Earth Day is celebrated worldwide each April 22, but in Waukegan Earth Week is marked from April 20-27 and at the College of Lake County festivities are scheduled throughout April as part of Earth Month.
Cleanup is the primary theme for Waukegan’s third-annual Earth Week as it was the first two years, with thousands of residents collectively taking steps to keep garbage out of landfills.
At the College of Lake of County. a mixture of concerts, art exhibits and lectures for the public — plus events in clubs and classes raising awareness of the importance of sustainability — are components of Earth Month, as they have for more than 15 years.
Singer and environmentalist AY Young will start Earth Month at the College of Lake County Thursday. (College of Lake County)
“The College of Lake County is an educational institution that really values sustainability,” said Michelle Titterton, the school’s sustainability manager. “Earth Month is a way to celebrate with all of Lake County.”
The college’s Earth Month begins with a concert on AY Young’s Battery Tour Thursday on the Grayslake campus, offering a musical performance from an artist who has given more than 900 concerts using renewable energy.
Titterton said Young is a worldwide voice for sustainability, using music and dancing to spread the message. Most of his concerts are outdoors. All energy needs for things like sound are powered by a solar cell. He is also an Eagle Scout and close to nature, officials said.
“His message is upbeat and positive,” she said. “People with a message (on the environment) can be negative, but his message is making a better day for all people.”
Joining Young on stage, Titterton said a dance group from the college has choreographed a performance with an environmental message.
Throughout April, she said there will be an art exhibit of Ginny Krueger’s work entitled, “Treasured: Celebrating the Sustainable Vision of our Spring Landscape,” on the Grayslake campus.
A virtual sustainability talk on the edible history of insets presented by Gina Hunter takes place on April 17, and Brittany Jordan presents another sustainability talk on May 1 as other elements of Earth Month.
Waukegan’s Earth Week began three years ago when Marty Wozniak, a local accountant, went to city officials to turn the quarterly cleanup of the Amstutz Expressway he organizes into a citywide week of purging unwanted garbage around April 22.
Members of the Waukegan High School Environmental Club will be distributing pre-ordered trees April 20 during Earth Week. (Steve Sadin/Lake County News-Sun)
Ald. Lynn Florian, 8th Ward, joined Wozniak in the effort three years ago and enlisted help from the city. The Public Works Department placed Dumpsters in each ward on different days, so people could dispose of unwanted trash.
“Earth Week has created more awareness of environmental issues in the city,” Florian said. “People are more aware of their surroundings. Churches got involved and organized cleanups.”
Christian Neighbors Church is one of those groups. Sara Weibel, the church administrator there, said they organized approximately 60 people to pick up garbage in designated parts of Waukegan. She is hoping for 100 volunteers this year.
“This is a way for neighbors to get together and do something for the community,” Weibel said. “It is a tangible way to show that.”
Christian Neighbors Church Earth Week participants will be provided gloves, bags and a T-shirt, when they volunteer to help clean parts of Waukegan. (Sara Weibel)
One of several events starting Earth Week on April 20, Weibel said people from nine churches and faith-based groups will meet at the church at 8:30 a.m., get their equipment and be dispersed to different neighborhoods.
Along with the church effort, Lisa May, the city’s lakefront coordinator, will lead a cleanup of the Waukegan Beach from 10 a.m. to noon. There will also be a harbor cleanup that day, and members of the Waukegan High School Environmental Club will distribute trees they sold earlier to neutralize the carbon footprint of their school.
“Hopefully parents will bring their children,” May said. “If you can get children involved at a young age, they will remember and make it a habit.”
Weekdays of Earth Week will be devoted to placing Dumpsters at strategic locations in each ward on a designated day so people can dispose of unwanted trash. The Dumpsters will be available between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.
A Dumpster will be in the First Ward at 8th and Adams streets, and at 1525 Dugdale Road in the Second Ward on April 22. On April 23, they will be at 100 North Lewis Avenue in the Third Ward, and the corner of Water Street and Sheridan Road in the Fourth Ward.
Fifth Ward cleanup takes place on April 24 with a Dumpster at the corner of Greenwood Avenue and Delaware Road. On April 25, there will be a Dumpster at 1815 North Sheridan Road in the Seventh Ward, and at 2255 West Yorkhouse Road in Bevier Park for the Eighth Ward.
On April 26, a Dumpster will be placed at 2650 West Belvidere Road in the Ninth Ward, and in the Sixth Ward at the corner of Hickory Street and Keith Avenue.
Mayor Ann Taylor said Monday that yard waste, liquids, tree trunks, concrete, bricks, stone, rocks, hazardous waste, flammable materials, car parts, small engines, paint, stains and railroad ties are not allowed.
Wozniak said Earth Week ends with a cleanup of the Amstutz from 9 to 11 a.m. on April 27. Participants should meet at 525 South Sheridan Road.
“Anything we can do to make the community look better is a good thing,” Wozniak said. “A lot of different groups have gotten involved.”
