CARLINVILLE - Blackburn College and the volunteer group Make Carlinville Beautiful, alongside Carlinville Bee City USA, and Tree City USA, have created a weeklong celebration for Earth Day. Earth Week will be from April 17th to April 23rd with events and activities across Carlinville. There will also be Blackburn College events that are only open to students, faculty, and staff due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Get The Latest News!

Don't miss our top stories and need-to-know news everyday in your inbox.

Each day of Earth Week includes themed activities. Saturday, April 17 is the “Earth Week Kick-off” and will include a garden ceremony celebration. Sunday, April 18 is “Making Carlinville Better” and will include a presentation on pollinators and a picking up trash event hosted by Carlinville High School. On Monday, April 19, the theme “Praising Environmental Dedications” will include ceremonies to recognize individuals who have helped Carlinville be more environmentally friendly. Tuesday, April 20 is “Celebrate Trees” day and will include multiple tree planting events around Carlinville. Wednesday, April 21 is “Volunteer Recognition” to celebrate those who have helped the community out. Thursday, April 22 will “Celebrate Pollinators” by having a public bat house installment among other private celebrations. Friday, April 23 will be “Nature and Arts” and the “Imagination Garden” mural will be revealed on that day. To wrap up Earth Week, the theme for Saturday, April 24 will be “Enjoy the Outdoors.” Itl includes a trash pick-up event hosted by Macoupin County’s 4-H Club.

There also are week-long events such as the Self-Guided Tree Walk at Loveless Park, and the Plant Sale hosted by Blackburn College’s own Sustainability Club. Included below is a detailed events schedule.

Month-long events:

April 12th - 30th

Tree City USA has organized materials for a Self-Guided Tree Walk at Loveless Park to see the recent plantings. The map and other information are available on the Carlinville Tree City USA Facebook page and the contacts for this event are Lori Hopping at 217-854-3709 or Tracy Bilbruck at 217-825-5978.

Blackburn’s Sustainability Club is having its annual Plant Sale. This will be a weeklong event for Blackburn students to participate in. More information about this event will be coming soon through Blackburn Announcements.

The Blackburn College dining hall will serve plant-based selections for main courses and desserts every day. There will be daily announcements for Blackburn College students with information on plant-based meals and strategies on conservation.

Daily Events:

Saturday, April 17 - Earth Week Kick-Off

M.J.M Electric Cooperative representatives and Make Carlinville Beautiful members are holding a Garden Kick-Off to celebrate the new trails and garden located south of the M.J.M office on Shipman Road. The brief ceremony, which will include a presentation and ribbon cutting, will be at 9:00 am.

Sunday, April 18 - Making Carlinville Better

Carlinville High School Interact Club members are hosting a presentation on pollinators and are installing a “We are Carlinville, Pollinator Friendly” sign at 1:00 pm.

The Carlinville High School Cross Country team is leading a “Plogging” event (picking up trash while jogging), at Beaver Dam State Park. The time for this event is TBA.

Monday, April 19 - Praising Environmental Dedication

There will be a Raising of the Flags ceremony in front of Ludlum Hall at 10:30 am for the Blackburn community to attend. The ceremony will consist of the Tree Campus and Bee Campus flags being raised to celebrate Blackburn College’s significant environmental progress.

There will be a declaration of “The Deanna Demuzio Memorial Garden” at City Hall to honor the late mayor. The time for this event is TBA.

Article continues after sponsor message

There will be a declaration of “The Elaine Link Memorial Garden” located at the site of the Lincoln/ Douglas debate on the Carlinville Methodist Church lawn. The time for this event is TBA.

Tuesday, April 20 - Celebrate Trees

There will be an Arbor Day Tree Planting ceremony in Blackburn College in Bothwell Auditorium's courtyard at 11:30 am for the Blackburn community to attend.

There will be a Tree Planting at the Lewis and Clark Community College’s Carlinville campus on Shipman Road to honor Vince and Deanna Demuzio at 2 pm.

Wednesday, April 21 - Volunteer Recognition Day

Blackburn College will publish a ‘Thank You’ to all our volunteers in the Blackburn community to recognize them for their hard work and dedication to volunteering.

Blackburn College’s Sustainability Club is planning a Campus Trash Pick-Up for students to participate in. Any students interested should meet in Mahan 133 (Dr. Bray’s lab) at 4:00 pm. All event questions can be sent to Kayla Lammy at kayla.lammy@blackburn.edu.

Thursday, April 22 - Celebrate Pollinators

There will be a private Earth Day Celebration from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. This will be at the Primary School and is for elementary and intermediate age school students. Presentations at this event will include information about trees, bees, bats, pollinator plants, and insects.

To encourage pollinator habitats, a bat house installment will take place at Siri Engstrom’s property at 633 E Main St. starting at 5 pm.

Friday, April 23 - Nature and Arts

The “Imagination Garden” mural created by “Rural Arts” and intermediate school students is being revealed at 6 pm at the 130 East Main Street Ruyle and Sims Law Building.

Saturday, April 24 - Enjoy the Outdoors!

Macoupin County 4- H Clubs will begin with a “mini-workout” followed by “Plogging” (picking up trash while jogging) within the city limits. For more information and 4-H Club registration for this event, contact the University of Illinois Macoupin County Extension Office at (217) 854-9604.

All community events are open to the public unless stated otherwise. Any events hosted by Blackburn College are strictly for the Blackburn College community. For any events that are missing information such as time or location, more event information will be available on the Carlinville Tree City USA and the Carlinville Bees Facebook pages. For any event questions contact Christina Sanderson, the Make Carlinville Beautiful intern, at christina.sanderson@blackburn.edu or Mary Tinder, the Make Carlinville Beautiful organizer, at 217-825-9699.

.

###

About Blackburn College

Founded in 1837, Blackburn College is a four-year, Presbyterian-related, co-educational liberal arts college located in Carlinville, IL. One of only nine federally-recognized Work Colleges, Blackburn has the only program in the nation fully managed by students. Balancing academic rigor and experiential learning, each student at Blackburn gains tangible experience and develops critical skills while contributing to their community and building a resume while earning their degree. In their 2020 Best Colleges Rankings, U.S. News & World Report recognized Blackburn College as one of the top 10 best Liberal Arts Colleges in the Nation for Social Mobility. The Center for Education & the Workforce at Georgetown University ranked Blackburn as a top performer for Earnings-Price Return - 209% (#1 in IL, #10 in the U.S.) and Net Price (#1 in IL; #11 in the U.S.). The Washington Monthly twice ranked Blackburn as the best baccalaureate college in Illinois.

More like this:

Mar 20, 2024 - Blackburn College On Fontbonne University And Students Impacted By Closure Announcement

Feb 19, 2024 - Blackburn College Department Of Music And Theatre Announces Performance Schedule For Spring Season

Feb 6, 2024 - Blackburn College Sets Winter House Event For Prospective Students

Jan 29, 2024 - Aryanna Harris Receives MLK Student Leadership Award At Blackburn College

4 days ago - SamJam Donates $10,000 To Neurofibromatosis (NF) Midwest.