Climate Preparedness Week
CREW (Communities Responding to Extreme Weather) dedicates the week of September 24 to 30 each year as Climate Preparedness Week. The week raises awareness, provides information, and educates communities about the effects of climate change. The Massachusetts Library System and Blue Marble Librarians have been partnering with CREW to expand this effort across Massachusetts. Participation in Climate Preparedness Week has grown from a local Boston event into a National one in just a few years.
The Concord Free Public Library began participating in Climate Preparedness Week in 2019. The Sustainability Department partnered with the Library for 2019 and 2020. In 2019, we displayed books and information, had a bee hotel story and craft, a solar car activity, and a film screening of Paris to Pittsburg. In 2020, people wrote what they loved and did not want to lose to climate change on ribbons for the outdoor Climate Ribbon Project. We also held several virtual events, including children’s storytimes, a Climate Reality and How to Talk to Your Kids About It presentation, and a film screening of Call of the Forest.
2021 was Concord’s third year participating in Climate Preparedness Week, and our initial partnership with Concord’s Sustainability Department has expanded. This year, our partners included the Municipal Lighting Plant, Department of Public Works, the Natural Resources Division, the Land Conservation Trust, Codman Community Farms, and the Nature Connection. More partners led to more programs and increased library staff and community involvement!
The events for Climate Preparedness Week 2021 included:
- Outdoor Climate Ribbon Project
- Online Climate Preparedness Week drawing contest
- Seed Saving Workshop with Jess Myles of Codman Community Farms
- Massachusetts Library System and CREW’s virtual keynote lecture featuring NYT bestselling author David Pogue of How to Prepare for Climate Change
- Outdoor Storytimes at the Main and Fowler branch focusing on climate and weather
- Lawns Be Gone! Welcome Native Plantings Into Your Landscape with the Natural Resources Division, the Land Conservation Trust, and the Friends of the Concord Library
- Climate-Friendly Whole-House Heating and Cooling with Heat Pumps with the Concord Municipal Lighting Plant
- The Nature Connection live animal event where children explore the theme of climate change
- Stormwater Management with the Concord Public Works Department
- Going Green in Your Backyard wildlife program, sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Library
- Create a Bug Out Bag to be prepared for extreme, sponsored by the Friends of the Concord Library
- Climate-Friendly Plug-In Electric Cars with the Concord Municipal Light Plant
- Book Discussion of David Pogue’s How to Prepare for Climate Change
The significant expansion of programs and partners, despite the challenges presented by COVID-19, demonstrates resilience, flexibility, and broad support for addressing the impact of climate change, and the general Climate Preparedness Week experience mirrors this expansion.
Concords Free Public Sustainable Library
Want to make everyday a day for sustainability? The library provides a sustainable way to read books; instead of buying new paper books you can borrow them or read e-books through one of the connected apps. The library also has an extensive collection of Digital Media like DVD’s and a collection of non-traditional library items called the Library of Things which is great for trying something new. Want to try something a little bit different? Concord’s Free Public Library also provides a Seed Lending Library which provides open pollinated vegetable and ornamental seeds and education about saving seeds and organic gardening. Our goal with this service is to collect and share bio-diverse, locally-adapted plant seeds, cultivated by and for area residents.
I invite community members to suggest, participate, and partner in future sustainability events. The Town’s Climate Action and Resilience Plan and the Library’s Sustainability Plan present many opportunities for engagement! We hope you join us for next year’s Climate Preparedness Week and continue to take sustainable action in your everyday life.