We know that libraries have gardens – and they are so great! Heck, we even recorded a podcast episode about Library Gardens!
Check out this article about some other great library gardens:
THINKING OUTSIDE OF THE STACKS: The Growth of Nature Smart Libraries
by Noah Lenstra
“It has become increasingly common to see public librarians discuss different strategies they use to get their communities active and engaged in nature. At the June 2019 Next Library Conference taking place in Aarhus, Denmark, Heli Roisko, the Chief Librarian of Helsinki City Library in Finland, led a session on “Summer Garden: from parking plot to an oasis of citizens.” Meanwhile, closer to home, the 2019 meeting of the Ohio Library Council included a session called “Let’s Go Outside: Partnering with Local Parks, Community Gardens and More!” The 2019 joint meeting of the Maryland and Delaware Library Associations offered a session called “working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to develop collections of fishing gear that can be checked out from the library to enjoy outdoors,”and a 2019 meeting of North Carolina librarians included a session on librarians teaming up with the North Carolina Arboretum’s “ecoEXPLORE initiative, and how it is being used to support lifelong learning outside everywhere from Madison County Public Libraries – Library Journal’s 2018 Best Small Library in America — to the Greensboro Public Library.”
Meanwhile, American Libraries, the official publication of the American Library Association, has in the past two years twice prominently featured librarians fostering engagement in nature: “Out of the Branches, into the Woods” focused on teaming up with state parks to circulate nature backpacks and park passes and “Walking History” focused on librarians leading walks on local history and ecology.
The Children & Nature Network has even created a model for transforming libraries into Nature-Smart Libraries. Nature-Smart Libraries maximize local resources and partnerships and respond to community needs to connect children with nature through educational programs, access to parks and creation of natural spaces. Libraries are nearby, free and accessible to all children. Through the Cities Connecting Children to Nature initiative (CCCN), Nature-Smart Libraries are becoming part of larger city-wide plans to provide equitable access to nature for all children. St. Paul, MN and San Francisco, CA are two examples. Houston and San Antonio, TX recently launched their own Nature-Smart Library strategies. These cities represent a broader national effort to maximize local libraries as daily connectors to the natural world. Learn more about how and why cities are using Nature-Smart Libraries to connect children to nature in CCCN’s Municipal Action Guide.
Since the fall of 2016, I have been researching this trend and have found that public librarians often want to do whatever they can to get kids, families, and individuals of all ages into nature. In the spring of 2017, a self-selecting sample of 1,157 public libraries from the United States and Canada completed an online survey I created that focused on physical activity promotion through public libraries. I asked respondents if they had ever done programs focused on gardening or StoryWalks. I also asked if those programs took place inside the library or outdoors. An indoor program may feature someone talking about gardening while an outdoor program focuses on actually engaging people in gardening. In total, 303 libraries said they had offered outdoor StoryWalk programs (Map 1), 246 (Map 2) said they had offered outdoor gardening programs, and 90 (Map 3) said they had offered both outdoor gardening and outdoor StoryWalk programs.”
Check out the rest of this article here!