DE KALB - DeKalb Earth Week will present a wide variety of environmental activities this week leading up to Earth Day on April 22. The lineup includes a series of citywide educational sessions, music and poetry performances, open mics and karaoke, arts and crafts as well as many volunteer projects.

Activities will culminate on Saturday with a DeKalb March for Science that will mirror similar marches in cities large and small around the world. Local participants will rally at First Street and Lincoln Highway in DeKalb at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 22 and march to the MLK Commons at Northern Illinois University.

“We’re charged with redeeming the world as it is,” said Nathan Rodehaver, pastor at DeKalb’s First Church of the Nazarene, “We need to be good stewards of it.”

“Even when we die, our kids will have to deal with it,” added Jaxon Bourn, an NIU student studying business management. “We don’t want to leave our kids with a dying planet.”

DeKalb Earth Week has been organized by students and residents of DeKalb as well as by Action Steps for America, Committee for the Preservation of Wildlife, Common Grounds, DeKalb Area Progressives, DeKalb County Community Gardens, DeKalb County Democrats, DeKalb Stands with the Women’s March on Chicago, Democratic Socialists of America Northern Illinois Chapter, Dream Action NIU, Green Paws Environmental Alliance, Kishwaukee Kiwanis, NIU English Department, NIU College Democrats, NIU Model Illinois Government and NIU Young Democratic Socialists.

The full list of events is available at https://www.dekalbriseup.com/earth. A few of the activities are listed below.

NIU UNICEF #ClimateChain

Tuesday, April 18, 5 p.m. – Everyone is welcome to come and form a chain by the Kishwaukee River to raise awareness of the river's erosion and show that we want to protect the environment. The group will meet in the parking lot by the Lagoon (across from the NIU art building).

Those unable to attend are invited to post pictures with their arms outstretched in front of a place they wish to protect from climate change. Post pictures on Instagram using #ClimateChain and explain why you stand with UNICEF in support of protecting areas from climate change for generations to come.

NATIVE PLANT SALE BEGINS

Wednesday, April 19, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

The Committee for the Preservation of Wildlife (CPW) is holding their annual native plant sale April 19, 20 and 21 in the auditorium of NIU's Montgomery Hall. Buy one plant for $4, four plants for $10, and 16 for $38. Proceeds help support the CPW.

Featured species include the anise hyssop, lance leaf coreopsis, prairie alumroot, Rocky Mountain blazing star, foxglove beardtongue, creeping Jacob's ladder, wild petunia and rosy sedge.

EARTH DAY EVENTS - Saturday, April 22

Kishwaukee Kiwanis, 8-10 a.m. - The Kishwaukee Kiwanis will hold their annual Earth Day clean up. Meet in the back parking lot of Market Square 10, 2160 Sycamore Road, DeKalb to clean the section of the DeKalb Nature Trail that runs behind it.

Get Dirty to Go Green, 9-11 a.m. - As part of DeKalb Earth Day, DeKalb First (First Church of the Nazarene) is partnering with Common Grounds and DeKalb County Community Gardens volunteer sites to host a Get Dirty to Go Green community garden groundbreaking event at 1051 S. 4th St. for kids and families. Arrive at 9 a.m. to eat a healthy breakfast, do a fun craft and then get to work. Wear well-used green T-shirts and other clothes you can get messy in.

Community Day at Prairie Park, 9-11 a.m. - Celebrate Earth Day with the DeKalb Park District’s Community Day at Prairie Park. Participants will meet at the Disc Golf Course (corner of Glidden and Clifford) and tackle some park clean up projects.

DeKalb County Community Gardens, 9 a.m.-noon – Volunteers will meet at 2500 N. Annie Glidden Road to register and then work at one of three DeKalb County Community Gardens volunteer sites: Annie Glidden Outreach Gardens, Dolce Vita/Kishwaukee Health or Walnut Grove Vocational Farm.

MARCH FOR SCIENCE DeKalb, 4-5:30 p.m. - The mission of the nonpartisan March for Science in DeKalb is to safeguard the scientific process and research funding, to show support for research and regulations that protect our land and our natural environments and to publicly celebrate science. The group will hold a rally at the corner of First Street and Lincoln Highway (Peace Corner) at 4 p.m., then begin marching west on Lincoln, turn north on Glidden, east on Lucinda and end at the MLK Commons at 5 p.m. At the Commons, an open mic will allow participants to have their say about science, the environment, our land and our planet.

MARCH FOR SCIENCE elsewhere

ROCKFORD, 4-6:30 p.m. – Joe Marino Park - Rally at Joe Marino Park, 100 N. Water St., then march to Emmanuel Lutheran Church to attend a show featuring music by Pete Seeger and Emmanuel's art exhibit "To Love Is to Act: Artists Resist" and an Oil Spill Drill street performance. Speakers 4 p.m., March 5 p.m., Spill Drill 6 p.m. and Earth Day concert at Emmanuel 7 p.m.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/2nna7SF or www.forestcity350.org. Sponsored by Rockford Youth Activism, Forest City 350, 350Kishwaukee, Northern Illinois for Bernie Sanders and Northern Illinois Justice League

CHICAGO, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. – Grant Park area – Rally at 10 a.m., march at 11 a.m. The Science in Chicago Expo, to take a stand for science, begins at noon. Enter the march programming at the intersection of Congress Parkway and Congress Plaza Drive. The rally will be just south of Jackson Drive (entrance from north will be blocked) and the march will go to the Museum campus where the Science in Chicago Expo will take place. Find more information at www.sciencemarchchicago.org or visit their Facebook page.