United States Environmental Protection Agency
About the organization:
“The mission of EPA is to protect human health and the environment. The EPA’s purpose is to ensure that: all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work; national efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific information; federal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced fairly and effectively; environmental protection is an integral consideration in U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, industry, and international trade, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy; all parts of society — communities, individuals, businesses, and state, local and tribal governments — have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks; environmental protection contributes to making our communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable and economically productive; and the United States plays a leadership role in working with other nations to protect the global environment.” – quoted from EPA website
Shedd Aquarium
About the organization:
“At Shedd, we have a deep sense of responsibility to conserve wildlife, now and long into the future. To help protect wild animals and their habitats, scientists from Shedd’s Daniel P. Haerther Center for Conservation and Research are engaged in projects halfway around the globe — and in our own backyard, the Great Lakes…
Shedd Aquarium is committed to protecting the Great Lakes for the people and wildlife that rely on them. The stakes are high. Our Great Lakes Program focuses on significant environmental issues that affect the wildlife and people in the Great Lakes region — from algae to spruce and minnows to moose…” – quoted from the Shedd Aquarium’s website.
EcoPeace Middle East
About the organization:
“EcoPeace Middle East is a unique organization that brings together Jordanian, Palestinian, and Israeli environmentalists. Our primary objective is the promotion of cooperative efforts to protect our shared environmental heritage. In so doing, we seek to advance both sustainable regional development and the creation of necessary conditions for lasting peace in our region. EcoPeace has offices in Amman, Bethlehem, and Tel-Aviv.” – quoted from EcoPeace’s website.
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
About the organization:
“The District will protect the health and safety of the public in its service area, protect the quality of the water supply source (Lake Michigan), improve the quality of water in watercourses in its service area, protect businesses and homes from flood damages, and manage water as a vital resource for its service area. The District’s service area is 883.5 square miles of Cook County, Illinois. The District is committed to achieving the highest standards of excellence in fulfilling its mission.” – quoted from MWRD’s website.
University of Illinois – Chicago
About the organization:
“A major research university in the heart of one of the world’s greatest cities, UIC provides a world-class education for its students. We are committed to creating and disseminating new knowledge as a university of growing national and international stature. The largest university in the Chicago area, UIC has 27,580 students, 15 colleges-including the nation’s largest medical school-and annual research expenditures exceeding $335 million…
UIC is proud to be a leader in campus sustainability among Chicago-area higher education institutions as well as a charter participant in the Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS) and the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact. We were the first university in Chicago to establish an Office of Sustainability (2008) and in 2009 published our Climate Action Plan, identifying steps to reduce our carbon emissions at least 80% by 2050.” – quoted from UIC’s website
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
About the organization:
“[Our] Mission Statement: To manage, conserve and protect Illinois’ natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public’s understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois’ natural resources for present and future generations…
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) strongly impacts the economy of the State of Illinois. From State Parks to outdoor recreation to regulation and permitting, the economic benefits of IDNR activities reach statewide. Activities associated with IDNR support 90,000 jobs and at least $32 billion worth of economic impact annually. Click the report above to see just how important IDNR’s mission is to the economy of Illinois!
In addition, IDNR activities and functions support Illinois’ most important priorities: Protecting lives and property; Providing quality education and opportunities for all Illinois residents; Improving government efficiency and stability; Enhancing Illinoisans’ quality of life…” – quoted from the Illinois DNR’s website
University of Toronto
About the organization:
“Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto has evolved into Canada’s leading institution of learning, discovery and knowledge creation. We are proud to be one of the world’s top research-intensive universities, driven to invent and innovate
Our students have the opportunity to learn from and work with preeminent thought leaders through our multidisciplinary network of teaching and research faculty, alumni and partners. The ideas, innovations and actions of more than 500,000 graduates continue to have a positive impact on the world.“ -quoted from University of Toronto’s website
View University of Toronto’s website
University of Wisconsin – Madison
About the organization:
“In achievement and prestige, the University of Wisconsin–Madison has long been recognized as one of America’s great universities. A public, land-grant institution, UW–Madison offers a complete spectrum of liberal arts studies, professional programs and student activities. [The campus spans] 936 acres along the southern shore of Lake Mendota…
UW–Madison ranks as one of the most prolific research universities in the world. Driven by a desire to both explore new worlds and to apply new ideas to real-world problems, research at UW–Madison isn’t conducted only by faculty, staff and graduate students. Undergraduate research opportunities also are fostered, making research a truly campuswide enterprise…
The Nelson Institute’s Center for Culture, History, and Environment (CHE) [of which Dr. Alatout is a part] draws together faculty, staff, graduate students, and others from a wide array of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences to investigate environmental and cultural change in the full sweep of human history. – quoted from UW’s website
Michigan State University
About the organization:
“The nation’s pioneer land-grant university, MSU is one of the top research universities in the world. Home to nationally ranked and recognized academic, residential college, and service-learning programs, MSU is a diverse community of dedicated students and scholars, athletes and artists, scientists and leaders…
The MSU faculty who study the environment have considerable expertise and conduct research in the following areas: agricultural land management, sustainability, and decision-making; bioenergy development; coupled human and natural systems; domestic and international public opinion on the environment; environmental social movements; global environmental change; human-animal interactions; risk; sustainability; water quality and management…
[Also, regarding the Indigenous Law & Policy Center, with which Dr. Singel is affiliated]: The Indigenous Law & Policy Center is the heart of the MSU Law Indigenous Law Program. The Center has two goals: to train law students to work with Indian Country, and to provide services to institutional clients such as Indian tribes, tribal courts, and other tribal organizations on a wide variety of legal and policy questions.” – quoted from MSU’s website
Department of Science and Technology in Society, Virginia Tech.
