Hosted by the Evanston Public Library and Climate Action Evanston, Repair Cafés are free meeting spaces where people fix things together. Besides the obvious cost savings, Repair Cafés keep stuff out of the landfill, promote collaboration, permit skill-sharing, build community self-reliance, and support Evanston's Climate Action and Resilience Plan. Repair Cafes are typically held on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Tuesday each month. Details on location and registration can be found at the link below. While pre-registration is preferred, walk-ins are welcome.

The choices we make:A short primer on evaluating you site, at home and on the job, to develop a list of species that will thrive to help create habitats centered on positive outcomes and species interaction. Kelsay will help you take a more nuanced look at the landscapes we live in and how we can augment them without losing our sense of place. We need to put away ideas of gardening for one thing or another and start looking beyond the edges of our yards and take stock of our local botanic pantheon to make a garden or restoration a bit more complete. 

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Starting on April 18 and continuing through Aprill 26, join Climate Action Evanston and our partners from across the community for a week of celebrating Mother Earth! Evanston Earth Week features activities for all ages and interests who seek to make our community and planet more liveable. Check out our "Earth Week '26" page for the full details.

The first and largest event of Evanston Earth Week '26 is our Community Earth Day Celebration on April 18th. Join Climate Action Evanston and our six programs for an afternoon of music, celebration, recognition and action. All are welcome to join this free event. Refreshments will be served.

Kick off Earth Week with our community partners, including the Friends of the Ladd Arboretum, Ladd Arboretum Stewards, and Natural Habitat Evanston.

Enjoy a Native Plant Walk & Talk and Tree Identification Walk through the arboretum, plus a drop-in nature craft for kids. At 4 p.m., learn about lasagna composting and planting with Friends of the Ladd Arboretum, and from 4–7 p.m.

Pick up a free native whip (bare root seedling) giveaway with Natural Habitat Evanston. Whips offered while supplies last: American Plum, Blackhaw viburnum, Elderberry, Fragrant Sumac, American Hazelnut, Jack Pine, Nannyberry, Persimmon, Red Osier Dogwood, Roughleaf Dogwood, Shagbark Hickory, Swamp White Oak.

A great way for all ages to connect, learn, and celebrate the outdoors together.

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What does it look like to work in a social justice career in 2026? While social justice is under attack at the federal level and across the country, community organizations, nonprofits and everyday people are fighting back, especially right here in Evanston. What can you do to fight for social justice in your career, in your life? All students and community members are welcome to join this panel and networking event.

Celebrate Earth Week Wednesday – Wildlife & Habitat with the Evanston Northshore Bird Club and other local partners.

Start the day with a morning birding walk in Perkins Woods. Then, join us at the Evanston Ecology Center from 4–7 p.m. for a full slate of bird-themed activities:

• Bird Collision Workshop with Holly Greenberg
• How to Bird drop-in session
• Bird walks through the arboretum
• Drop-in table with artifacts and birding tips

Plus, from 4–7 p.m., Pick  up a free native whip (bare root seedling) giveaway with Natural Habitat  Evanston. Whips offered while supplies last: American Plum, Blackhaw  viburnum, Elderberry, Fragrant Sumac, American Hazelnut, Jack Pine,  Nannyberry, Persimmon, Red Osier Dogwood, Roughleaf Dogwood, Shagbark  Hickory, Swamp White Oak.

It's been one year since Evanston's landmark Healthy Buildings Ordinance (HBO) passed Evanston City Council. What's the update on the rulemaking process? How should your building prepare for future ordinance implementation? In this virtual event hosted by Climate Action Evanston, appointed members of the Healthy Buildings Technical Committee (HBTC) and Healthy Buildings Accountability Board (HBAB), along with City of Evanston staff, will cover the basics of the Healthy Buildings Ordinance and review progress made to date on the ordinance. Join the event to learn more about the HBO and ask questions about future ordinance implementation.

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Join Climate Action Evanston and Evanston Grows for a screening of the documentary Plastic People as part of the One Earth Film Festival. Screening will be followed by a panel discussion with medical and plastic-reduction professionals. All Evanston community members and Northwestern University students and staff are welcome to join.

Join us for a special edition Repair Café at the Ecology Center. Bring your general repairs (mechanical & electrical), electronics, eyeglasses, jewelry, sewing and mending, bikes, and musical instruments. Remember that the Repair Café is a participative experience, not a drop off, so come prepared to work with a Coach to repair your item.

Join the Ecology Center for a fun, free and family-friendly Earth Day Fest . Discover Evanston’s vibrant eco-community through hands-on activities, inspiring resources and nature-filled fun. As part of this event, CAE will host the first ever Litter League Earth Day Classic.

Come down to the Ecology Center's Earth Day Fest and play a game with the Litter League. We will divide into teams, clean up some nature, and learn more about the waste streams that our way of living generates. All ages and all skills welcome. We'll provide tools and refreshments.

Litter League's opening weekend continues with a friendly competition between the Evanston and Chicago sides of the Howard Street Business District to see who can pick up the most litter and have the most fun doing so. Dress for weather. We'll provide all the supplies and information needed. Prompt start at 1pm!

Evanston Interfaith Action welcome all people of all (or no) faiths to an event of Prayer and Action. A pop-up choir rehearsal will be followed by trash pickup along the Canal and then a brief liturgy.

Hosted by the Evanston Public Library and Climate Action Evanston, Repair Cafés are free meeting spaces where people fix things together. Besides the obvious cost savings, Repair Cafés keep stuff out of the landfill, promote collaboration, permit skill-sharing, build community self-reliance, and support Evanston's Climate Action and Resilience Plan. Repair Cafes are typically held on the 2nd Saturday and 4th Tuesday each month. Details on location and registration can be found at the link below. While pre-registration is preferred, walk-ins are welcome.

This talk is Co-Sponsored​ by Natural Habitat Evanston and Edible Evanston, both of which are programs of Climate Action Evanston.

Wild Weeds in the Apothecary and the Kitchen - from chickweed pesto to chickweed ointment, explore nature's abundant harvest for food and medicine. 

So many of the plants you pull out as weeds, maybe throw in the compost or feed to the chickens, can actually be delicious foods or powerful medicines. Stinging nettle, chickweed, cleavers, burdock, lambs quarters, horsetail are familiar garden pests that you can learn to love and appreciate. Working with weeds means following the seasons, getting to know the local flora, being able to harvest your own food and medicine, and weaving them together so that you can eat your medicine. 

In this illustrated talk we will join a medical herbalist to explore the wild weeds beneath our feet, and to learn to use them safely for sustenance and healing.