The Red Oak Rain Garden includes over 60 different plant species in its 10,000 square feet, which were illuminated by jack-o’-lanterns, fairy lights and spotlights this Thursday.
The garden hosted its second annual “Illuminating Art in Nature” event this Thursday. Over 250 students and community members arrived at the event within the first hour, according to the garden’s team.
Allen Hall students helped carve a staggering 75 jack-o’-lanterns that lined the perimeter of the rain garden. Cats, faces and patterns chiseled into the pumpkins glowed along the sidewalks for passers-by.
Students of the College of Fine and Applied Arts focused on a Studio Ghibli theme for the night, and offered Totoro and Ponyo origami workshops, pixel art painting, caricature drawings and photo stations for visitors to embrace the two key themes of the event — art and sustainability.
The evening kicked off at 4:30 p.m., with a traditional Japanese tea ceremony performed by professor in FAA, Lindsey Stirek.
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Stirek dedicated the first bowl of tea to the land of the rain garden to honor the space traditionally, placing the bowl before a tree in the garden. She said that the relationship between humans and nature was one of mutual respect, stressing that nature is never “passive.”
“It’s always a relationship that is back and forth, so what you give is what you get,” Stirek said. “If what you give is horrible, what you get will be scary. And if what you give is good and nurturing, what you will get will be fruits. What you get will be vegetables. What you will get will be nurturing.”
Stirek explores themes related to environmental topics as she teaches ARTJ 299: Exploring Anime Through the Works of Studio Ghibli. Students from the class helped to guide the event.
Lily Windmiller, junior in LAS, was one of the ARTJ 299 students presenting at the event, where she ran the paint-by-numbers table.
“I’ve always been a really big fan of art and movies growing up,” Windmiller said. “I was a really big fan of everything Studio Ghibli, so getting to take a class where I can appreciate some of my favorite childhood movies was a really big thing for me.
Some presenters were there because they appreciated the previous year’s “Illuminating Art in Nature” event so much that they wanted to be part of it. Artists depicted sustainability last year by creating pieces made from natural materials like pinecones and leaves.
“I actually came across this event last year, and I loved it so much, and I am super excited to be able to be here behind the table this year,” said Elise Koch, senior in FAA, whose supervisor had asked her to table for the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Environment at the event.
Studio Ghibli films represent environmentalist themes in many ways, unpacked in detail by ARTJ 299 students through various blog posts.
The event was a joint effort between eleven partners and organizers, ranging from the iSEE to the Parking Department.
Facilities & Services, another partner for the event, helped dispose of pumpkin carving waste using the University’s Grind2Energy system, which converts food waste to fertilizer and energy.
“The intent of the event is really to bring the community together so that we can all celebrate fall in a sustainable way with all this incredible student creativity,” said Eliana Brown, director of the Red Oak Rain Garden.
The garden was first opened in 2006 but underwent significant renovations in 2019 with Brown’s guidance.
“We’re so proud of what we’ve been able to do,” Brown said. “(We took) this space from a place that used to flood and be muddy to a place that’s really flourishing with beauty and community activity.”
Since his years as a graduate student, Champaign resident Andrew Kerins said he saw significant improvements in the rain garden firsthand, saying that the space was in better shape than he had seen 10 to 15 years ago.
The Red Oak Rain Garden welcomes volunteers on Thursdays and Fridays, and team members for the space encourage anyone with an interest in gardening or sustainability to consider contributing to their cause.