Zion Park District Receives Environmental Grant from ComEd

Zion Park District Receives Environmental Grant from ComEd, Openlands to Support
Community Conservation Park District to receive $10,000 in funding through
the ComEd Green Region Program

The Zion Park District is one of 26 public agencies from throughout northern Illinois to receive a Green Region grant from ComEd and Openlands. As part of the annual ComEd Green Region Program, the Park District will receive a grant of $10,000 to support an open space project in the community. Specifically, the funding will be used to convert a previous playground and turf area at Ophir Park into pollinator and naturalized garden space with educational signage and sitting benches. The project will create a more diverse habitat that provides pollinators with the resources they need to thrive.

This marks the sixth year that ComEd is partnering with Openlands, one of the oldest metropolitan conservation organizations in the nation, for the Green Region Program. Due to tremendous interest in pollinator conservation during the 2017 grant cycle, the 2018 ComEd Green Region Program again featured a special focus on projects that help pollinators like butterflies and bees. Illinois is home to thousands of native pollinator species, which provide critical support to our region’s flowering and food plant populations. Since the program’s inception, ComEd has awarded a total of more than $1,125,000 to communities in northern Illinois for environmental projects.

“ComEd is committed to powering a cleaner and brighter future for our customers and communities. By advancing green initiatives through the Green Region Program, we help enable grant recipients to transform their local communities,” said Fidel Marquez, senior vice president of governmental and external affairs at ComEd. “Our partnership with Openlands these past six years helps both the environment and helps our customers to enjoy their communities even more.”

ComEd and Openlands share a commitment to supporting communities across the region.

“At Openlands, our mission is to connect the residents of the Chicagoland and northern Illinois region to the nature and resources close to home,” said Openlands President and CEO Jerry Adelmann. “ComEd’s continued support through the Green Region Program has brought this vision to life, allowing recipients to invest in open space projects that bring joy to citizens where they live, work, and play.”

Earlier this year, municipalities throughout northern Illinois submitted their Green Region grant applications, and an advisory committee composed of county government officials and members of the region’s conservation community reviewed the applications.

Additional information on the ComEd Green Region Program can be found at www.openlands.org/greenregion.