The Green Earth Institute (GEI) (www.greenearthinstitute.org) is a non-profit established in 2002 to promote nutritional health and environmental sustainability.  GEI is seeking a volunteer with hydraulic engineering expertise to help with water and irrigation issues on its 60-acre farm in Naperville, IL.

GEI is largely financed through the sale of organically-grown crops on its farm in Naperville.  In order to support its irrigation requirements, GEI has contracted for the installation of a new water well and is planning for a rainwater harvesting system and a 25,000-gallon water storage cistern to be installed in 2010.  Drilling the new well is scheduled for mid-February 2010; weak water volume is expected, so a multiple-source system, drawing frm the well, from rainwater, and from a small creek is under consideration.  Additional storage, through building a larger cistern and/or adding an above-ground storage system may be needed.  GEI is seeking a volunteer with hydraulic engineering experience to advise the Executive Director on system design and estimating expected pressure and flow rates through the system in order to determine the proper pump configurations for drip and spray irrigation systems and to determine associated irrigation schedules that can be supported by the anticipated water supply.  The volunteer would be directly assisting the Green Earth Institute as this is not an EWB program.  If you are interested in volunteering or have questions, please contact Ron Niehaus at research@ewb-chicago.org and Steve Tiwald at stiwald@greenearthinstitute.org.

In light of the recent devastating earthquake in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, the EWB-USA community offers our thoughts and well wishes to the people of Haiti. While EWB-USA does not work in the field of disaster relief, our chapters do partner with the various communities within the country to work on community and infrastructure needs. EWB-USA projects directly support communities and work closely with local partners to design and implement sustainable engineering projects.

If you would like to get involved in supporting Haiti, here are three ways you can make a difference:

1. If you would like to make a contribution to one of our projects in Haiti, please click here.
2. If you would like to make a donation that directly affects victims of the earthquake, please visit the Red Cross.
3. There is an immediate and dire need for French speaking Civil or Structural Engineers and on the ground organizations are in critical need for skilled assistance. If you are an experienced engineer and speak French or Creole please click here for more information.

Join us at 6pm for our regular monthly meeting, which takes place on the last Tuesday of every month.  The Las Cruces Team will report on the Assessment Trip they completed in September 2009, and the anticipated next steps.  We will also see the design for the Canchias Bridge Project.

Due to availability issues, the general meeting will be held in the Student Center East building (750 S Halsted St) in the Monarch Room on the 3^rd Floor.

The Student Center East building is located one block north of Halsted and Taylor on Halsted. There is a parking garage for those that are driving on the northeast corner of Halsted &  Taylor.  The Student Center East building is across the street from the north end of the garage.  See a map here.

Newcomers and visitors are invited to come early at 5:30PM to discuss membership particulars.

Chapter meetings are used to discuss the various happenings within the organization, including project updates and event planning.  The meeting concludes with a social hour over pizza.   Please join us if you can!

View the meeting agenda here. Meeting minutes are posted here.

1st Annual EWB Golf Tournament and Fundraiser! Friday, September 24, 2010. Funds to directly support the Las Cruces, Guatemala Flood Mitigation Project.

Sponsorship of a single golfer is $125 and includes lunch, golf, cart, banquet dinner and an opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for the Sox on September 29th.

Companies and organizations can help support this event through either direct sponsorships or sponsorship of employee foursomes. Either way, this provides a great opportunity for all Chicagoans to support a good cause while learning more about Engineers Without Borders. Feel free to download our flier and contact us for more information.

Green Earth Institute is looking for volunteers to help assemble an underground 25,000 gallon cistern on their property at McDonald Farm in Naperville. This is part of a rainwater harvesting and irrigation system for the farm. The cistern will be assembled using the Aquabox technology (http://www.rainxchange.com/products/aquablox.php ).

Date: April 27, 2010, weather permitting

Contact: RSVP to Steve Tivald 630-664-5681 or stiwald@greenearthinstitute.org

The 7th Annual Green Earth Fair will take place Sunday Afternoon, May 2, 2010 from 12:30 – 5 PM at the McDonald Farm in Naperville, Illinois. The Fair is a family event with entertainment for children and adults, as well as several informative presentations on converting biomass to energy, beekeeping, rainwater harvesting, the smart grid, organic lawn care, organic farming and others. In the past there was participation from local renewable energy contractors, including some of our own EWB-USA CPC members.

Requested Donation: $5 donation

Website: http://www.greenearthinstitute.org/fair/index.html.

Date: Saturday, April 17, 2010 @ NOON – 6:00 p.m

Location: UIC Forum, 725 W. Roosevelt Rd., Chicago

Transportation: CTA Halsted bus (#8) bus to Roosevelt Road or limited $8 parking  in Lot 5 ( 1135 W. Morgan)

Visit the EWB-USA Chicagoland Chapter at the Chicago Building Congress Annual Table Top Tradeshow.  Last year, over 250 industry professionals attended. Visit the CBC website or see the attached flyer for more information.

Date: April 21, 2010, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM

Location: Union League Club, 66 W. Jackson, Chicago