Green Team

The UCE Green Team puts into action the seventh UU principle: respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. UCE’s Green Team promotes good environmental stewardship in UCE’s facilities, at home and in the wider community.  

The Green Team educates and motivates members of our faith community to promote and incorporate environmental consciousness into all activities. Since 2005 the Team has had a significant environmental impact at our house of worship with the following actions:

the installation of low flow toilets
lighting controls
increased bicycle parking
installation of two separate rain gardens
the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits
subscriber food scrap composting
improved building wide waste reduction systems
In August 2020, the adoption of a resolution by our Board of Trustees to meet the goals of carbon reduction in alignment with the Paris accord and the Evanston Climate Action Resilience Plan (CARP)
ongoing research into enviro friendly HVAC solutions.

We are a Green Sanctuary as recognized by the UUA, practicing environmental sustainability in multiple ways.

Led by the programs of the UU Earth Ministry (UUMFE), the Green Team focuses efforts in several areas: Worship and Celebration, Religious Education, Environmental Justice and Sustainable Buildings.  

UUMFE helps us learn about and focus on the areas of: activism & organizing, climate change, education, front lines solidarity, stories and actions. Our 2020 UUA General Assembly placed special emphasis on the support of Indigenous People and their struggles to protect the environment. The keynote address was made by Naomi Klein, noted environmentalist and journalist.

Currently, we are engaged with increasing our participation in areas of environmental justice and its intersection with racial and economic justice. In addition to having a UCE member sit on the Environmental Justice Committee of the Citizens for a Greener Evanston, we are monitoring efforts to improve air quality at the Waste Transfer Station and supporting efforts to block the relocation of General Iron’s metal shredder to Chicago’s Southeast side.

Monthly Meeting – All are Invited

The Green Team meets online monthly on the first Saturday at 1pm. Members, friends and guests are welcome anytime to bring issues to the meetings. Contact Shirley Adams or Michael Drennan to attend or to add something to our monthly topics. We could use your help in planning some local hikes, bike rides and hopefully a camping trip! We address environmental issues as well but celebrating the Earth sustains us through the challenges.

Composting at UCE

The EPA estimates that more food reaches landfills and incinerators than any other single material in our everyday trash, constituting 22 percent of discarded municipal solid waste. Food scraps in landfills create methane, a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more damaging than CO2 over the long-term and 80 times more damaging over the short-term! On other hand, food scraps that are commercially composted are given the right environment to biodegrade and thus do not contribute to methane gas production. Rather, composted food scraps are turned into rich, organic soil treatment.

You can become a part of the composting movement by joining UCE’s Compost Coop. The cost is only $60 per person per year (up to a $180 maximum per household). You can also participate during the winter months only (December-March) with an annual contribution of $20 per person (up to a $60 maximum per household.) If you are interested in signing up, fill out the composting signup form and email it to admin@ucevanston.org or return it to the church office. For an additional $10 (please pay for this separately as outlined on the signup form) Collective Resource will provide you with a kitchen counter composting bucket. For details on what is/is not compostable and answers to commonly asked questions, click on this Tip Sheet. If you have further questions about this program, contact Renee Hoff through the Realm Membership Directory or at admin@ucevanston.org.

Virtual Earth Day Celebrations

Our annual Earth Day event for 2021 can be viewed here.

Our annual Earth Day worship service for 2020 can be viewed here.

Organizations with whom we partner and share resources

Faith in Place (Illinois Interfaith Power & Light)
Evanston Citizens for Greener Evanston (CGE) – Currently involved with the adoption of the goals of the Evanston Climate Action Resiliency Plan (CARP) and with Environmental Justice, including monitoring of the efforts to keep the Evanston Waste Transfer Site cleaner and healthier. More info at here.
UU Ministry for the Earth (UUMFE).
UU Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI). We advocate for state legislation to achieve justice for the environment and our citizens.
Citizens Climate Lobby of Evanston
Collective Resource Composting

News & Updates from the Green Team

NEWS FROM GREEN SANCTUARY SUBMITTED BY: MICHAEL DRENNAN

When Bret mentioned his sermon on simplicity, I agreed it made a fine
theme. Simplicity acts as a promise, one compelling action. The increasing
volatility of our weather, adverse impacts on shipping, farming, real
estate and public safety hint at the need to live more simply. We can use
less fuel; we can buy less stuff, and so generate less waste. We can
consider closely our wants and needs. Look and look again at what we
really need – bottled water, individual serving sizes, another shopping
bag, another shirt, another exotic vacation, another house, a bigger
house.

Simplicity it seems starts with simple questions, simple choices, simple
words. Do I need to drive to work; turn up the thermostat for comfort;
keep a closet full of Alcohol Ethoxylate, Perchlorethylene or Nitrobenzene
just to clean the house? Simple alternatives are usually at hand. Whether
it be taking the train once a week or recognizing the cleaning power of
oil, vinegar and baking soda – simple words for simple cleaning –
opportunities to live simply are always on hand.

Not all simple choices are made simply of course. Living comfortably
without turning up the thermostat in winter means pajamas, robes and
slippers – or better insulating your home. The latter choice isn’t simple
in execution of course. It means contractors, estimates, quotes,
financing rebates scheduling etc etc. Catching a train or bus means
tracking its schedule, awaiting its arrival. Having made enough simple
goals you may notice the big projects they sometimes hide. Perhaps you’re
suspicious of them. Home improvement isn’t synonymous with fun after all.

Simplicity is a noun. Like a promise it can hang there, mid-air, between
two people, hang lonely in a crowd, remain stranded somewhere between now
and then, sometimes for years. Like a promise simplicity can also steer,
give a clear sense of the end product of the ensuing choices. Polish your
wood with olive oil and orange juice; try it sometime. The smell is
delicious, and your bare hands will love you for it. Sit on the train and
read, or don’t read; look out the window, wonder at the all the funny hats
people wear to keep warm, just sit. Stand in your kitchen as the coffee
brews and sun rises and enjoy warm feet.

Paul in writing the Corinthians would say that to speak as men or angels
without love is to sound like a cheap brass band. Springtime abounds with
new promises, strewn about yards and throughout our conversation. These
often wither or are replaced by June. The King James derives love in
Paul’s letter from the same archaic Greek signifying charity, and indeed
there’s no small similarity. To love; to cherish, or give in this time of
rebirth is to hold dear a million blossoms and countless score warm
raindrops to clean the streets and the air, our minds and hearts. To
cherish a longer day, the mercy of playing tag in the yard without your
coats.

And so for Earth Month make simple choices. Cherish their making, hold
dear the simple moments that follow. Apply and repeat as often as needed.
Love is never far, but it usually starts with you. Start today.

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