DeKALB — Students celebrated Earth Month Thursday by restoring the native plant beds between the Stevenson and Grant Towers.
The Environmental Studies Student Advisory Board held its biannual native plant bed cleanup from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. This effort included reseeding, weeding and removing garbage from the raised garden beds in preparation for summer-blooming.
The plant beds feature plants native to Illinois, many of which have experienced habitat destruction due to urban development. The plants include anise hyssop, little bluestem, obedient plant, wild quinine, prairie dropseed, black-eyed Susan and whorled milkweed.
Oliver Myers, a graduate assistant in the environmental studies department and master of public administration student, said the goal of the spring cleanup is to reset the native plant beds after the winter season.
“The goal today is to get rid of our goldenrod,” Myers said.
Although goldenrod is native to Illinois, the plant is fast-spreading and can dominate gardens, so it must be removed from the plant beds alongside the garbage and weeds.
“Goldenrod is a native plant, and it can be good, but it tends to overrun gardens and other native species,” Myers said. “We want to get more of our cone flowers and black-eyed susans in here.”
Sam Soria, a junior environmental studies major, participated in last semester’s native bed cleanup. She has continued to contribute to NIU’s native plant restoration effort because she was moved by the beauty of the native plant beds as a first-year student.
“What motivated me to come here today is thinking about my first year here on campus,” Soria said. “I lived in Stevenson, and I would look out and think, wow, this is such a beautiful space. To get to be part of what makes it beautiful is really motivating.”
Arianna Garcia, a senior environmental studies major, encourages eco-conscious people to volunteer in environmental programs, such as native plant beds and communiversity gardens, as they are good places to meet people with similar passions.
“It makes it more fun to know that you have friends that are also interested in the same things,” Garcia said.
Myers emphasized that public awareness of native plants is important for the success of restoration efforts.
“It really takes the community to want to see these plants and understand that this is what Illinois used to look like, not this turfgrass,” Myers said.
The next Earth Month event on campus is Earth Fest in the NIU Founders Memorial Library from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on April 11.