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Buckets As Bathrooms, Foraged Food & Other Tips From Super Green Chicagoan

By Justin Breen | May 6, 2016 5:50am | Updated on May 7, 2016 7:26am
 Nance Klehm continues to forage Chicago for edibles and makes her own compost.
Nance Klehm continues to forage Chicago for edibles and makes her own compost.
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Nancy Klehm and Jacob Blecher

CHICAGO — At age 50, Nance Klehm seems to have 50-some ideas to help make Chicago greener.

The Little Village resident and longtime Chicago environmentalist stays ultra busy cultivating mushrooms and foraging for wild foods, including leading an upcoming expedition at Garfield Park.

She is building a sauna out of cordwood (short pieces of debarked tree) and working on a book about soil, among other green things. A good portion of Klehm's task are under the umbrella of "Social Ecologies" — the organization Klehm runs that in part seeks environmentally friendly alternatives for using business' organic waste and provides ways for people to conduct DIY soil remediation.

Klehm fully admits she's been using a "dry toilet" — which looks like a bucket — for the last 12 years. She has collected her own stool and used it to make compost. From 2008-10, Klehm headed the "Humble Pile" project, which involved other human contributors and led to the collection of 1,500-plus gallons of "human nutrient," according to Klehm's website. That project has ended, but Klehm continues to save her own poop.

"I have been using a dry toilet in Chicago for almost 12 years now," she said.  "I compost this waste thermophilically" — a process that uses heat-loving bacteria — "to kill the pathogens very quickly."

Klehm splits her time between the city and traveling to national and international destinations to lecture and work on projects.

She said people can forage for a host of edible plants all over Chicago — if they know what to look for.

"I think a lot of people are doing it or at least curious about it," she said. "If one spends some time learning to identify the plants we share the city with, they can do it as well.

"Ethical foraging needs to be underlined here. Folks should know to take carefully and gently from plants and to only take what they immediately need," she said.

Klehm's next urban foraging expedition is from 2-4 p.m. May 15 in Garfield Park. Click here for more information.

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