April is Earth Month
Earth Month is an opportunity to raise awareness and advocate for change around the issues most impacting our planet, and it’s a perfect time to get outside and enjoy Mother Nature. So….we’ve gathered together a list of ways you can celebrate, have some fun and make a difference.
Looking for family activities? Chicago Parent has a list of kid-friendly events, including art fairs using recycled materials, park clean-ups, and hiking trails to explore. Invite friends and make it a multi-family outing!
Ready to head to the beach? Check out the beach clean-ups sponsored by Alliance for the Great Lakes and Environment Illinois. Don’t forget your sunscreen!
Planning a spring cleaning? The Plant is hosting a Reuse-a-Palooza on Sunday, April 16. Bring in garments and household items in need of repair, safely dispose of tricky-to-recycle items, and donate bicycles, gently used books, and more. Top off your visit with delicious pizza and beer at the on-site Whiner Brewery.
Looking to up your fruit and vegetable intake? April is a fabulous month to start visiting your local farmers’ market. Farmers’ markets are also teaming up with the City of Chicago to offer special discounts to SNAP and Link holders. Or sign up for a Community-Supported Agriculture program and receive regular deliveries from local farms right to your front door (or at a convenient pick-up location). Explore some new ways of using all those vegetables with these delicious sustainable recipes.
Who doesn’t like free stuff? Courtesy of the City of Chicago, plant a free tree! You can also help save the monarch butterflies by planting free milkweed, or if you need yard mulch, you can get it for free.
Get ready for April showers! Help save rain water from going to waste down the sewer system with a rain barrel. The MWRD offers free delivery on rain barrels at $21.50 for adults and $10.75 for senior citizens. Rain water is perfect for watering your yard, washing the car, reducing city flooding, and your water bill.
If your basement is prone to flooding and you have a green thumb, consider making a rain garden. Rain gardens are aesthetically pleasing and provide food and shelter for many birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects. Include a combination of native wetland and prairie grasses, shrubs, and wildflowers. Incorporate perennial flowers that bloom in the spring and summer, and vividly colored or patterned shrubs and grasses for fall and winter interest and color.
And rainy days are a perfect time to take the Environmental Audit Challenge. Take on your living space by room or by task and see what purchasing habits you can change, or what unintentional waste you can mitigate right in your own home.
Come to IEC’s Environmental Lobby Day on April 19. Sign up here. Free bus ride to Springfield, free lunch and a chance to make a real difference for Illinois on the environmental front. What could be easier?
Leave a comment below or email us at environment@lwvchicago.org.