Smash and bash your Halloween jack-o'-lanterns at Pumpkin Smash events

Looking to have just one more bit of fun with your jack-o'-lanterns and gourds after putting Halloween in the rear-view mirror? Join us for a smashing good time at our Pumpkin Smash events.

The Forest Preserve District will host two Pumpkin Smash events this year. At Hidden Oaks Nature Center, people can obliterate their pumpkins from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7. The following week, Plum Creek Nature Center will host Pumpkin Smash festivities from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14. No registration is required for either drop-in program. Both nature centers will have multiple destruction stations available so kids and adults alike can choose how to pummel and pulverize their pumpkins. 

The goal of Pumpkin Smash is to compost the gourds so they don't wind up in landfills, said Brittany Schaller, an interpretive naturalist at Hidden Oaks. When pumpkins and other fruits and vegetables end up in the landfill, they release methane — a harmful greenhouse gas — as they decompose. Composting them gives them a secondary purpose without the harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

"When we put organic matter into our landfills, we are literally throwing away valuable nutrients and resources," Schaller said. "But when we compost those items, these nutrients, vitamins and minerals they contain turn into dirt, creating healthy, nutrient-rich fertilizer."

Pumpkin Smash serves as a good introduction to composting for those who may be unfamiliar with the process or how it benefits the environment, said Aloha Rasmussen, an interpretive naturalist at Plum Creek Nature Center.

"It gives visitors an opportunity to see composting in action and learn more ways that they may be able to divert other organic materials like food scraps from landfills," she said. 

Gourds of all colors, shapes and sizes, both carved and uncarved, can be part of the fun at Pumpkin Smash, but lights, candles, stickers, plastic pieces and other embellishments must be removed. Painted pumpkins also cannot be part of the smashing fun, although at Hidden Oaks painted pumpkins can be set aside for an alternate means of composting.

Pumpkin Smash at Hidden Oaks 

At Hidden Oaks, smashing options will include launching pumpkins off a balcony to the ground below and beating them to bits with a baseball bat. Kiddie pools will be available for people to break down their pumpkins even more after the initial smash.

Bashing jack-o'-lanterns to bits is just the start of the fun at Hidden Oaks. Visitors can also enjoy pumpkin-themed games, activities and a scavenger hunt, plus roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores. Educational tables will be set up for people to learn more about composting, zero-waste living, beekeeping and more. A food truck and beer truck will be on site as well. Visitors are encouraged to explore the nature center's interactive exhibits, visit with the animal ambassadors and hit the trail for a fall hike. 

All the collected pumpkin bits and pieces will be transported to the Conservation Foundation's McDonald Farm for composting in their organic farm fields. 

Pumpkin Smash at Plum Creek

Multiple stations will be set up around Plum Creek Nature Center so people can choose how to pulverize their pumpkins. Among the options are whacking the pumpkins with mallets and bats, launching them down the big hill and dropping them from Squirrel's Treehouse onto the ground below, which is Rasmussen's favorite. Young children can get their hands dirty squishing up pumpkin bits with different toys, and there will be a catapult for launching mini pumpkins.

Once pumpkins have been bashed to bits, visitors can roast hot dogs and s'mores and have their faces painted. An environmental educator from Will County Green will be on hand with a make-and-take mini compost activity, and The Bean Wagon coffee truck will be on site. Visitors can also spend time inside the nature center checking out seasonal exhibits or they can set out on the trails for autumn exploration.

The pumpkins collected at Plum Creek will be composted in the nature center's three-bin composter so they can break down naturally into nutrient-rich soil. Visitors can visit the Compost Trail outside the nature center to learn more about the process, Rasmussen said. 

Post-Thanksgiving drop-off option

For the first time this year, Hidden Oaks will also host a Compostin' Pumpkin Drop Off from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28. The drop-off event won't include the option to obliterate the pumpkins, but Schaller hopes it will keep even more pumpkins from winding up in landfills. 

The pumpkins dropped off Nov. 28 will stay at Hidden Oaks to be composted in a new compost station designed and built by local Eagle Scout Wyatt Cann. 

"Many people enjoy keeping their pumpkins up for the entire fall season, so giving the option for visitors to bring their pumpkins to compost here at Hidden Oaks Nature Center after Thanksgiving will help keep these pumpkins out of the landfills," she said.  

Regional composting effort

The Forest Preserve's Pumpkin Smash and pumpkin composting collection events are part of a regional effort to keep pumpkins out of landfills that is coordinated by SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education). SCARCE is a DuPage County-based initiative that aims to promote composting and wise use of resources.  

Last year, there were more than 125 Pumpkin Smash events, resulting in more than 400,000 pounds of pumpkins being composted rather than sent to landfills. Since SCARCE began the initiative in 2014, more than 3.2 million pounds of pumpkins have been composted.

Keeping all those pumpkins from landfills is a boon to the environment.

"Pumpkins are about 90% water, making them heavy to transport and taking up a lot of landfill space," Rasmussen said. "The excess water can even create toxic runoff that damages water supplies and ecosystems."

Don't dump your pumpkins in the preserves

The Pumpkin Smash events don't just keep fall gourds from languishing in a landfill. They also help raise awareness that it is illegal to dump pumpkins in the Will County forest preserves. People often think it's OK to leave pumpkins in the preserves because it will help wildlife, but this can actually have the opposite effect, Schaller said.

"When humans put edible items in nature, it encourages animals to come together in one spot," she said. "This changes wild animals' day-to-day behavior. Congregating animals can even spread diseases to one another."

The seeds of pumpkins dumped in the preserves can also have negative consequences on the habitat. Those seeds can sprout in the spring, growing quickly and smothering the native plants that wildlife depend on.

"Even just one pumpkin seed can grow 10 feet to 40 feet of vines and five to 12 pumpkins," Schaller said.