Squash Your Pumpkins At Bolingbrook Preserve Event

BOLINGBROOK, IL — Smash those pumpkins at a Bolingbrook event on Nov. 8, and give the gourds "a second life as compost," the Forest Preserve District of Will County shared in a news release.

The forest preserve will hold a "pumpkin pummeling" session from noon to 4 p.m. on Nov. 8 at Hidden Oaks Nature Center in Bolingbrook. Participants can pound, roll or drop their pumpkins until they’re smushed into smaller pieces for composting, which is a better option than sending them to the landfill, the preserve said in a release.

A session will also be held at the preserve's Plum Creek Nature Center in Crete Township.

Heather Van Zyl, facility supervisor at Plum Creek, said people will have many options for destroying their pumpkins during the events.

“At Plum Creek, participants can start breaking down their whole pumpkins by rolling them down the big hill aiming for the target,” she said. “Or they can be thrown off Squirrel’s Treehouse.”
Once the process begins, the chunks can be gathered for further destruction at smash stations.
“Smash and bash them down to pulp with all kinds of different tools,” Van Zyl said in a release. “Look for a special squish zone for our youngest participants.”

Both locations will feature vendors, refreshments and activities. Hidden Oaks will host The Conservation Foundation, Tapville mobile beer truck, Pete the Beekeeper with honey for sale, hot beverages, hot dogs, s’mores, and pumpkin-themed games and activities.

The activities will be fun but also important because composting keeps waste out of landfills, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and creates natural fertilizer for soil, according to the preserve.

“Keeping pumpkins out of the landfill is the number one goal of Pumpkin Smash,” said Brittany Schaller, interpretive naturalist at Hidden Oaks. “Since hundreds of millions of Americans purchase pumpkins during the autumn season and a whopping 80 percent of these pumpkins end up in our already overflowing landfills, this is a cause for concern.”

Pumpkins collected at Hidden Oaks will be composted at The Conservation Foundation’s McDonald Farm in Naperville.

For those who don’t have compost capabilities at home, Pumpkin Smash provides the perfect solution, Schaller said.

"People can walk away knowing they did the responsible thing with their pumpkins.”

Schaller said she hopes Pumpkin Smash plants a seed in those who participate.

“Pumpkin Smash can be the gateway to composting,” she said. “If our neighbors are being thoughtful about their pumpkins, maybe they will begin to give a second thought to the many other compostables they may be disposing of in their day-to-day lives.”

Pumpkin Smash is a regional event spearheaded by DuPage County-based SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education) to promote composting and the wise use of resources.