Editor’s note: This is the April installment of a monthly column written by the city of DeKalb’s Citizens’ Environmental Commission that focuses on increased awareness of issues such as promoting projects and ordinance changes involved in recycling, reducing energy consumption and planting native habitat.
Trash Squirrels, a local cleanup group, is proud to announce their third season of trash cleanup events, beginning April 9.
This season, the group plans to partner with area businesses and organizations to elicit employee participation and member engagement in cleanup efforts. So far, Nestle, Target, Rotary Club, Sun Dog IT and New Hope Missionary Baptist Church have expressed interest.
Within our own community, a number of organizations exist that you can partner with to make a difference and fight climate change. Using your own time, resources and social media presence, you can support these groups and make a difference where you are.
Clean City Waste & Recycling has made it its mission to prevent plastic waste from entering local ecosystems in the form of litter. Recently, they provided a set of litter-clearing gear for the Northern Illinois University Outdoor Adventure Club. One of the company’s employees, Aaron Schwab, is working to expand Trash Squirrels efforts into other communities in DeKalb County.
JOY - Jackson’s Outstanding Young Volunteers is a youth-led volunteer group in DeKalb County. It focuses on helping kindergarten through middle school aged kids get involved with volunteering. It was started by Jordyn Johnson, whose mother, Angela, is Trash Squirrels’ most active volunteer.
350Kishwaukee, located in the Kishwaukee River Watershed, exists to allow everyone to participate in the global climate change movement. Recently, they developed and presented a decarbonization plan with the Citizen’s Utility Board in order to fight climate change and promote better health.
The Driven Heart, a small arts and crafts store in DeKalb, recently hosted a trash cleanup event. They picked up 420 pounds of trash and identified future areas to be addressed that will be incorporated into future Trash Squirrels events.
Walmart has expanded its recycling options for soft plastic and is willing to take more forms of soft plastic, including bubble wrap and product overwraps.
Joyce Marten is a DeKalb resident whose garden on First Street includes hay bales. She and her husband have planted a garden that uses straw as a base for planting because it reduces weeds and bacteria and aids in water retention. Joyce cultivates more than 25 kinds of vegetables and a variety of herbs, using homemade compost for fertilizer, sometimes from seed. They have a 2,500-gallon water system to collect rainwater for use in their garden, 43 solar panels and geothermal heat. Based solely on their use of solar panels, they calculate that they have reduced their household carbon dioxide production by 250,000 pounds.
Friday, April 22, is Earth Day. NIU and a host of community organizations are sponsoring a communitywide trash cleanup across the city of DeKalb.
If none of the above volunteer options work for you, at least for one day you can put hands and feet to good intentions to heal the planet. One person can make a difference with your choices. Check out the NIU website or the Trash Squirrels Facebook page if you would like to participate.
Editor’s note: Incorrect information provided to the Daily Chronicle requires clarification: Trash Squirrels will begin its third season of community cleanups Saturday, April 9. This column was edited at noon, April 8, 2022 to clarify that point.