Close to Nature – Chicago Muslims Green Team

How to Grow, Cook, and Enjoy Stir-fry Kangkung (Water Spinach) in Chicago

Posted on January 21, 2025January 21, 2025 by Caroline Williams in Close to Nature, Green Idea, Inspiration, Life Hacks

Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago, with more than 17,500 islands. The country is a home of 600 distinct ethnic groups with different cultures and traditional dishes. There are various Indonesian traditional plant-based dishes and my favorite one is a stir-fry Kangkung (Water Spinach).

Indonesia Map (Source: Google Map)

This dish has a special place in my heart because it was part of my survival meal when I was a cash-strapped college student living on an island far away from my parents after high school. For me, who had never cooked before, this dish was cheap and easy to prepare .

Now that I live in Chicago, this dish also cures my homesickness. Thanks to the Asian (Thai-Vietnamese) grocery stores in the Uptown Chicago neighborhood, I can get all the cheap ingredients I need for this dish.

After years of buying Kangkung from the store, I recently started to grow it in front of the window. Instead of composting the leftover stems like I used to do, I placed them in jars full of water. They surprisingly grow well even during winter as long as they are not deprived of water.

After about 4-5 months, I harvested Kangkung and stir-fried it with sambal I prepared days before which consisted of red chili pepper, garlic, shallots, candle nuts, lime leaf, and salt. I also added a bit of dried shrimp, slices of ginger, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and cherry tomatoes.

I used the cherry tomatoes that I harvested from my garden and froze them in a Ziplock bag. Cherry tomato is an easy plant to grow from seed. I am grateful to have an abundant harvest every time I grow them and they last for more than a year being frozen in a Ziploc bag. I simply throw frozen cherry tomatoes in a dish or soup whenever I need them.

After finished cooking, I love to enjoy Kangkung with white rice, fried tofu and more sambal. I usually can finish this Kangkung dish all in one sitting.

It feels great to be able to grow veggies and enjoy them in a meal that can remind me, an immigrant, of how I survived my past difficult life in my home country, far far away from Chicago.

An Eco-friendly way to start the new year in Manhattan, NYC

Posted on January 3, 2025January 3, 2025 by Caroline Williams in Close to Nature

“If your New Year’s resolution is to get healthy, join the Urban Park Rangers on a lengthy hike.” That’s the invitation written on the NYC park website for the New Year’s Day Super Hike, a free public event at Central Park on January 1st.

Manhattan, NYC is famous for its Time Square New Year celebration but not many people know there are healthy and eco-friendly events available for locals and tourists to enjoy for free of charge during the holiday season.

The hiking event at Central Park is part of nationwide First Day Hikes organized by America’s State Parks. It aims to encourage individuals and families to start the year on the right foot – by getting outside and connecting with nature. According to the Park’s website, there are more than 1,000 hikes available, including at Illinois State Parks.

At the hike, the Urban Park Rangers guided us for two hours exploring the park and shared awesome and interesting facts about rock, animals, trees, and history of the Park. For example, the fact that Central Park is a manmade park but it’s a home to natural rock that was formed around 500 million years ago left by a large glacier that covered all of New York City.

Another interesting fact shared by the Rangers is about the Eastern White Pine tree that can be found at the Arthur Ross Pinetum, a four-acre arboretum at Central Park that features a collection of 17 different species of pine trees. The White Pine is a magnificent and historically significant tree. Almost all parts of the tree, including needles, bark, resin, and wood are beneficial for humans.

The Lenape, a Native American tribe who originally inhabited New York used the herbs from the tree to make tea and medicine. The evergreen tree was also a symbol of great peace for native Americans. For the British, it was once the most valuable tree to build and maintain their huge number of ships to defend the Empire. In 1772, Pine Tree Riot happened due to the American colonies’ opposition to the King’s “Pine Tree Law” that culminated in the American Revolution.

