Hosted by Oak Park Climate Action Network:
Join us for a community conversation about data centers, their impacts on communities, and potential solutions and protections - both locally and statewide.
Let’s Talk Data Centers
Thursday June 11 , 2026
6:30 - 8:30pm
Pilgrim Congregational Church
460 Lake Street, Oak Park IL
The Volunteer Fair is back May 16 with even more opportunities to do impactful work in Evanston & Chicago Northside. No matter what interests and expertise you bring, there's an opportunity for everyone!
The Volunteer Fair is back this spring with even more opportunities to do impactful work in Chicago. No matter what interests your or what skills you bring, there's an opportunity for everyone!
Whether you're passionate about protecting the environment, mentoring youth, or advancing social justice, there's an organization that needs you! The Volunteer Fair makes it easy for passionate people ready to get involved to connect with inspiring non-profits & community groups making our city stronger. Come to learn all the ways you can make a difference, leave feeling inspired—find your thing!
Click Here for our 2026 Line-Up
One Earth Film Festival is the Midwest’s premier environmental film festival, based in Chicago and reaching audiences beyond the Chicago region through some virtual offerings.
Join us for the 2026 Climate Action Museum Hero Awards, an evening dedicated to recognizing and celebrating individuals, businesses, and organizations making a real impact in climate action. Connect with fellow change makers, enjoy an inspiring awards ceremony, and support the movement toward a more sustainable future.
Please come to BUILD (5100 W Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60644) from now until the end of May to check out the West Side Earth Keepers Exhibit. This work is full of photos and stories about the people who care for the land and, in turn, care for all of us. The ones tending gardens, holding space, passing down knowledge, and keeping something alive for the future.
Save the date for the next Reuse-a-Palooza at The Plant (1400 W. 46th St.) on Sun. Mar. 15 from 11am-3pm! Our amazing squad of partners will be collecting a bonkers variety of used items during this semiannual repurposing fair, including laptops, towels, clothing, packing materials, and dozens of other still-useful resources as designated on our collection list. Plus there's gonna be a repair clinic as well as lots of opportunities to discuss, discover, and join forces with organizations fighting the good fight for environmental and social causes.
Explore nature and environmentalism from a variety of perspectives across fiction and nonfiction literature on the third Wednesday of every month. Learn more about library-led book discussions.
Join us for this virtual presentation by Dennis Swiftdeer Paige to hear the story of how one residential association in Chicagoland transformed their lawn into a stunning collection of prairie, woodland, and wetland wildflowers, sedges, grasses, and rain gardens that flourished through all four seasons. Learn how you can get started in reshaping your own native eco-friendly landscape while enhancing not only beauty but also biodiversity and environmental health.
We invite you to join us on January 26th at 6pm at the CRC in Oak Park for our second annual event to discuss the future of state and local climate action!
Join local and statewide climate leaders to learn how recently passed policies like the Clean and Reliable Grid Act and The Northern Illinois Transit Authority are accelerating the transition to clean energy in our State and learn about Oak Park’s clean energy grants and programs to help your household take positive steps toward fighting climate change.
Explore nature and environmentalism from a variety of perspectives across fiction and nonfiction literature on the third Wednesday of every month. Learn more about library-led book discussions.
Winter sowing is an easy method of starting seeds outdoors during the winter in recycled containers, like plastic jugs, to help germinate seeds and works especially for native plants. Thanks to a generous donation of native seeds from University of Illinois Extension, everyone will be able to start their own native plant greenhouse.
If you live, work, go to school, or worship on Chicago's Greater Westside (Ashland to Austin, roughly), please join us for our last meeting of 2025 on Tuesday, December 16th.
We're eager to become a meaningful network of advocates and activists already leading the way on building healthy, strong, climate-ready communities.
Location for this month’s meeting is 5100 W. Harrison St, Chicago, IL 60644, 3rd Floor Training Center (Room 345).
Boutique-style shopping at no cost—we know it sounds too good to be true, but we promise it is! Come shop and/or donate. We're offering and accepting gently used clothing and accessories for all genders, ages, and sizes, free of charge! Donations are not required.
Are you passionate about building a greener, healthier community in Oak Park, River Forest, and beyond? Then we invite you to the upcoming PlanItGreen Leadership Forum on December 11th, 2025.
Through PlanItGreen, we’ve already helped reduce 35,000 metric tons of CO₂ annually, created 300+ native gardens, and launched 100+ local sustainability projects but our work is far from done.
We share our one Earth. We celebrate 15 years of community. And your action today helps lift every voice in the fight for a just and livable planet.
Help Us Build on 15 Years of Success:
We’ve engaged 49,000+ attendees in meaningful climate action
We partner with 300+ organizations across Chicagoland and beyond
We make complex environmental issues accessible, urgent, and personal
95% of participants report being inspired to take action
Your Support is Needed to Sustain Just, Impactful Climate Action.
