Community organizers and Evanston residents gathered Saturday for an afternoon of music and community building at Climate Action Evanston’s Community Earth Day Celebration.
Hosted at the Unitarian Church of Evanston, the event kicked off CAE’s 2026 Earth Week programming, a series of more than 15 events intended to invite community engagement in environmental work and awareness.
“I was so happy to see so many people come out and support this organization and the valuable information provided here today,” said Janet Alexander Davis, co-chair of Environmental Justice Evanston.
Kirsten Drehobl Vega, the city’s sustainability and resilience coordinator, gave an update on the city’s environmental work early in the afternoon.
Drehobl Vega highlighted the long legacy of environmental work and activism in Evanston, and celebrated current progress toward the city’s climate goals, such as the 2018 Climate Action and Resiliency Plan and 2025 Healthy Buildings Ordinance.
“That’s why I’m here,” Drehobl Vega said. “Because the city really cares and pushes forward, because the community really cares and pushes forward. The work that we do at the city is simply a result of the will and direction of the community.”
In her keynote speech, Illinois Environmental Council CEO Jen Walling said the federal government and local movements are like different ecosystems that should work “symbiotically.”
Referring to recent Trump administration policy, Walling said the federal ecosystem is not “exactly in peak condition.” Yet, she emphasized the importance of community in building power to work toward a healthier ecosystem.
“We already know what needs to be done. The only question is whether we will build the power to do it,” Walling said. “When I look at Evanston, when I look at this room, I know the answer is yes, because you are already doing it.”
Attendees were invited to dance to music from the Chicago blues group Sheryl Youngblood Band and mingle before the presentation of the Steve Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award is named after Perkins, who CAE Executive Director Jack Jordan introduced as one of the founders of the environmental movement in Evanston.
Davis received the award for her decades of work to advance economic, racial, criminal and environmental justice in Evanston. Her efforts range from advocacy against inequitable living conditions surrounding the Church Street Waste Transfer Station to recent work on the Evanston Environmental Equity Investigation.
“Her tireless advocacy and gentle leadership has led us to broaden the definition of environmental justice with a greater awareness of the inequitable conditions in Evanston neighborhoods, especially in the 5th and 2nd Wards,” Environmental Justice Evanston co-chair Jerri Garl said. “When faced with inaction, Janet exemplifies calm persistence.”
Jordan presented a surprise Climate Action Sidekick Award to James Davis, who he described as the “biggest member of (Janet Alexander Davis’) team.”
Evanston Natural Area Steward Libby Hill also received the Steve Perkins Lifetime Achievement Award for her environmental accomplishments in Evanston, from the founding of the Clark Street Beach Bird Sanctuary to her work with the Evanston Ecology Center and Perkins Woods County Forest Preserve.
“Libby Hill has an impressive list of accomplishments, but the thing that I really think she’s being honored for today is when you step foot in Perkins Woods in the middle of Evanston, you enter a true forest preserve,” said Leslie Shad, CAE board chair and Natural Habitat Evanston lead.
The remainder of the event featured a volunteer open house with stations representing CAE’s various programs, including an Environmental Justice Evanston workshop and an Energy Program consultation station.
Whether through engagement with the volunteer open house or attendance of future CAE Earth Week events, Jordan urged attendees to take the first step towards getting involved in local environmental work.
“There is no ‘Planet B,’” Jordan said. “When you hear about the climate crisis, it seems overwhelming, but you can make a real difference locally.”
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