About three years ago, Mark and Connie Weaver decided to extend their commitment to feeding their family with locally grown, organic foods to Inglenook Pantry patrons. They believe that good quality, healthy foods should be as readily available when dining out as they are when choosing what to eat at home. Inglenook offers this standard of quality in a variety of venues from concession stands to deluxe catering. Each week at the Geneva Green Market, NFP, Inglenook Pantry offers a variety of foods made from locally grown foods including quiche made from local vegetables and Rob Murphy’s cheeses and pies made from Hillside Orchards’ fruit.

Mark and Connie are continuously active members of their community. They support local farms and businesses by not only purchasing local products for their restaurant, but also providing a space and running the Geneva Winter Market, co-running the Geneva Green Market, NFP and supporting the Geneva schools in numerous ways. The Inglenook Pantry is truly the definition of a sustainable restaurant.

INGLENOOK PANTRY
Connie & Mark Weaver
N 5th Street
Geneva IL 60134
630.377.0373

Posted in Education at September 23rd, 2008. No Comments.

What:
A Festival of Information & Ideas for Sustainable Living, Building a Sustainable Community

When:
Saturday, October 4, 2008
9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Where:
Unitarian Universalist Church of Elgin (three miles west of Randall on Highland Ave)
39W830 Highland Avenue
Elgin, IL 60124


The fifth annual Prairie Fest held is a one day celebration of sustainable living. Workshops, presentations, exhibits, and interactions are free to the community.  This Prairie Fest Community Conference promises to give attendees valuable and practical information on living a low impact sustainable lifestyle.  It features professionals, practitioners, authors, and civic official who give attendees the opportunity to explore the many practical ways that we can live more sustainably.  Green City is the central theme of this year’s Prairie Fest. The name points to the larger challenges of creating a “Green City” in which we all live and thrive sustainably.

Fest with positive steps to take and resources to help them learn to live
more sustainably. There can be no sustainable community without all of us learning to live sustainably.
Thom Thomas, Presenter - 9 to 11

Moderated by Elgin City Council Member Dave Kaptain, panelists include:
Elgin Mayor Ed Schock, City Planner Tom Armstrong, Green Architect Keelan Kaiser, Read More…

Posted in Events at September 16th, 2008. 1 Comment.

Heritage Prairie Farm Camp for Kids - don’t miss out on the opportunity to enroll your child in hands on experiences that give children the knowledge to begin his or her journey into understanding food and farming, tolerance and self-respect, community and responsibility. Children will have fun while experiencing productive and worthwhile work, in turn feeling a sense of accomplishment. Our peaceful and engaging environment is a great place for new friends and experiences with our knowledgeable and friendly staff. Sign up today!

Camps for ages 7 - 12: Camps run for 2 weeks, Monday thru Thursday 9:00 a.m. - Noon

Garden Explorers: (July 21 - 24 & July 28 - 31) *Sign up by this Friday!*

In this fun outdoor camp children will experience planning, preparing, and planting a garden. We will get our hands into soil testing and bug exploration, as well as the life cycle of plants; from a seed to seedling to a full grown plant. The campers will experiment planting with seeds, transplants, fruits, and trees. Enroll your child now and lay down the roots of life with the hands on, fun, and educational experience of Heritage Prairie’s Garden Explorers Camp.

Fun With Food: (August  4 - 7 & August 11 - 14)

Campers will harvest ingredients from the ground and then engage all five senses with the art of cooking. Campers will be evolved in the processes of cooking from helping select ingredients to measuring, mixing, cooking, and then of course sampling. Also, your child will become a certified food detective and learn how to make healthy food selections while shopping in the grocery store. We want to connect children to their food and to their community by introducing food system maps, which cover important social, economical and environmental concepts. Where does my food come from? How does it get here? Who am I really paying? How do my choices effect others and the environment? As a grand finale, we will take a field trip to the Geneva Green City Farmers Market and experience local farmers and local buyers.

Camps for ages 4 - 6: Camps run for 1 week, Monday thru Thursday 9:00 a.m. - Noon

Farm Critters: (July 21 - 24) *Sign up by this Friday!*

Campers will experience and explore the animal life on the farm. Come and join in the fun of the feeding, care, and responsibilities involving the animals on our farm.

Nature Crafts: (July 28 - 31)

Using nature as our inspiration and palette, campers will enjoy making creative functional items as well as original works of art. Campers will learn about famous artists as well as discovering the artist within.

Budding Farmers: (August 4-7)

Children will enjoy the outdoors while learning responsibility and sensitivity to the natural world. Activities will include animal care, picking vegetables and flowers, stories, games and crafts.

Garden Explorers: (August 11-14)

This camp is all about getting your hands dirty and having fun! Campers will join in with peers and counselors planting, weeding, and harvesting gardens throughout the farm. Learn about the bugs in and around the farm, and dig into composting.

See attached for registration forms, pricing, and detailed descriptions.
Download a registration form here
For a printable brochure of camp programs, click here.

Heritage Prairie Market
hpmfarm.com
630-443-8253

Posted in Events at July 21st, 2008. No Comments.