The Winnetka Environmental and Forestry Commission celebrated its first annual Green Awards at the May 16 Village Council meeting by honoring village residents who, in the words of commission chairman Chuck Dowding, demonstrate “exceptional commitment to sustainable and environmentally friendly practices.”
Dowding said Holly Lane resident Liz Kunkle was honored for her work in recycling and reduction of waste in the village.
“She has single-handedly willed Go Green Winnetka into existence,” Dowding said, referring to Kunkle’s work in creating the Go Green Winnetka-Northfield environmental advocacy group in 2011.
“She’s been Winnetka’s leading and most effective advocate for increased recycling,” he said, adding that Kunkle and her husband, Jonathan, also installed two 10,000-gallon underground storage tanks in their yard to provide stormwater remediation.
Oak Street resident Ted Wynnychenko received the second award, and used his time at the podium to challenge the village council to support residents who try to make their properties more environmentally “green.”
Dowding, who presented the award to Wynnychenko, said Wynnychenko and his wife, Laura Hill, were honored for building their home and designing their property in an environmentally conscious manner. That included using a geothermal heating and cooling system, installing two rain gardens with native plantings, permeable paving materials and other environmental practices, according to the award report.
“They developed and built themselves a special hybrid water conservation and retention system,” Dowding said. “They’ve also installed solar panels that provide enough power to satisfy their needs and even supply power to the grid. In fact, we’ve calculated that during a few summer 95-plus degree days, they actually shaved slightly the peak power demand in Winnetka,” Dowding said.
Wynnychenko asked the board to consider rewarding people who pay to put solar panels on their property, an incentive he said might convince residents to stop thinking of solar panels as a losing monetary proposition.
He also said Winnetka could reevaluate the way it charges residents for trash collection or look at changes to zoning regulations that might reward builders for constructing greener buildings.
“While I appreciate this award … we could be doing more,” he said. “I think the job of the council is to encourage people to do the right thing.”
Village President Chris Rintz said environmental lobbying of the sort Wynnychenko presented isn’t fruitless.
“As someone who’s been an observer of social change over the last 50 years, I’ve come to the conclusion that unless there are people out in front that are raising the consciousness of the general public, nothing happens,” Rintz said, adding that although the pace of change can sometimes be frustrating, “sometimes raising that consciousness is the impetus to move things forward.”
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