After visiting Arthur Ross Pinetum, the Rangers guided us to Seneca Village and shared a history about forced displacement of a thriving community of predominantly African-Americans, many of whom owned property. This happened in the 1850s for the City government to acquire the land for the Park. The history of Seneca Village was long hidden until 2011, when an archaeological excavation of the area uncovered significant remains.

In this two-hour hike, we also visited other interesting spots like The Pool where we learned interesting facts about the ducks, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir, Turtle Ponds, Belvedere Castle, Bow Bridge and the famous Bethesda Terrace.

For locals and tourists in NYC, the annual First Day Hike event at Central Park is undoubtedly a perfect eco-friendly event to appreciate our health, nature, and history on the first day of the year.

Eastern White Pine Tree

Tree Equity: Chicago is Going Greener

Posted on January 7, 2023January 9, 2023 by CMGT in Blog Post, Close to Nature, CMGT News, Conservation, Environmental Justice, News

Since 2021, Chicago Muslims Green Team (CMGT) has been an active member of the Community Tree Equity Working Group in supporting Our Roots Chicago, the City of Chicago’s tree equity program.

Our common goal is to expand the tree canopy coverage through an equitable approach. In simpler words, we want this Chicago map to go all green.

Tree Canopy Coverage Percentage By Census Tract. Source: chicago.gov

We want every neighborhood in the City to reap the benefits of trees. Trees provide shade for our home from the sun and blocking winter winds. Trees improve air quality, absorb water, thus help to prevent flood. Trees promote physical activities, increase walking traffic, and bring communities together. Trees reduce stress and anxiety. Trees also help to repair urban biodiversity. In conclusion, trees help to lower our energy bills, increase our property values, and improve the quality of life in our neighborhood.

The City of Chicago has a goal to plant 75,000 new trees in neighborhoods with low tree canopy. The City also has developed CHI311 App for anyone who wants to get involved.

Tree Equity Working Group Year-End Report. Source: Raed Mansour

However, it is still not an easy task without the support from community members. It would be a waste of tax payers’ money if the trees end up dying due to lack of water, being ignored, or vandalized by people who reject trees around their properties or in their neighborhood.

From 2021-2022, CMGT has been educating ourselves, spreading awareness to our diverse communities, connecting to other organizations by attending and organizing trainings, hosting webinar, giving talks at events, and attending tree planting events. Here is the clip to see our activities.

2021-2022 Tree Planting Program activities

In 2023-2024, CMGT is grateful to be one of seven organizations who receives the Resilience Grant to expand our Tree Planting Program. Under the guidance of CRTI (Chicago Region Trees Initiative) Morton Arboretum we believe that together we could achieve our specific goals in greening our beloved city and spreading the benefits of trees to our diverse communities in Chicago this year. InshaAllah!

The Resilient Grant Kickoff event on December 13, 2022. Source: Caroline

Hiking inside the Mammoth Cave

Posted on January 6, 2023January 16, 2023 by Caroline Williams in Blog Post, Close to Nature, Info

Last summer, I visited Mammoth Cave in Kentucky with Fred, my husband. It was our first experience of hiking in a cave. My previous spelunking was inside a vertical cave in Indonesia. It was no hiking, but rappelling or descending deep underground. Fred has never been into a cave before. Both of us did not know what to expect, but we were excited to experience our new adventure.

In front of Mammoth Cave Visitor Center. Source: Caroline

The Size

Mammoth Cave was named for its “mammoth” or immense size of the cave’s chambers and avenues. Part of the cave, called Mammoth Dome is 192 feet high and the other one called Bottomless Pit is 105 feet deep.

One of the chambers called Rotunda is about a quarter acre in size where two Great War Monuments are located. During the War of 1812, the cave was being mined on an industrial scale for potassium nitrate (saltpeter) for use in gunpowder.

The cave is also known as the world’s longest cave. In September 2021, the cave set a new record of its length to a whopping 420 miles (676 km), according to the National Park Service.

