Nature at Denmark

Submitted by Callan Berry

And I don’t just mean the Bioswale :)

We love a good theme here at Denmark, and while Summer and our art-and-color theme may have come to a close, we wanted to keep this party going! As temperatures (hopefully) get a little more manageable the Info Staff team will be embracing and promoting nature through multiple measures happening in and out of the branch.

Master Naturalist Programs

Starting inside, our partnership with the UGA Extension Georgia Master Naturalists is expanding with over half a dozen programs from August 6 all the way to October 9. Do you have a patron interested in bringing nature home? These programs are for them! The themes range from composting and erosion control, to encouraging biodiversity, and promoting pollinators.

This partnership is already underway! How To Manage Water Quality took place on August 6.

Story Stroll

At Denmark the YS and IS staff trade off on Story Stroll duties. Since YS had color and art themed books in place for the summer stroll, this means IS is back on the docket. The whole team had a hand in bringing together our informative outside journey, where patrons can learn about local flora and fauna from friend—such as local pollinators and edible mushrooms, to foe—like invasive species and poisonous plants. Patrons can take a stroll and if the frogs aren’t actually peeping, they can scan a QR code to hear some of our favorite local amphibian friends' specific sounds

A stop on our Story Stroll.

Seed Packets

Our Spice packets have been a huge hit at Denmark. Patrons love something to take home! We are keeping in the same spirit with Garden Starter Packs, which contain a few different packs of seeds and cycle every two weeks just like the spice packs. The first Starter Pack, which patrons can pick up right now, is the Vegetable Pack containing beet, carrot, bunching onion, and cauliflower seeds. After that will be the Flowers Pack, then the Greens Pack, and finally the Herbs Pack. All these kits come with information about the seeds inside, recommended reads from our collection, and some gardening tips brought to us through UGA Extension articles.

Pollinator Party

Now, all this is coming together in part because of the Great Pollinator Census, which patrons will be encouraged to participate in. Before they get to work counting their pollinators, they can learn all about them with our weekly Pollinator Profiles engagement display and Pollinator Investigation scavenger hunt throughout the branch. The scavenger hunt contains fun and informative rhyming riddles to give the patrons hints about what pollinator they're looking for and where in the branch it may be hiding…and the engagement display will supply statistics on what type of flower each pollinator may be attracted to, and contain some fun facts that may even spread some love to often neglected or disliked pollinators. (Did you know that we have flies to thank for chocolate? You’ll have to stop by Denmark to learn more!)

One missing pollinator in our Pollinator Investigation Scavenger Hunt.

And because our Youth Staff team keeps as busy as a bee even after hefty SRF responsibilities, they will be joining in on the theme as well! We loved seeing families get involved together with our Stick Together displays, so alongside the Pollinator Profiles in the Intergenerational Area we are introducing our Denmark Plays Together engagement activity. We are starting it off with the Spelling Bee Edition—how many words can you make out of the letters in “ENVIRONMENT”...

 

 

Engagement is already underway in our Intergenerational Area.

The youth areas of Denmark will have their own scavenger hunt, too. Our crayon friends kept our little patrons extra entertained with their new hiding spots all summer, and Denny would surely be stricken without his steady flow of mail! While the Info Staff scavenger hunt may certainly be suitable for families to work on together, this Youth version offers a quick and easy adventure through the Children's side of the library.