Upcoming eventsAnita Purves Nature Center (and Nature Shop) open free to all visitors 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free PreK Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to noon from Nov. 8- Dec. 13. Drop in any time during program hours. Free Connecting you to Nature Hike from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at Perkins Road Wet Prairie (meet at Urbana Dog Park lot). Free Winter Solstice Celebration on from 4 to 7 p.m. Dec. 20.
Call 217-384-4062 or visit urbanaparks.org for registration and more information.
The Anita Purves Nature Center is hosting an exciting event featuring demonstrations from a local glassblowing artist. We will celebrate America Recycles Day on Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. No registration is required, and the event is free and engaging for all ages. We hope this event will showcase valuable insights on innovative and artistic glass-recycling methods while also informing attendees about recycling methods and procedures. This event is in collaboration with the city of Champaign's U-Cycle program and the Idea Store.
We invite any interested folks to join us to learn more about recycling and observe the incredible transformation of recycled glass into art. Renowned artist Jason Mack Glass will be present to provide live demonstrations of glass blowing using recycled glass. Attendees will have the exciting opportunity to explore the artist's custom-built and mobile glass-blowing furnace to see him bring his beautiful transformations to life.
Glassblowing is a great potential way to recycle glass. It helps to conserve resources by creating art with what others would deem trash.
Recycling glass is widely acknowledged as an environmentally responsible choice, but unfortunately, there are several challenges in ensuring that the glass placed in your recycling bin is effectively recycled. Glass is quite heavy and bulky, increasing transportation costs and making smelting processes more expensive. Additionally, the fragile nature of the material can pose hazardous risks to workers at recycling facilities. The practice of single-stream recycling collection mixes glass with other materials, making sorting more difficult and increasing the chances of contamination -- often making the glass unsuitable for recycling. These complications have led some recycling municipalities to discontinue curbside glass-recycling programs entirely.
However, there are various innovative approaches individuals can explore for repurposing single-use glass items once they have served their purpose. Limiting overall consumption is an important component of reducing waste, and eliminating single-use materials can play a big part of that. We want this event to encourage everyone to not only reduce their glass consumption in general but also think more critically about what happens to our waste materials at the end of their life. The possibilities for creating with glass are endless, and we aim to inspire attendees to leave feeling motivated to take action in repurposing their glass products at home.
We will be hosting several engaging recycling-themed story times for everyone to enjoy. Plus, get ready for some fun face painting by the talented Wild Style Design Company! The Idea Store will be coordinating some creative upcycling craft stations, too. Lastly, be sure to take advantage of the valuable resources regarding glass recycling from the city of Champaign's U-Cycle program. We hope to see you there!