Reduce, Reuse, Recycle for Madre Tierra

About this Event

Learn more about how to take care of your little part of the planet, clean up your neighborhood, plant some flowers, and make a picnic snack with your friends!

What does it mean to be green?

Reduce and reuse before you recycle!

In partnership with the sustainability division of Public Works, the Northeast Branch Library is hosting a neighborhood clean-up and eco-education day, replete with an up-cycled planter project, story time, and a picnic! Join us on May 10^th, Dia de los Madres, to learn how we can take care of mother earth by caring for our neighborhood.

The Northeast Branch Library recently adopted the 1300 block of N 11^th Street. Our clean-up will include proper gear to ensure safety provided by the City of Reading Public Works department who will also pick up what we collect. Education about what can be recycled, how important keeping our streets clean and what happens to water in the storm sewers, and how we call all make a difference will be provided by educators from Public Works.

All ages can participate in discussion of reducing our consumption and help generate a list of alternatives to single use products. A limited number of these replacement items will be giveaways at the event.

An art project that reuses discarded materials will allow children of all ages to create and decorate planters, birdhouses, and rain chains.They will have the opportunity to do some seed and seedling planting for the library and to take home. Edible and Native/pollinator plants will be used.Following the arts and crafts will be a story-time led by our Youth Service Coordinator. They will also lead our Food For Thought program, which is a hands-on children’s cooking program. The dish featured will include some of the plants already growing in our hydroponic grow tower inside the library and some of the items that will be growing in the planters. They will make picnic food and families can work together and snack together. All of the programing during this event will take place outside weather permitting and under tents if necessary. The library will continue to serve those not participating in the event inside its doors.

The event will be bilingual and open to everyone with no cost or registration.