About the organization:
“Science and Technology Studies (STS) is a growing field that draws on the full range of disciplines in the social sciences and humanities to examine the ways that science and technology shape, and are shaped by, our society, politics, and culture. We study contemporary controversies, historical transformations, policy dilemmas, and broad philosophical questions. The graduate program in STS at Virginia Tech prepares students to be productive and publicly-engaged scholars, advancing research and making a difference.Our program has two locations, but with shared faculty and a common curriculum. Some courses are teleconferenced across campuses. Both locations offer the masters in science (M.S.) and the Ph.D.” -quoted from Department of Science and Technology in Society, Virginia Tech’s website
View the Department of Science and Technology in Society, Virginia Tech’s website
Alliance for the Great Lakes
About the organization:
“The Alliance is the oldest Great Lakes organization devoted 100 percent to the lakes. Our professional staff works with scientists, policymakers, businesses, community groups and everyday citizens to protect and restore the world’s largest surface freshwater resource.
From forging forward-looking Great Lakes policies to promoting Great Lakes education to on-the-ground efforts to improve thousands of miles of Great Lakes shoreline, we’ve been out front and behind the scenes caring for the lakes since 1970.
…Our mission at the Alliance for the Great Lakes is to conserve and restore the world’s largest freshwater resource using policy, education and local efforts, ensuring a healthy Great Lakes and clean water for generations of people and wildlife…” – quoted from the Alliance’s website
Friends of the Chicago River
About the organization:
“Since 1979, Friends has been working to improve the health of the Chicago River for the benefit of people and wildlife; and by doing so, has laid the foundation for the river to be a beautiful, continuous, and easily accessible corridor of open space in the Chicago region.
Friends’ work spans the entire 156-mile Chicago River system and its surrounding watershed. We focus on a greener river with healthy habitat, an accessible river that people can use and enjoy, and a river cared for by a broad group of supporters.
Friends works in partnership with municipalities, businesses, community groups, schools, peer organizations, government agencies and individuals on projects that benefit the river.
We believe the river can be both ecologically healthy and a catalyst for community revitalization….” – quoted from the Friends website
Little Village Environmental Justice Organization
About the organization:
“LVEJO was founded in 1994 by public school parents who learned about the potential exposure of their children to dangerous particles during school renovations at Joseph E. Gary Elementary. After forcing the school administration to change their plans, these parents turned their attention to other issues of environmental justice in Little Village…
After twenty years working for environmental justice in Little Village, LVEJO continues to organize for a healthier community in Little Village and beyond. Building upon the successful clean power, public transit, and open space campaigns LVEJO remains committed to organizing with those most impacted by industrialization and climate change…
The mission of LVEJO is to organize with our community to accomplish environmental justice in Little Village and achieve the self-determination of immigrant, low-income, and working-class families. Our vision is to build a sustainable community that promotes the healthy development of youth and families, provides economic justice, and practices participatory democracy and self-determination. LVEJO’s theory of social change is centered upon the belief that when low income and people of color understand the root causes of their experiences of oppression, they have the power and agency to transform society. LVEJO’s grassroots organizing model is grounded in three guiding principles: 1) intergenerational leadership that sustains community self-determination, 2) it assumes that those directly affected have the solutions to solve their own problems; and 3) it builds upon the existing assets and resources of the community for social change…” – quoted from LVEJO’s website
Council of Canadians
About the organization:
“Founded in 1985, the Council of Canadians is Canada’s leading social action organization, mobilizing a network of 60 chapters across the country.
