As the new librarian for the Wallingford Library, I’ve been talking with folks and trying to get a sense of what sort of programming would work with our small library and amazing neighborhood. I decided to develop a series of educational programs that go outside the library, lead by people from the community, showcasing both local resources and library materials. Little did I realize that I was reinventing the wheel! I recently learned that Wallingford Walks previously was born as the brainchild of Mike Ruby, who has generously shared his archive of information with the library.
Our first walk of the new era will be very low key. Coming up on April 28th, the Woodland Park Zoo will be sending a representative to talk about the City Nature Challenge 2018.
For one weekend, April 27-30, amateur naturalists are encouraged to spot, photograph, and identify as much urban wildlife as they can using the iNaturalist app to photograph local plants and animals. After the Zoo teaches everyone how to use the app and what to look for, we will venture out on a mini-safari looking for birds, fungi, wild plants, and hopefully some non-domestic beasts. The Zoo has a pretty fierce competition going with Vancouver, B.C. this year, so they can use all the help they can get.
Looking at last year’s results, Wallingford spottings were pretty slim:
I’d like to challenge our neighbors to really knock it out of the park this year!
What is the coolest wildlife you’ve seen in Wallingford?
Your librarian,
Dawn
ps…The Woodland Park Zoo is the Library’s newest partner for our Museum Pass program!
This is good news. Thank you for this, and welcome to Wallingford.