Whereas, the first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970, with the goal of inspiring an appreciation of our nation’s natural and cultural resources through conservation and protection; and
Whereas, the Village’s commitment to environmental stewardship is evidenced by substantial action items such as strongly supporting community gardens, rain gardens, chickens and apiaries, composting, energy efficiency, renewable energy through rooftop and community solar, municipal aggregation programs, electric vehicle adoption, the Thorn Creek Woods and Thorn Creek Nature Center, maintaining the Central Park Wetlands restoration and preservation project, adopting the Park Forest Sustainability Plan, the Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan, and the Climate Action and Resilience Plan, creating a Complete Streets Policy, receiving the designation of a LEED City and a Tree City USA community;
Whereas, the Park Forest Environment Commission takes seriously its role to inform, educate and actively engage residents, businesses, and organizations on many different levels so as to protect our environment and quality of life in Park Forest and to ensure the efforts of environmental sustainability equitably benefit all Park Foresters; and
Whereas, an Earth Month Celebration is currently underway with a full slate of programs; and
Whereas, every day can be an environmental celebration in Park Forest by visiting the Thorn Creek Nature Center, the Central Park Wetlands, the Old Plank Road Trail, the Park Forest Seed Library, the Community gardens, the Rain gardens, any of the more than 15 parks within the Community, or the numerous walking paths in the Forest Preserve open space which is virtually all around Park Forest; and
Whereas, the Park Forest Board of Trustees recognize the opportunity for the Park Forest community to participate in various Earth Month festivities, and encourage everyone to take a proactive role in shaping the future of our environmental security.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Mayor Joseph Woods and the Board of Trustees of the Village of Park Forest, Cook and Will Counties, do hereby proclaim the Village’s support of “Earth Month 2024” throughout the Village of Park Forest. We call upon all residents across Park Forest to make a special effort to move toward the benefits noted herein.