MURPHYSBORO, Ill. – On November 8, Illinois Extension teamed up with the Jackson County Health Department to host a Pumpkin Smash event focused on promoting composting and reducing methane emissions from decomposing pumpkins. Held at the Illinois Extension office in Murphysboro, the event drew over 100 participants from twelve zip codes, who collectively smashed 3,000 pounds of pumpkins for composting.
Smash stations like the mallet masher, ladder splatter, tee-ball smash, pumpkins strike back, and the atlatl, hosted by SIU student sustainable farms, turned climate action into hands-on fun.
Educational booths featured:
- Jackson County health department: check-in station, recycling, other information
- SIU student sustainable farm: composting education
- Illinois Extension programs: 4-H, horticulture, master gardeners, and SNAP-Ed
- Community partners: shawnee quilters guild, jackson county home and community education, and agriculture in the classroom
Together, these groups offered pumpkin-themed activities and shared resources on sustainability, gardening, and upcoming events.
University of Illinois Extension develops educational programs, extends knowledge, and builds partnerships to support people, communities, and their environments as part of the state's land-grant institution. Extension serves as the leading public outreach effort for University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in all 102 Illinois counties through a network of 27 multi-county units and over 700 staff statewide. Extension’s mission is responsive to eight strategic priorities — community, economy, environment, food and agriculture, health, partnerships, technology and discovery, and workforce excellence — that are served through six program areas — 4-H youth development, agriculture and agribusiness, community and economic development, family and consumer science, integrated health disparities, and natural resources, environment, and energy.