Through our campaigns we advocate for clean water, fair trade, green energy, public health care, and a vibrant democracy. We educate and empower people to hold our governments and corporations accountable.
Join us and be part of a global movement working for social and environmental justice. We believe a better Canada and a fairer world are possible. Together, we turn that belief into action.
The Council of Canadians is a registered non-profit organization and does not accept money from corporations or governments. Our work is sustained by the volunteer energy and generous donations of people like you.” -quoted from The Council of Canadians’ website
View The Council of Canadians’ website
Indiana State Conference NAACP
About the organization:
“The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.
The vision of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure a society in which all individuals have equal rights without discrimination based on race.
The following statement of objectives is found on the first page of the NAACP Constitution – the principal objectives of the Association shall be:
- To ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of all citizens
- To achieve equality of rights and eliminate race prejudice among the citizens of the United States
- To remove all barriers of racial discrimination through democratic processes
- To seek enactment and enforcement of federal, state, and local laws securing civil rights
- To inform the public of the adverse effects of racial discrimination and to seek its elimination
- To educate persons as to their constitutional rights and to take all lawful action to secure the exercise thereof, and to take any other lawful action in furtherance of these objectives, consistent with the NAACP’s Articles of Incorporation and this Constitution.”
-quoted from the NAACP’s website
We The People of Detroit
About the organization:
“We the People of Detroit (WPD) was co-founded by Chris Griffith, Aurora Harris, Monica Lewis-Patrick, Cecily McClellan and Debra Taylor. WPD is a grassroots organization founded in 2008 and grew out of citizens who fought against the Mayoral Takeover of Detroit Public Schools in 2008/09. WPD is dedicated to community coalition building and providing vehicles that inform, train and mobilize the citizens of Detroit to improve their quality of life. WPD has spearheaded and supported several initiatives that resist Emergency Management and the unconstitutional, immoral and unethical taking of voting rights, city assets, workers rights, pensions and self governance in general.
The most recent citywide campaign that WPD is currently participating in is as the on the ground coordinator for Outreach (door to door canvassing & distribution of the “Water=Life” kicker cards; emergency resource hotline and the establishment of the first of several emergency Water Stations) in cooperation with the People’s Water Board Coalition composed of 38 community based and grass root organizations.” -quoted from We The People of Detroit’s website
View We The People of Detroit’s website
Chicago Reader
About the organization:
“The Chicago Reader is Chicago’s largest free weekly newspaper, nationally recognized as a leader in the alternative press. Since 1971, the Reader has served as Chicago’s political conscience, cultural guide, and music authority. With a highly targeted-circulation of 90,000 and a consistent return rate of less than 2%, the Chicago Reader is the city’s most essential alternative media resource. Known for its in-depth coverage of Chicago politics and culture, the Reader explores and exposes news, events and issues that affect city living. The paper has won numerous journalistic awards and honors, both local and national, and is well-known as a showcase for Chicago’s most talented writers, critics, photographers, and illustrators. With a readership of 450,000 and some of the industry’s lowest advertising rates, the Chicago Reader is one of the largest and most successful alternative weeklies in the country.
