We have a beautiful park on library property.  The local Rotary club planted and maintains the garden.  We cut the grass and pay for the water that goes through our sprinkling system.  The city empties the trash receptacles and and installed and maintains the lights.  Rotary pays about $4,500 a year to keep the garden weeded.  They sell brick pavers to cover that cost. http://www.rochesterrotaryclub.org/Stories/rotary-gateway-park

Our library has another beautiful garden in our "backyard".  We paid for the garden when we opened the library and have five volunteer gardeners that maintain it.  Their fearless leader is a master gardener.



Christine Lind Hage
Director, Rochester Hills Public Library
Division Councilor, United for Libraries
500 Olde Towne Road
Rochester, MI 48307-2043
248/650-7122

Raising a reader is: Talking * Singing * Reading * Writing * Playing


On Thu, Mar 9, 2017 at 12:57 PM, Ryan Eby <ebyr@aadl.org> wrote:
Don't have one so take with a grain of salt, but some of the ones I've visited / seen:

- See if there is a master gardener group in the area. They might be willing to put in some display / learning plots or take care of things like the butterfly garden.

- If it is right by the library you might look at lending out yard games, maybe even on the hourly basis so you have a good chance of parts not going missing. Things like bocce, kubb, lawn bowling, etc. Our giant jenga (can't be named that) has been really popular and if you know a carpenter you could build yourself: http://www.aadl.org/catalog/record/1493380

- If you have a larger park then you might look at getting a grant for a small pavilion on one end for performances or outside story times. You can also hang a sheet and do movie nights. Think I've seen one place that rented to local music artists as a venue to help pay for upkeep but you'd have to decide if that fits.

Ryan Eby
Ann Arbor District Library

On Thu, Mar 9, 2017, at 12:27 PM, Sharon Crotser-Toy wrote:
Greetings, everyone, and happy Thursday!

Our library owns a small park which we are in the process of developing, sprucing up and "beautifying". This area will eventually be planted to attract butterflies as one of its intended functions. We are seeking a grant to complete the last phase of the project, which has prompted me to do a bit more research.

My questions are: If your library either owns or has access to a park, how do you utilize it? What benefits do you find are derived from it?

Thanks so much for your time! You can reply directly.

-Sharon

--
Sharon Crotser-Toy
Director
Watervliet District Library
333 N. Main Street
Watervliet, MI 49098

Connects People, Inspires Ideas, Transforms Lives
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