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Earth Month Naperville 2025
April 22, 2025 marks the 55th anniversary of the first Earth Day.
This year's theme is: Take Action
Volunteer Opportunities
2025 SPECIAL EVENTS:
MARCH
Seed & Houseplant Exchange
Darien Garden Club
When: Sunday, March 2
Time: 1:30 - 3:30 pm
Where: Indian Prairie Public Library, Keshav Sanghani Meeting Room on the 2nd Floor, 401 Plainfield Road, Darien, IL 60561
What: Bring your extra vegetable, annual and native plant seeds, houseplant cuttings, or potted plants to exchange with others
How: Free but registration required
Extension Master Gardener Seed Expo
U of I Extension Master Gardeners
When: Saturday, March 8
Time: 10 am - 2 pm
Where: College of Lake County - Grayslake Campus, 19351 W. Washington Street, Grayslake, IL 60030
What: Free seeds, seed swaps and resources - vendors and exhibitors
How: Free admission
Arbor Day Tree Sale
City of Naperville
How: Pre-order online: Monday, March 17 @ 8 am - Wed. April 16 @ 5 pm or when all trees sell out
When: Drive-thru pick-up: Sat. April 19 from 8 am - 1 pm; Pickup time must be scheduled
Where: Naperville Public Works Service Center, 180 Fort Hill Dr., Naperville (no onsite purchases)
What: Limit 6 per resident; wide variety of native trees will be for sale; 5 to 7-gallon buckets, varying heights
APRIL
Celebrate Earth Month
Knoch Knolls Nature Center
When: April 7 - April 30
Time: Nature Center Open Hours
Where: Knoch Knolls Nature Center, 320 Knoch Knolls Rd, Naperville, IL 60565
What: Month long Earth Day exhibits and activities for families with new themes each week, starting April 7
How: Free
Shred Event
Naperville Police Department & Naperville Park District
When: Saturday, April 12
Time: 8 am - 11 am (will end earlier if trucks fill up)
Where: Centennial Beach Parking Lot, 500 Jackson Ave. in Naperville
What: Drop off up to two boxes (17" x 13" x10") of documents to be shredded and recycled; up to 10-lb per box; no previously
shredded paper accepted
How: Free service; pull up to trucks and volunteers will unload your boxes
34th Annual DuPage River Sweep
The Conservation Foundation
When: Saturday, April 19
Time: 9 am - 12 pm
Where: County-wide (DuPage)
What: Self-coordinated stream cleanup held each spring
How: Click Here to Register; registration deadline April 7
One Earth Film Festival
Watch films and discussions from the 2024 One Earth Film Festival
When: April 22-28
Who: All ages
Where: Online/virtual
What: The Midwest’s premier environmental film festival with 22 award winning films.
How: Free, donations welcome. Visit https://www.oneearthfilmfest.org
Arbor Day Plant Sale
The Morton Arboretum
When: Thursday, April 24 - Saturday, April 26
Time: Depends on the day
Where: 4100 Illinois Route 53, Lisle
What: Thousands of plants; expert Plant Geniuses onsite
How: Member tickets (March 31 - April 14) and Guest tickets (starting April 15)
MAY
McDonald Farm Annual Plant Sale
The Conservation Foundation
When: Saturday, May 10
Time: 9 am - 1 pm
Where: McDonald Farm, 10S404 Knoch Knolls Rd in Naperville
What: Farm-grown organic vegetable and herb starts, organic compost, Mother’s Day gift options, composters and rain barrels
2024 Master Gardener Plant Sale
Kendall County Master Gardeners
When: Saturday, May 17
Time: 9 a.m - 2 p.m.
Where: Kendall County Extension Office, 7775B IL Rt. 47, Yorkville
What: Varieties of tomatoes and pepper, native plants, nursery-stock perennials, Master Gardeners on-hand to answer questions
Ongoing Local and Online Environmental Resources
In the spring of 1970, Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day as a way to address the dangerous environmental issues facing Americans and the environment. On April 22, 20 million Americans protested on college campuses and in city streets across the country, demanding an end to air pollution, rivers that burned, ocean oil spills and loss of wildlife species. This first Earth Day launched the passing of numerous environmental laws to protect air, land and water and prompted the creation of the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency in December of 1970. The holiday grew significantly over the years to the point that in 2009, the United Nations adopted a consensus resolution designating April 22nd as International Mother Earth Day.
Arbor Day was founded in 1872 as a day set aside to plant trees by J. Sterling Morton, who later served as Secretary of Agriculture to President Grover Cleveland. Today, most states celebrate Arbor Day on the last Friday in April. Morton's son, Joy Morton, is the founder of the Morton Salt Company and the Morton Arboretum, a 1,700-acre tree museum in Lisle, which is a leading center of tree science. "Plant Trees" was the Morton family motto.
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