A leader in digital news media, chicagoreader.com is a top 10,000 site as rated by Quantcast.* With over 100,000 unique visits and over 800,000 page views each week, visitors to chicagoreader.com account for nearly 25% of the entire Chicago Reader audience. Readers use the Web site daily for updates on cultural events, dining, music, arts & culture, political news, urban affairs and more. Additionally, chicagoreader.comis home to one of the most extensive and thriving classifieds resources in Chicago. (* July 2009)” -quoted from the Chicago Reader’s website
View the Chicago Reader’s website
Midwest Environmental Justice Organization
About the organization:
“The Midwest Environmental Justice Organization is a grassroots, citizen-based group that educates the community about environmental justice issues, facilitates the community’s ability to address these issues, and supports environmental justice for the benefit of the general public. Environmental pollution affects everyone, but has disproportionate impacts on the poor and minorities, which are not being addressed by our institutions or our community as a whole. MEJO aims to change this.” -quoted from The Midwest Environmental Justice Organization’s website
View The Midwest Environmental Justice Organization’s website
Blacks in Green
About the organization:
“BIG™ is an award-winning economic development organization based in West Woodlawn, Chicago with a national network. Our vision is self-sustaining black communities everywhere. We’re one of America’s most diverse eco-orgs, and a thought leader in sustainable community development for communities of color…across 13 economic sectors. We serve as bridge and catalyst among communities and their stakeholders in the design and development of “walk-to-work, walk-to-shop, walk-to-learn, walk-to-play villages” within black neighborhoods. We teach Grannynomics™ and Green-Village-Building™ – a whole-system solution for the whole-system problems common to black communities everywhere. Together they highlight the disproportionate negative impacts of global warming on communities of color, the health/wealth opportunities of the new green economy, the conservation lifestyle, and train community members to lead where they live. We aim to reduce greenhouse gas levels via local living economies. But uniquely, our walkable villages are designed to increase household income, by increasing the rate at which neighbor-owned businesses are created and sustained, thus keeping resident money active locally, supporting community self-interests, and preserving the heritage of a place. Thus, we address the terrible triplets of pollution, poverty, and plutocracy.” -quoted from the Blacks in Green’s website
View the Blacks in Green’s website
The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
About the organization:
“The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative is a binational coalition of 130 U.S. and Canadian mayors and local officials working to advance the protection and restoration of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River. The Cities Initiative and local officials integrate environmental, economic and social agendas and sustain a resource that represents approximately 20 percent of the world’s surface freshwater supply, provides drinking water for 40 million people, and is the foundation upon which a strong regional economy is based. Members of the Cities Initiative work together and with other orders of government and stakeholders to improve infrastructure, programs and services and increase investments that protect and restore this globally significant freshwater resource. Only by working together to protect the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence can we preserve and enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of the people of the region.
The Cities Initiative works with mayors and municipal staff to protect and preserve the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region at the local, regional, and basin-wide levels. Some of our current and past initiatives include:
Green CiTTS (Green Cities): Implementing Green Infrastructure on a local level
Asian Carp: Preventing invasive species from entering the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence
Best Practices: Library of Water Conservation, Climate Change Adaptation, and other best practices from member cities
Resolutions: Statements approved by the membership”
-quoted from The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative’s website
View The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative’s website
Food & Water Watch
About the organization:
“Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment.
We are working to create a healthy future for our families and for generations to come—a world where all people have the resources they need, including wholesome food, clean water and sustainable energy. Making this happen requires organizing people from all over the country to build a large movement with the political power to make our democratic process work. Large numbers of people are a countervailing force to corporations “buying” public policy.
Independence. We are a public interest organization that remains independent of corporate and government influence. We are funded fully through our members, individual donors, and foundation grants.
Democracy. We engage and mobilize citizens politically through person-to-person, on-the-ground organizing, educational campaigns and new media technologies. We believe political involvement is critical for holding governments accountable to their constituents and for creating policies that ensure a sustainable world with safe food and clean water.
Human Rights. Although food and water are human rights, the political will to ensure that all people have adequate nutrition and drinking water is lacking. We are part of the growing global movement fighting this injustice.
Sustainability. We believe in a sustainable future — one that ensures access to essential resources for future generations while protecting the quality of our environment.” -quoted from Food & Water Watch’s website
View Food & Water Watch’s website
US Water Alliance
About the organization:
“The US Water Alliance advances policies and programs that build a sustainable water future for all.
At the US Water Alliance, we believe that all water has value. It must be managed in a sustainable and inclusive manner to build strong economies, vibrant communities, and healthy environments.
We are driving a one water movement—an approach to water stewardship that is innovative, inclusive, and integrated. As a member-supported national nonprofit organization, the Alliance educates the nation about the true value of water and proactively advances policies and programs that manage water resources to advance a better quality of life for everyone.
Stronger together, that is how we work. The Alliance brings together diverse interests to identify and advance common-ground, practical, and achievable solutions to solve our nation’s most pressing water challenges. Our membership includes water providers, public officials, business leaders, environmental organizations, community leaders, policy organizations, researchers—all who are committed to working together to secure a sustainable water future.
Through a program of national dialogues, collaborative platforms for knowledge building and peer exchange, the development of forward-looking and inclusive water policies and programs, public education, and coalition building, we are driving a national movement to ensure that clean, reliable water is available for all, now and in the future.
One water, one future.” -quoted from the US Water Alliance’s website
View the US Water Alliance’s website
Reflo
About the organization:
“As a nonprofit organization, Reflo’s mission is to become a leader in sustainable water use, green infrastructure and water management in urban environments.
