do, and their family’s cultural beliefs and practices.
Brushwood Center is an organization in Lake County that works to connect people to nature, creativity, and each other. We work with other community groups and leaders to help solve problems using the power of nature and creativity. Since 2020, Brushwood Center’s It’s a W.I.N. team has created an annual nature activity and coloring book for youth and families in partnership with local artists, educators, and environmentalists.
This year, we were curious to know how the community feels about nature, health, and local green spaces. So, we asked!
The respondent interviews in the newest report from our research team, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL inspired the art and activities for this year's nature activity book. This activity book shares some of the stories we gathered from community members amongst coloring pages created by local artists, and interactive nature activities and craft ideas.
Nature Explorer Backpack / Mochilas de Explorador Project
Find Yourself Outside will be distributed this Summer with the help of local community partners through Brushwood Center's annual Nature Explorer Backpack / Mochilas de Explorador Project. Learn more here about this project, and this year's distribution partners!
Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator
Launched in 2022, Brushwood Center’s Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator was born in response to growing community demand and momentum for systemic change to address inequities at the intersection of health, climate, and nature. The Accelerator activates equitable nature-based solutions through community and healthcare partnerships.
The Accelerator’s newest report, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL, is a tool for community members, organizations, and decision-makers to implement equitable, nature-based policy decisions to improve our communities’ health and wellbeing.
View a digital version of Find Yourself Outside below, learn more about environmental justice issues in Lake County, and hear from the community artists who helped bring this project to life!
Brushwood Center is an organization in Lake County that works to connect people to nature, creativity, and each other. We work with other community groups and leaders to help solve problems using the power of nature and creativity. Since 2020, Brushwood Center’s It’s a W.I.N. team has created an annual nature activity and coloring book for youth and families in partnership with local artists, educators, and environmentalists.
This year, we were curious to know how the community feels about nature, health, and local green spaces. So, we asked!
The respondent interviews in the newest report from our research team, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL inspired the art and activities for this year's nature activity book. This activity book shares some of the stories we gathered from community members amongst coloring pages created by local artists, and interactive nature activities and craft ideas.
Nature Explorer Backpack / Mochilas de Explorador Project
Find Yourself Outside will be distributed this Summer with the help of local community partners through Brushwood Center's annual Nature Explorer Backpack / Mochilas de Explorador Project. Learn more here about this project, and this year's distribution partners!
Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator
Launched in 2022, Brushwood Center’s Health, Equity, and Nature Accelerator was born in response to growing community demand and momentum for systemic change to address inequities at the intersection of health, climate, and nature. The Accelerator activates equitable nature-based solutions through community and healthcare partnerships.
The Accelerator’s newest report, Health, Equity, and Nature: A Changing Climate in Lake County, IL, is a tool for community members, organizations, and decision-makers to implement equitable, nature-based policy decisions to improve our communities’ health and wellbeing.
View a digital version of Find Yourself Outside below, learn more about environmental justice issues in Lake County, and hear from the community artists who helped bring this project to life!
LEAN MORE ABOUT EJ ISSUES IN LAKE COUNTY, IL
Lake County is home to some of the healthiest and most biologically diverse ecosystems in the state of Illinois. From an expansive network of forest preserves, to the lakefront, and even community parks and green space, there are lots of great places to connect with nature. However, the county is also subjected to a lot of pollution and barriers to accessing these beautiful spaces. There are Superfund sites, long-time industrial pollution, and lack of transportation that makes it difficult for people to connect to the natural resources we have in Lake County. These issues are not affecting everyone equally; people of color and low income communities are most likely to suffer the negative health impacts of pollution in their communities. These issues are example of environmental injustice and environmental racism. Brushwood Center is partnering with Clean Power Lake County to share the story of environmental justice in Lake County, and what community members are doing to create a healthier, safer environment for all. Learn more by reading and interacting with the different components below!
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What's a SuperFund Site?
Superfund sites are polluted locations in the United States requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. These sites have been identified by the government as extremely hazardous and as a priority for clean up, though the actual process of cleaning up the sites is more complicated. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. There are 11 Superfund sites in Illinois. Five of these eleven sites are in Waukegan. You can explore these sites and other toxic sites through the virtual Toxic Tour Map below. Click on each colored polygon to learn more about the history of that site: |
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What are Local Activists Doing?
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A world where everyone, regardless of who they are, can live in a healthy environment. Since its foundation in 2013, that has been the mission Clean Power Lake County has fought for in Waukegan, Lake County and beyond. However, as an environmental justice community, Waukegan faces environmental threats from all sides. 5 Superfund sites from the city’s industrial past. An F rating in air quality from industry and the coal-fired power plant. Increased cancer risk from ethylene-oxide emissions from nearby industrial facilities.
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Despite all obstacles, CPCL has secured several victories for Lake County’s health and environment. In June 2021, NRG announced that their coal-fired power plant based in Waukegan is set to close in 2022, marking a pivotal success for CPLC’s fight against pollution. Furthermore, CPLC contributed to the passing of the Coal Ash Pollution Prevention Act (SB9), thus enforcing strict regulations for coal ash disposal at the state level and making Illinois one of three states to implement coal ash legislation at the state level. CPLC led and helped write the Future Energy Jobs Act (FEJA) and the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA) passed in 2016 and 2021, respectively. Both bills are crucial climate, equity-oriented bills that advance CPLC’s environmental justice mission, securing a just transition for the coal plant in Waukegan.
What Can You Do?
Everyone can play a part in the fight for environmental justice. You can help support this work by speaking with others in your community, reaching out to local elected officials, creating artwork or informational campaigns to educate others, and joining organizations like Clean Power Lake County! Stay up to date on specific calls to action by signing up for the CPLC newsletter:
