SCARCE

Joe-Pye w**d is a native perennial flower that naturally attracts dragonflies. These towering, vanilla-scented plants provide a place for dragonflies to sunbathe and lure both prey and pollinators.

Dragonflies are not only beautiful creatures but also are environmental health indicators and natural predators of pesky insects like mosquitoes.

To maximize the effect of your dragonfly native garden, plant Black-Eyed Susan and Swamp Milkw**d, add a shallow water source, and avoid broad-spectrum pesticides.

Mosquito season is here. Are you prepared?

Mosquitos don't just give people bites that itch for days, they can also spread deadly diseases like Malaria, Dengue, and West Nile Virus.

Here's how to keep yourself and your family safe from mosquitos this summer while also protecting the environment:

1. Reduce or eliminate any unnatural areas of standing water near your home. Mosquitos need standing water to reproduce, so waterlogged plant pots and dips in concrete can increase the number of mosquitos on your property. You can keep your bird baths and pet's water bowls, but just be sure to change their water out at least twice a week.

2. Avoid hiring companies to use sprays and fogs around your house, especially ones that contain pyrethroids. Many companies will say that their treatments are "natural" but they are referring to pyrethrum, which is found in certain types of plants, and is an insect neurotoxin.

Stay away from pesticides that have ingredients such as bifenthrin, deltamethrin and permethrin which can have horrible effects on the environment. These chemicals are dangerous to fish, birds, bees, dragonflies, and other pollinators.

Pesticide brands with sprays that have these chemicals include: BioNex, BotaniGard, Monterey, Pyganic, and BONIDE

3. Use scented bug repellent options like sprays, wristbands, and candles. These will help to keep the mosquitos away without harming your local ecosystem.

For more information about diseases spread by mosquitos, check out the CDC's article on Mosquitos in the United States:
https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/about/about-mosquitoes-in-the-united-states.html

For more information about the environmental effects of broad-spectrum mosquito control methods, check out the Northern Virginia Bird Alliance's article at this link: https://www.nvbirdalliance.org/news/say-no-to-both-mosquitoes-and-mosquito-control-companies

DuPage County Stormwater Management

SCARCE is closing early today at 3:30! There are severe storms expected late afternoon/evening and we want to make sure our staff, volunteers, and customers get home safely before the worst of it comes.

Stay safe everyone! Keep a close eye on those weather forecasts and be sure to find somewhere safe to be as the storms roll through!

It's E-blast Day! Check out some of the items that we are highlighting in the Reuse Center this week. Make sure to spread the word and SHARE our weekly e-blast with your friends! Reuse Center boxes are $10 each!

Our Reuse Center for school teachers and non-profits is open Monday - Friday -4:30pm and Saturdays -12:00pm. Same hours as our SCARCE-LY Used store.
We are located at 800 S. Rohlwing Rd (Route 53) in Addison.

**UPCOMING CLOSURES: If you plan on shopping here soon, please note that SCARCE will be closed next Friday, June 19th and Saturday, June 20th in observance of Juneteenth. Normal hours resume on Monday, June 22nd.**

Learn more about our policies and who can get items here: https://www.scarce.org/reuse.../who-can-get-books-supplies/

Don't forget to check out our public store's E-blast, too!
https://www.facebook.com/scarcelyused

We had such an exciting day here at SCARCE yesterday! For the past few years, our longtime friend Steve (AKA Dr. B) has been taking trips with his RV to deliver items to the Navajo Nation Reservation in Arizona and New Mexico, which is our country's largest Indian Reservation. Each year, we check with the community leaders about what's needed. Here's a list of what we sent this year:

-47 walkers from the Addison Fire Protection District
-1 wheelchair
-60 home repair tools
-5 guitars, along with guitar picks (repurposed from gift cards)
-Work gloves
-4 boxes of brand new sweatshirts from Elkay
-1 box of brand new t-shirts from Elkay
-40 personal care kits
-50 fidget spinners
-8 pairs of brand new socks

All of these items will go to help people in need throughout the Reservation. Thank you Steve, and thank you to everyone who has helped with this project!

We have gotten many people stopping by SCARCE on Mondays in the past few weeks to donate their items. While we appreciate everyone donating their items, we don't actually accept donations on Mondays!

The main reason for this is that Mondays are our catch up days. Our small team needs this time to attend meetings, go to programs, unload from recycling events, and organize the many items that have come in throughout the past week.

Many of you have seen how busy SCARCE gets during the summer! We've had times where we can't even fit everything inside of our warehouse and are scrambling for space, which is why it's so important that everyone is mindful of these hours. Getting donations outside of these hours makes it much harder for us to catch up and attend to everything we need to do.

Thank you all for understanding and for helping keep SCARCE running smoothly! For more information about how to donate to SCARCE, go on our website here: https://www.scarce.org/accepted-items/

Happy World Environment Day! Today, SCARCE, DuPage County Stormwater Committee members, and DuPage County Environmental Committee members had the pleasure of awarding Hendrickson in Woodridge with their Earth Flag and Water Quality Flag.

Hendrickson has been setting a fantastic example of how to take care of our planet. Here are a few of their amazing accomplishments:

-Participated in staff training to promote sustainable choices, proper disposal of hazardous waste, proper recycling practices, and water & energy conservation.
-Helped SCARCE with our reuse and recycling projects by collecting books, plastic bags, and bread tags.
-Cleaned litter from ponds, streams, and natural areas near their company's headquarters for Earth Day 3 years in a row.
-Made several changes around their facility to conserve energy, such as swapping to all LED lighting from fluorescents.
-Saved over 11,000 paper cups from landfills by switching to reusable mugs.
-Installed storm drain medallions.
-Planted a native tree.
-Raffled a rain barrel for employees.

Great job, Hendrickson! Thank you for taking care of our environment!

Pictured: Matt Joy (Hendrickson CEO), DuPage County Board Members Lucy Chang Evans and Saba Haider, Dakota Allen (Hendrickson), Bill Linneweh (Hendrickson), Kay McKeen (SCARCE), DuPage County Board Members Kari Galassi and Jim Zay, and Emily King (SCARCE).

Just a reminder about this recycling event happening tomorrow! Learn more here: https://www.scarce.org/recycling-events/

TUNE IN SUNDAY MORNING @ 7:30am:

SCARCE's founder and Executive Director, Kay McKeen, will be speaking on COD's radio station 90.9 "WDCB Weekly" show this Sunday!

Be sure to tune in and learn about pesticides, insect population declines, toxic drift, and how you can help our pollinators by taking action in your own yard.