Grounded in strong client relationships and community partnerships, we will provide cost effective and sustainable solutions for rainwater and greywater use. We will accomplish our objectives through education, research, and the implementation of water projects that are rewarding for individuals, local communities, and the organizations that support them.” -quoted from Reflo’s website
Fjord
About the organization:
“Our clients have ambitious goals. We help our clients achieve these goals.
Re-imagine what a bill is about.
Radically simplify citizens’ interactions with governments.
Help banks meaningfully engage with the mobile generation.
Re-invent the retail experience with digital at the core.
As we enter an era of liquid expectations the battleground is experience. We’re having to constantly adapt how we work. The success metric is delight. We start with the user. We turn dreams into reality. We put design at the heart. By collaborating with Accenture, we bring together all of the components needed for meaningful transformation.
Delighting people through relevant, elegant and simple experiences.
Helping you flex your platform using scalable and flexible technology.
Reorienting your business with solutions that are effective, agile and deliver ROI.
The market is not standing still. And neither are we. We’ve built an amazing company based on design and innovation. And now we’ve added the capability to deliver cutting-edge products and services into market, by partnering with Chaotic Moon. We combine design, strategy, and development to achieve innovation, this means: Big ideas executed. Products with a purpose. Experiences users love.” -quoted from Fjord’s website
Great Lakes Commons
About the organization:
“We are a growing and open network of people, organizations and institutions from the Great Lakes bioregion who care passionately about these remarkable bodies of water.
Great Lakes Commons was initiated and incubated as a project by On The Commons. A number of organizations and individuals from the U.S., Canada, and First Nations provided leadership and guidance from early on. These include the Council of Canadians, Blue Mountain Center, Detroit People’s Water Board, Vermont Law School Environmental Law Center, Blue Planet Project, FLOW for Water, and Food and Water Watch. Individuals who are key GLC collaborators are listed below.
Together we are environmentalists and scientists, recreationalists and teachers, urban and rural, Native and non-native, people of faith and artists, food growers and public health advocates — people like you who want to see the Lakes thrive for generations to come.
We are united in a desire to insure that they have a vibrant future and share a commitment to the long term transformation of the care and governance of the Great Lakes. Leadership of the Great Lakes Commons reflects an unusual and promising alliance of people from across Nations, geography, ancestry and traditions.
We welcome the participation of anyone committed to a vibrant future for the Lakes.” -quoted from Great Lakes Commons’ website
View Great Lakes Commons’ website
East Michigan Environmental Action Council (EMEAC)
About the organization:
“EAST MICHIGAN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION COUNCIL(EMEAC) began as a response in the 1960’s to environmental concerns in southeast Michigan. Algae blooms were choking out life in Great Lakes and inland waters. Household and industrial wastes were piling up in landfills. Air pollutants were becoming a health issue in many urban neighborhoods and highways and buildings were covering up wetlands and open areas at the urban fringe.
FLOW
About the organization:
“Our story is about water – 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water – and the need to educate citizens and leaders about protecting the Great Lakes as a commons held in public trust now and for future generations. At FLOW (For Love of Water), we believe the enduring ideas of the commons and legal principles of the public trust can offer unifying adaptive solutions to address systemic basin-wide threats, increased water conflicts, diversions, and climate change impacts.
FLOW is dedicated to protecting and preserving the extraordinary and essential natural resource endowment and apply public trust principles to educate, advance policy, and provide solutions to the pressing water, energy and climate issues facing our region, nation and planet.” -quoted from FLOW’s website
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
About the organization:
“The Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council speaks for Northern Michigan’s waters. We are dedicated to protecting our lakes, streams, wetlands, and groundwater through respected advocacy, innovative education, technically sound water quality monitoring, thorough research and restoration actions. We achieve our mission by empowering others and we believe in the capacity to make a positive difference. We work locally, regionally and throughout the Great Lakes Basin to achieve our goals.
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council’s service area includes the water resources in Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties. We are dedicated to preserving the heritage of Northern Michigan – a tradition built around our magnificent waters.” -quoted from Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council’s website
View Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council’s website
Flint Rising
About the organization:
“Flint Rising, a project of The Advocacy Fund, is a coalition of community organizations and allies working to ensure that directly impacted people are building the organizing infrastructure and leadership necessary for this long-haul fight for justice and creating the future that Flint families need and deserve.
Milwaukee Water Commons
About the organization:
“Milwaukee Water Commons is a cross-city network that fosters connection, collaboration and broad community leadership on behalf of our waters. We promote stewardship of, equitable access to and shared decision-making for our common waters.
