What’s green about Naperville?  Our beautiful parks quickly come to mind.  With over 2,500 acres, the Naperville Park District provides green space in every neighborhood. The Naperville Park District also is continuing to build a “green” reputation with regard to our operations, and we’re looking to do even more in the coming year.

 Our 2009 environmental initiatives:

·         We formed a cross-functional Green Team comprised of employees, with a mission to identify, implement, and track environmental initiatives that are aligned with the overall Naperville Park District mission. This mission is “to provide leisure experiences that enhance the quality of life in our community.”

·         What do Pioneer Park, Sportsman’s Park, Naperbrook Golf Course, and Frontier Park have in common? Each of these locations has a prairie restoration in progress, which is part of the Naperville Park District’s initiative to restore native habitat, including prairie, wetland, and woodlands. Each acre that is restored brings back diverse plants that benefit the ecosystem and attract birds and other wildlife.

·         Increasing energy efficiency is another initiative, and this includes the installation of programmable thermostats, motion-activated light switches, and efficient light bulbs and fixtures. Our Information Technology department recently purchased a handy device called a “Kill a Watt,” which measures the energy demands of computers and other office machines. Data from the Kill a Watt revealed that turning off computers on evenings and weekends could cut the cost of running these machines by 63%!

·         In 2009, the Naperville Park District is discovering new ways to reduce and handle waste.  SCARCE (School and Community Assistance in Recycling and Composting Education) conducted two waste audits in conjunction with the park district this spring, showing us that we need to improve our recycling labels and containers. Naperville Park District staff is reducing paper use by using electronic communication whenever practical. Staff members were given reusable cups, and for special events, the district is discontinuing the use of Styrofoam cups, substituting recyclable or compostable cups.

 What’s on the horizon?:

·         New capital projects at the Naperville Park District in 2009-2011 will add a pervious parking lot, undertake shoreline restoration and the posting of educational signs (Winding Creek Park), develop a small interpretive center focusing on nature (Seager Park), and expand the DuPage River Trail in DuPage River Park.

 Here’s how you can get involved with our “green” efforts:

·         Recycle plastic bottles and aluminum cans in specially marked containers in our parks and facilities.

·         Volunteer for spring and fall park clean up:  upcoming dates are Oct 10-17, 2009.  For volunteer information, visit our website at http://www.napervilleparks.org/webpages/index.aspx?webpageid=1000363

·         Register your child for our new environmental preschool at Knoch Knolls Park, Toadstools and Pollywogs.  http://www.napervilleparks.org/recenroll/Activities/ActivitiesDetails.asp?ProcessWait=N&aid=5200

·         Visit one of our 26 preservation areas in a park near you. (Preservation areas are marked PA on the park map) http://www.napervilleparks.org/docs/749557f8-b428-40b6-ae56-19b39540af3f.pdf

·         Stop in to see our South Maintenance Facility, which is the first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certified building in Naperville; this is a designation given by the U.S. Green Building Council. At this southern Park District location, we offer program registration in addition to the same services that are offered at the downtown Naperville office. Hours and address are here: http://www.napervilleparks.org/webpages/index.aspx?webpageid=1000408

Park District staff is very excited about the progress we’ve made to date on our environmental initiatives and look forward to our continued progress. We hope you’ll join with us to help make Naperville an even “greener” community.