Earth Day 2024: How suburban communities are celebrating the historic environmental holiday
Many Aprils ago, 10% of the entire U.S. population demonstrated in cities across the nation for the first Earth Day celebration.
It was April 22, 1970, and there was no Environmental Protection Agency, no Clean Air Act and no Clean Water Act. Public concerns about pollution had come to a boiling point, and 20 million Americans participated in celebrations from coast to coast to show their support. Later that same year, the EPA was born.
“It was on that day that Americans made it clear that they understood and were deeply concerned over the deterioration of our environment and the mindless dissipation of our resources,” then-Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson, creator of Earth Day, wrote in April 1980. “It showed the political and opinion leadership of the country that the people cared, that they were ready for political action, that the politicians had better get ready, too. In short, Earth Day launched the Environmental decade with a bang.”
It’s been over half a century since that fateful day, and Illinois communities continue to celebrate each April 22 — planting trees, picking up litter, recycling electronics, and more. For many in the suburbs who help put on the celebratory events, Earth Day is just one snapshot of the environmental work that happens all year long.
In Skokie, the public library is hosting an educational, hands-on “Planting for Pollinators” event, in which patrons will hear from an Oakton College naturalist about the crucial role insects play in making sure plants are pollinated and can reproduce. The group will then head to the college’s pollinator garden, where they’ll take up power drills and help plant hundreds of new flora.
Program coordinator Mariah Cherem said the event is part of the library’s renewed focus on sustainability programming that was kickstarted when the Village of Skokie adopted its environmental sustainability and climate resilience plan in 2022.
“We are a part of the environment, so talking about the planet, talking about sustainability, talking about our natural environment — those are conversation topics that ultimately impact us all,” Cherem said. “The library is the perfect place to have some of those conversations because you get a great cross section of people from all sorts of walks of life and all sorts of experiences who are able to share that with each other.”
Earth Day’s “Planting for Pollinators” event falls in line with the library’s other sustainability initiatives, such as its monthly Climate Cafe, where patrons can come and discuss current climate issues with a representative from environmental nonprofit The Talking Farm.
“(Earth Day) is a good reminder to sort of check in and think about, ‘What am I doing and what is my part in all of this?’ But of course, it doesn't start or stop in April,” Cherem added.
In Vernon Hills, it’s a similar story at Hawthorn shopping center. The mall is hosting, first, an electronics recycling drive and then, a textile and show collection event Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon and noon to 2 p.m., respectively — but recycling doesn’t stop once Earth Day passes, one organizer said.
“Hawthorn is a year-round partner with us,” said Merleanne Rampale, education director at the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County. “Residents of this community and from anywhere in Northern Illinois can visit them, do some shopping and drop off their clothing, textiles and shoes for reuse and recycling.”
Electronics recycling will be available at the shopping center’s AMC parking lot from 10 a.m. to noon. Accepted items include old laptops and phones, monitors, string lights and appliances like microwaves and printers.
Inside on the lower level near H&M, textiles and shoes will be collected from noon to 2 p.m., followed by a seed planting craft and a meet and greet with “Earth Princess and Friends.”
Rampale added Earth Day events like these are an opportunity for individuals and families to pick up a few small habits like regular electronics and textile recycling that can add up in a big way.
“Within our own homes and lives, it’s just looking at a few simple actions we can take like attending an event like this, learning a little bit more, and picking up some information on what other things we might be able to do to make a difference in our local community,” she said. “When a number of us are doing that, when 40 or 50 people attend this Earth Day activity and a couple 100 people are over at another Earth Day event — when you add all of those actions together, it makes a big impact.”
More Earth Day events throughout the suburbs can be found at the Daily Herald’s online events calendar at tinyurl.com/DHEarthDayCal, and at tinyurl.com/SierraClubED and tinyurl.com/FPDCCEarthDay.
Residents can also check with their local libraries, park districts and forest preserve districts to search for events near them.
• Jenny Whidden, jwhidden@dailyherald.com, is a climate change and environment writer working with the Daily Herald through a partnership with Report For America supported by The Nature Conservancy. To help support her work with a tax-deductible donation, see dailyherald.com/rfa.