Six ways to honor Earth this week
By Sarah Shoaf, Staff Writer
Jaguars can go green this week at Governors State University (GovState) with events that bring them closer to Earth.
Here are six ways to honor Earth and connect with nature on campus in the coming week!
1. Plan a date with theNate: Keeping with tradition, the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park is hosting their annual Earth Day Tour that promises an engaging experience with many artworks that remind Jaguars of their relationship to the Earth and some that interact and play with the environment.
The Earth Day Fresh Air Walk at theNate is Saturday, April 20 at 1 p.m. Registration is requested by email to jstevenson@govst.edu , though walk-ins are welcome. Tour goers will meet in front of the G Building at the Denise Milan sculptures.
2. Recycle unwanted electronics: Looking to get rid of any unused electronics? From Monday, April 22 - Friday, April 26, there will be large tote containers near GovState's D Building main entrance for old, unwanted, working or non-working electronics.
Items that will be accepted but not limited to include flat screen TVs, old computers, monitors, radios and microwaves. Items that will not be accepted are large appliances, refrigerators, stoves, washers and dryers.
3. Dralle Road Clean Up: Join the Biology Department at the Field Station on April 23 from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. for their clean up tradition that focuses on the roads leading to GovState's Field Station and the Southern part of campus. Students can connect while helping the planet!
4. Revive a garden: The service garden outside the F1300 Biology Office Suite is in need of some TLC! On April 24 from 1 - 4 p.m., Jaguars are invited to help the Biology Department remove dead plants and debris from the garden to encourage new growth of native plants, like the common milkweed, that will attract pollinators, like bees and butterflies.
5. Learn a bit about environmental management: GovState alum, Eric Brossman ('21), returns to campus on April 25 to talk about the service management strategies, successess, and future challenges related to his work for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service out of Wilmington, Illinois. The team controls populations of highly invasive Asiatic carp with a 
majority of their efforts focused on the Illinois River System. They're actively trying to reduce carp numbers to minimize negative impacts on native fish.
The Environmental Management Seminar, “Monitoring Presence and Abundance of Invasive Carps in the Upper Illinois River Waterway,” is Thursday, April 25 from noon - 1 p.m. in room F1622.
6. Bird Banding: Curious about how bird populations are monitored for bird conservation efforts? Check out the Bird Banding event on Friday, April 26 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. at the Biology Field Station!
For the last 10 years, the Biology Department has had a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Surviorship) station on campus that they use to collect data to send to the national data base. Every piece of data helps the preservation efforts of North American bird species and provides hands-on learning for GovState students.
Questions? Email CASInfo@govst.edu for more information about the events.