Milwaukee is a model water city where we all have a stake and a say in the health of our waters, and we all share in their care and benefits.
Water is an essential element for all life on Earth. Water belongs to no one and cannot be owned. We recognize the gift of the Great Lakes; they have nurtured our ancestors and shaped us as a people and as a community. They continue to sustain us. We all have a profound responsibility to protect and pass on clean and abundant fresh water to future generations. Decisions about the care and and use of our waters must involve all of us.” -quoted from Milwaukee Water Common’s website
View Milwaukee Water Common’s website
Great Lakes Environmental Law Center
About the organization:
“The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center was founded to protect the world’s greatest freshwater resource and the communities that depend upon it. Based in Detroit, the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center has a board and staff of dedicated and innovative environmental attorneys to address our most pressing environmental challenges. The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center was also founded on the idea that law students can and must play a significant role in shaping the future of environmental law. In all of our work, law students are one of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center’s most valuable resources.” -quoted from Great Lakes Environmental Law Center’s website
View Great Lakes Environmental Law Center’s website
Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab
About the organization:
“The Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab is a Chicago based, non-profit organization dedicated to sustainability and environmental service learning, youth driven social philanthropy and connecting our youth to nature and indigenous cultures.
SKSL aims to teach our youth about the world around them by integrating environmental sciences, indigenous culture studies, service and philanthropy in effort to inspire our children to become true inheritors of the Earth. Indigenous cultures have practiced sustainability throughout time, honoring Earth’s natural laws with respect to their dependencies on Her – they were the original Sacred Keepers of the Earth.
But are we adequately preparing our children for the challenges of the future? Are we raising a generation of children who really understand HOW the world works both in their communities and across the globe? SKSL believes standard education alone isn’t enough to ensure that our children become the compassionate, critical thinkers that contribute a to sustainable future. SKSL is committed to providing the tools needed to adequately prepare our children not only for their future but generations to come.” -quoted from Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab’s website
View Sacred Keepers Sustainability Lab’s website
Faith in Place
About the organization:
“Faith in Place empowers Illinois people of all faiths to be leaders in caring for the Earth, providing resources to educate, connect, and advocate for healthier communities.
Since 1999, Faith in Place has worked with over 1,000 houses of worship throughout Illinois to protect our common land, air, and water. With outreach staff working across the state and offices located in Chicago, Lake County, and Central Illinois, Faith in Place inspires faithful people to care for the Earth through four program areas: Energy & Climate Change, Sustainable Food & Land Use, Water Preservation, and Advocacy.
In order to inspire as many people of faith as possible to take action with significant environmental impacts, Faith in Place’s programs are designed to be adaptable and engaging. We respect theological and social diversity and strive to make our programs relevant to faithful people of any religion, age, race, and socio-economic class.
In living out our principles, we often host conversations on race and the environment, and many of our programs have been created out of ideas that emerged in these discussions. Faith in Place works for all people of all faiths throughout Illinois, helping each faith community apply their own unique culture, history, context, and theology with practical steps for them to better care for the Earth.” -quoted from Faith in Place’s website
Freshwater Future
About the organization:
“A strong and effective environmental community working to protect and restore the Great Lakes and its many waters by involving residents in civic decision-making. This community will be coordinated among citizens, community groups, state/provincial, regional and national groups in a way that creates synergy for the protection and restoration of our Great Lakes region.
A healthy Great Lakes ecosystem that supports the economic well-being of the people of the region, provides a sustainable supply of clean drinking water, a sustainable fishery that provides fish that are healthy to eat and clean beaches where it is safe to swim.
We invite you to explore our site to learn about our grants programs, Great Lakes issues and policy initiatives, capacity building services and more!” -quoted from Freshwater Future’s website
View Freshwater Future’s website
Vital Mind Media
About the organization:
“We make complex communication simple using design, video, animation, story, and code. Every communication is part of a complex network of interactions. We help you align them for strategic value. We make your story stand out with a clear, compelling, and coordinated multimedia campaign. From videos to games, the products of our design process result from understanding the user’s journey.“ -quoted from Vital Mind Media’s website
View Vital Mind Media’s website
The Band River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe
View Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe’s website
Contact
thefreshwaterlab@gmail.com
(312) 996-6352
The Freshwater Lab
Great Cities Institute (MC 107)
College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs
University of Illinois Chicago
412 South Peoria Street, Suite 400
Chicago, Illinois 60607-7067