The History

Mammoth Cave was established as a national park on July 1, 1941, but public tours began some 200 years ago. Inside the cave, we can see graffiti written by visitors from the year of 1883.

One of the first explorer of the cave was an enslaved African Americans, Stephen Bishop who worked from 1838 to 1856. He was also known as a self-taught geologist who had a prodigious memory. Bishop was capable to drew a map from memory of the cave’s explored passageways.

The Tours

The Park offers many interesting tours guided by passionate, knowledgeable, and sometimes funny rangers who love to share jokes related to the cave.

My husband and I took five of ten tours they offered. The length of the tours varies from two to four hours. My favorite tours are the Violet City Lantern and Star Chamber tours. Both tours need lanterns as the only source of light inside the cave.

Rangers with lanterns for visitors inside the cave. Source: Caroline

During the tours, we can see many amazing rock and geology formations. We can also see artifacts and other signs left by Native Americans who first discovered the entrances to the cave. Another interesting thing to see is the old tuberculosis huts built in 1842-43 deep inside the cave to accommodate patients with tuberculosis.

Stalagmite and Stalactite formation. Source: Caroline

One of many interesting rock formations. Source: Caroline

The difficulty levels of the tours are varies. Some tours are sightseeing tours. Other ones require hiking, climbing, and descending very steep hills. There are also fun sections called Fat Man’s Misery followed by Tall Man’s Agony. The first one is a very narrow passageway that takes about 15 minutes to pass through. The last one requires tall people to bend constantly to navigate the passageway.

One Frequently Asked Question from visitors is about bats. We saw only one bat during our five tours. Turns out, there is a disease called White-Nose Syndrome which has killed millions of bats since its discovery in New York in 2006. To prevent spreading the disease, visitors are required to walk across a decontamination mat to clean our shoes when exiting the cave.

Decontamination mat to clean our shoes to prevent us from spreading the White-Nose Syndrome disease. Source: Caroline

Hiking inside the Mammoth Cave turns out to be a fun-filled experience. Fred loves the the temperature inside the cave. It is around 54°F year-round. I was grateful to realize how our eyes amazingly adapt to the darkness of the cave. The only downside of it, for me personally, is how hard it is to take good pictures inside the cave. Overall, I highly recommend anyone to visit the Mammoth Cave, one of great natural wonders in the U.S.

What a Sad News!

Posted on July 21, 2022July 25, 2022 by Caroline Williams in Close to Nature, Conservation, News

Monarch butterflies are now listed as endangered!

As reported by AP on July 21, The International Union for the Conservation of Nature added the migrating monarch butterfly for the first time to its “red list” of threatened species and categorized it as “endangered” — two steps from extinct.

Screenshot of monarch news on July 21, 2022

It means, the job is far from being done to prevent the monarch’s extinction.

In 2019, CMGT and Homes4Monachs hosted “Save Our Monarch” workshop at Downtown Islamic Center. At the workshop, participants learned how to harvest milkweed seeds and plant them. Milkweeds are the required host plants for caterpillars of the monarch butterfly and thus play a critical role in the monarch’s life cycle.

Thanks to the milkweed seeds shared at the event, Caroline from CMGT was motivated to grow milkweeds in her backyard. She was happy to see a monarch visited her milkweed plants in summer. She is also happy whenever she finds milkweed plants wherever she goes. For example, when she was at Forest Preserve Bemis Woods North to attend Hiking Leadership Training, she took a picture of milkweed plant there.

Caroline’s picture of Monarch visited her milkweed plant last Summer

In 2018, a documentary titled “The Guardians” was released to raise awareness about the incredible monarch migration in North America. It also shows how an indigenous community in Mexico fought illegal loggers who destroy their ancient forest, the home of the people and millions of monarchs.

Here is the trailer of the movie.

Anyone who are interested in protecting monarch can participate in many projects, for examples, Field Museum Monarch Community Science Project, Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, or use free resources developed by UIC Heritage Garden.