URBANA, Ill. — When the sun sets late in October, something whimsical this way comes to the Red Oak Rain Garden. The “Illuminating Art in Nature” exhibit will return to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign garden in an autumnal celebration of art, nature, and sustainability.
Take a nighttime stroll through the Red Oak Rain Garden during the second annual Illuminating Art in Nature event from 4:30 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 30, located next to Allen Hall along S. Dorner St. This free, environmentally friendly event will feature a student art installation, caricature drawings, a craft table, apple cider, and an interactive educational fair. Jack-o'-lantern lighting and judging will begin at sundown.
“Autumn is the perfect time to celebrate nature’s beauty, while learning small steps we can take to support it year-round,” said Eliana Brown, water quality and stormwater specialist with University of Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. “By bringing the community together with art and nature at the Red Oak Rain Garden, we hope to inspire people to weave sustainability into their own lives.”
The 75 pumpkins decorating the garden will be hand carved by students living in nearby Allen Hall, who are part of the Unit One arts-immersive living-learning community. The artwork is by students from the School of Art & Design course Exploring Anime Through the Works of Studio Ghibli led by teaching assistant professor Lindsey Stirek. The event is hosted in in partnership with University Housing, Fine and Applied Arts, Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Energy, Facilities & Services, and Champaign County Design & Conservation Foundation.
Find more information about the free, family friendly event that is open to the community at go.illinois.edu/2025RORGExhibit. Illuminating Art in Nature is designed to spark wonder while highlighting sustainability and is a campus Certified Green Event. For more information or if you need a reasonable accommodation to participate, contact Eliana Brown at brown12@illinois.edu. Early requests are strongly encouraged to allow sufficient time to meet access needs.
Decorate for fall and discard pumpkins sustainably with Illinois Extension
This fall, consider decorating with natural materials, such as gourds and cornstalks, that can be composted later. Illinois is the top pumpkin producer in the U.S., so buy locally when possible. Illinois Extension statewide Pumpkin Smash events provide an opportunity to drop off pumpkins and keep them out of landfills, where they create greenhouse gases as they decompose. Find one in your area at go.illinois.edu/PumpkinSmash. Avoid using fake spiderwebs and artificial nights all night long, which can harm wildlife. Fall-blooming native plants, such as asters and goldenrod, can be added to your home landscape to provide food for pollinators. Find a list of pollinator friendly plants at go.illinois.edu/IllinoisPollinators.
About Red Oak Rain Garden: The Red Oak Rain Garden is a 10,000-square-foot demonstration landscape that prevents flooding on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus and is managed by Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant staff. The garden’s ground cover of more than 9,000 native plants acts as a small-scale wetland, absorbing and filtering up to 27,000 gallons of rainwater runoff instead of allowing it to overwhelm sewer systems and contribute to poor water quality. It also provides wildlife habitat, connects the community with green spaces, and inspiring sustainable landscape design and nature-based solutions.
Explore more about rainfall management at go.illinois.edu/rainfallmanagement. To stay up to date, subscribe to the Red Oak Rain Garden newsletter and follow the garden on Facebook and Instagram.
About Illinois Extension’s related programs: Extension’s natural resources, environment, and energy program provides research-based education for awareness and action to sustain healthy environments and ecosystems that support quality living and resilient communities. Extension staff empower people across Illinois to make a difference through the Master Naturalist, Climate Steward, and Watershed Steward volunteer and training programs.
SOURCE: Eliana Brown, water quality and stormwater specialist, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Illinois Extension
PHOTO: By Fred Zwicky, University of Illinois. Photos are available for media use. Credit Fred Zwicky, University of Illinois.
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.