Rain gardens, electric tools, a green team — Wilmette Park District is tackling its sustainability goals

Last April, the Wilmette Park Board approved a Sustainability Plan, a guide to preserving open spaces and adopting environmentally friendly procedures.

And on Monday, almost 10 months later, park commissioners received an update on the plan at their monthly Committee of the Whole meeting.

Lucy Mellen, Wilmette’s multi-agency sustainability coordinator, went over the plan for commissioners and provided information on where the goals stand, ranging from “not started” to “completed” and including goals that have been delayed.

The Sustainability Plan has 72 goals divided into five different categories: district operations, education initiatives, energy and emissions, land stewardship, and waste management.

Mellen said, for 2024, there were 45 goals the park district set out to at least get started on implementing.

She said the reason the number of goals was so high was “because some of the things in the plan were things we wanted to ensure were cemented as district practices moving forward, should there be staff turnover or a decision to change existing practices that we wanted to ensure continued past 2024.”

In district operations, one of the completed goals was the establishment of an internal “green team” to help implement sustainability plan strategies. Mellen said the park district established a Sustainability Committee in July 2024 with six staff members who meet monthly.

Another completed goal, under land stewardship, is the creation of landscape plans for Gillson and Langdon beaches. Mellen said the plans call for the planting of native dune grasses at both beaches and the removal of dead trees and invasive plants at Gillson.

Ongoing goals include the installation of at least one form of green infrastructure every year. A rain garden was installed at Shorewood Park last year, and this year the district is hosting an Earth Day celebration in April.

Mellen also said the park district is implementing other goals, such as, whenever possible, replacing gas-powered equipment with electric. As of last month, the district has purchased 26 electric tools and vehicles, including four zero-turn mowers, one electric van and 20 power tools.

A full summary of the goals and how they are being implemented will be added to the park district’s sustainability website, which was also a goal that was implemented in 2024.

Commissioners were impressed with all the work that has been done so far.

“My overwhelming takeaway was that so much has been done,” Commissioner Julia Goebel said. “It’s really remarkable and it’s been under a year. … Starting is half the battle.”

Commissioner Allison Frazier praised Mellen for her work as sustainability coordinator.

“I just want to say thank you because I know that, for as hard as you are working here, you are at the Village, school district, across all of Wilmette,” she said.

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