$750 enables film festival screenings in underserved communities that are most disproportionately affected by climate impacts
$250 helps bring filmmakers, environmental experts, and climate activists to be in dialogue and action with audiences and the community
$100 supports the development of young environmental justice leaders
$50 helps us grow the collective by providing resources for climate coalition convenings
Help us meet our $5,000 Giving Tuesday goal. Your gift supports our One Earth, the next 15 years, and even more voices for climate action.
Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature on the third Wednesday of every other month. Learn more about library-led book discussions »
Confused about what kind of plastic can get recycled? Or what size/type of paper is acceptable? And how about greasy cardboard? Join LRS Sustainability Director Joy Rifkin for a behind-the-scenes look at LRS recycling and get these and more of your questions answered so you can feel more confident and informed the next time you head to your recycling bin.
The Oak Park Public Library and Trinity Pierce invite you for an afternoon hour of tree appreciation. We’ll learn more about the trees in our neighborhood, the economic, environmental and health benefits of trees, ways to support green spaces all the while caring for our well-being as we listen and then stroll outside nearby Scoville Park, home to a diverse collection of trees.
Trinity Pierce is the Senior Stewardship Manager at The Morton Arboretum for the Chicago Region Trees Initiative. She collaborates with community organizations and members to increase awareness and foster action through plantings and ongoing care in order to grow a more diverse, more abundant, and more equitably distributed urban forest. A Certified Arborist, she holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan with a background in history, ecological restoration, and urban green space reconciliation.
WEJA (Westside Environmental Justice Alliance) is a group for people who live, work, volunteer, study, and worship on Chicago’s Westside (roughly Ashland to Austin) to come together over our mutual interests of improving the air, water, soil, and health of Westsiders.
WEJA is a partnership with One Earth Collective, 290 IPO, and – so far 72 other Westside activists, community-based organizations, and residents.
The Volunteer Fair is back this fall with even more opportunities to do impactful work in Chicago. No matter what interests and expertise you bring, there's an opportunity for everyone!
Whether you're passionate about protecting the environment, mentoring youth, or advancing social justice, there's a group that needs you! The Volunteer Fair brings together inspiring organizations making our city better and passionate people ready to get involved. Come to make a difference, leave feeling inspired—find your thing!
This semiannual event provides opportunities to repair clothing and household items, safely dispose tricky-to-recycle items, and donate bicycles, clothing, and more, all the while bringing attention to strategies to reduce waste and improve environmental conditions. We’ll be joined by an amazing group of waste-reduction and repurposing enthusiasts focusing on economically, environmentally, and socially responsible approaches to purchasing and consumption.
Looking for Halloween costumes for children ages 0-11?
"Shop" the free swap—even if you don't have a costume to swap:
Wednesday, October 1, 10 am-12 pm & 3:30-5:30 pm
Friday, October 3, 10 am-12 pm & 3:30-5:30 pm
Have a costume to donate to the swap?
September 24-November 5: Drop off gently used and newly washed costumes and accessories for children ages 0-11 in the Main Library Children's Services Area during the library’s open hours.
Any remaining costumes will be available for browsing in the Children's Services Area Storytime Room after the event.
Learn how to build your own plant terrarium. Take home your own green ecosystem and watch it grow. Supplies provided.
Looking for Halloween costumes for children ages 0-11?
"Shop" the free swap—even if you don't have a costume to swap:
Wednesday, October 1, 10 am-12 pm & 3:30-5:30 pm
Friday, October 3, 10 am-12 pm & 3:30-5:30 pm
Have a costume to donate to the swap?
September 24-November 5: Drop off gently used and newly washed costumes and accessories for children ages 0-11 in the Main Library Children's Services Area during the library’s open hours.
Any remaining costumes will be available for browsing in the Children's Services Area Storytime Room after the event.
Learn how to build your own plant terrarium. Take home your own green ecosystem and watch it grow. Supplies provided.
Join Reduce Waste Chicago for our fourth annual Sustainability Market! Discover eco-focused local small businesses, artists and organizations dedicated to helping us all live more sustainably. Drop off items for reuse, repurposing and recycling with five collection organizations. Connect with and create community in a shared mission to reduce waste in our homes and our communities. See you there!
On "Sun Day," Sunday, Sept. 21, 3-4pm, Oak Park Climate Action Network presents a free webinar all about COMMUNITY SOLAR. Learn how anyone with an electricity account can subscribe for a share in a solar "farm" and save money on their energy costs. Presenters include Grace Concialdi of Citizens Utility Board and Art Spooner, Oak Park condo owner and community solar subscriber, followed by Q&A. It's free but registration is required. A recording of the webinar will be available later at https://opcan.org. Questions to wgreenhouse@gmail.com.
Sun Day--a nationwide celebration of clean energy progress— gives each of us a chance to stand up for the solar and wind power that's making our communities healthier, quieter, and more affordable.
In Chicago, the Sun Day Solar Fest will be September 21st from Noon - 4PM at Montrose Beach (adjacent to the dog park) at 610 W Lawrence, Chicago, IL 60613 US.
Explore the curiosities and complexities of nature, environmentalism, and sustainability through fiction and nonfiction literature on the third Wednesday of every other month. Learn more about library-led book discussions »
