Awesome Earth Day Programs for Teens @ Your Library!

Earth Day is coming up next Tuesday, and your young adult librarians have planned some great workshops at RPL branches!  Activities include moss painting and recyclable crafts - come out and help turn RPL green (literally...we are going to paint walls with moss).

1.  Moss Painting!

Moss is pretty cool.  It is one of the oldest types of living organisms and can freeze or dry out for long periods of time before being brought back to life with water, sunlight and cool temperatures.  In a recent New York Times article on moss gardening, it was reported that British scientists recently resuscitated a moss that had been frozen in Arctic ice for 1,500 years!

Moss painting, or moss graffiti, is an increasingly popular way to decorate walls.  It is non-toxic, as opposed to chemical-laden paints, and with regular maintenance can grow into a durable outdoor artwork.  Artist Anna Garforth has popularized moss painting by growing moss art in the form of eye-catching patterns and phrases.

http://www.annagarforth.co.uk/work/kingscrosspicnic.html

To make moss paintings, you need:

moss

water

sugar

buttermilk or yogurt

blender

container

paintbrush

pattern/stencil

We are so excited to give this a try!  Call your local branch to find out when this program is taking place nearest you.

2.  Recyclable Craft: Soda Bottle Planters! @ Main

At 3 pm on April 22nd @ Main we will do moss painting AND make planters out of old soda bottles.  Soda bottles are a great and cheap way to grow plants indoors or out.  

Bring soda bottles, 1 or 2 liter size, to cut and decorate.  We will have some on hand as well if you can't get your hands on one.  You'll get to learn how to pot a plant, and bring one home!

See you this week @ the participating branches! Check your local branch for Earth Day details.

And if you're curious about reading more about the environment, plants, or gardening, check out some of these titles from your library:

The Vegetable Gardener's Container Bible: How to grow a bounty of food in tubs, pots, and other containers, by Edward C. Clarke, call number: 635 S646

A great resource for anyone interested in gardening in small spaces.  Container gardening is a good way for beginners to learn about gardening!

Counting by 7s, by Holly Goldberg Sloan, Call no: YA Fiction Sloan

Counting by 7s tells the story of Willow Chance, a brilliant but quirky twelve year old girl fascinated by nature and diagnosing illnesses, whose life is changed forever after a tragic accident.


Seedfolks, by Paul Fleischman, call number: YA Fiction/Juvenile Fiction Fleisch

Seedfolks is a series of vignettes told from the point of view of neighbors in an apartment building, who all become involved one way or another in a small garden started in the empty lot next door.


47 Things You Can Do for the Environment, by Lexi Petronis, call number: 363.7 P497

Sometimes translating your passion for environmentalism into action is hard.  Where do you start?  Here's a book with 47 things you can start doing today to decrease your impact on our environment, like not drinking bottled water, or buying vintage clothes (which sounds like a pretty cool way to be an environmentalist).

Ask a librarian for more recommendations!  Happy Earth Day everyone!