Only a week after the Arab International Festival brought Middle Eastern culture to the streets of Dearborn, another weekend event will showcase something completely different: the culture of sustainability. The Community Action for a Renewed Environment and Sustainability, or CARES Festival, will begin 6 p.m. Friday in Crowley Park. Hosted by the Dearborn Sustainability Coalition and The Going Green Foundation, the event will run through Sunday and raise money to help the city install energy-saving LED streetlights, according to its website. The DSC formed last summer to promote community …

Less than a year after switching to larger capacity 96-gallon recycling bins, the city of Dearborn is already well on its way to meeting proposed goals. With a $1.2 million investment in the new bins for curbside recycling on the line, the city has already upped its percentage of waste recycled by 37 percent since last spring, on its way to the targeted 50 percent in three years. “It’s actually pretty simple: they’re bigger containers, so people can recycle more,” Sustainability Director Dave Norwood said of the success. “I’m always happy with the capacity to do more, and it’s easy with the …

A small army of volunteers will take to the outdoor areas of Dearborn this Saturday to clear out the invasive species known as garlic mustard. To combat the spread of this invasive species, the Stewardship Network is hosting the 2011 national Garlic Mustard Pull challenge. At the Dearborn site from 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will pull the garlic mustard out of the ground by hand on the Henry Ford Estate and the University of Michigan-Dearborn Environmental Interpretive Center Area. The Stewardship Network will be partnered with the UM-Dearborn Student Environment Association, the Michigan …

For people looking for more innovative ways to help the environment, Oakwood Healthcare has a tip: Stop throwing out old medications in the trash, or flushing them down the toilet. Instead, this Friday, several Oakwood outpatient pharmacies will be celebrating Earth Day by offering proper disposal of old, unused medications. The event will take place from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Oakwood Hospital and Medical Center in Dearborn, and dropoff is free. Participants will also receive a coupon toward the purchase of over-the-counter products and general merchandise, and the first 250 participants will …

To celebrate Earth Day on April 22, Patch is thinking green. Southeastern Michigan offers plenty of natural beauty, from Stony Creek Metropark to Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. Yet there are problems, including recent PCB contamination in St. Clair Shores, that threaten the state’s natural resources as well as people’s health. To explore some of these issues, Patch has asked some community residents and environmental leaders their thoughts on the environment and protecting the planet, particularly right here in Michigan. Check back with Patch throughout the week for more stories …

The Rouge River used to be synonymous with dirty water. It wasn’t that long ago that some very large things were being pulled out of the Rouge; items like tires, bicycles, automobiles–anything people wanted to dispose of and not give a second thought about. But today, the river is a much cleaner place, thanks to the members of the 25-year-old Friends of the Rouge organization, which single-handedly took on the task of cleaning up the river and its watershed and bringing awareness to the polluted body of water through various volunteer activities. “We think we’ve made a lot of progress, but we…

Name: Mary Ann Baier Green Dream: My hope is that environmental sustainability is a way of life. I think that is in our reach. I know that choosing organic food at the store is costly, but as the demand goes up, the price will go down. I choose to buy biodegradable cleaning products, biodegradable lawn fertilizer, biodegradable pest control for my garden, use CFL light bulbs, insulated my house, new windows, sealed the leaks, low-flow toilets, low-flow faucets, energy saving curtains, programmable thermostat. I've done this over many years.  I realize that there is a high cost to being energy…

Name: Maureen McIlrath, founder of the Going Green Foundation Green Dream: To see a fully sustainable Dearborn with off-the-grid homes and businesses. Recycling programs at schools, businesses, apartments and condos. To see us working together as a community to assess the risks of environmental toxins and reduce them. Electric vehicles! Why go Green: One reason is because we have to! I talk to people all the time and they say they know they have to go green but don't know where to start. Well, recycling is what got me started, then composting, then ... it's really up to the individual what …