Library manager Cala Glatz said the milkweed on one end of the garden behind the Community Center contains monarch eggs. Library staff will be helping children to learn about the life stages of the monarch as it occurs.

“We want kids to see the whole cycle from egg to butterfly,” she said.

Glatz says she is hoping to have Rachael Tanner, who gave a talk on monarch butterflies at the Community Center, come in and talk to children about them. There will also be crafts for kids and some seeds for them to plant, she said.

The focus on the monarch eggs will be part of the library’s Earth Day Celebration and Plant Extravaganza on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Alexander Findley Library will hold its Earth Day Celebration and Plant Extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. “We love Earth Day around here. Every day should be Earth Day,” Library manager Cala Glatz said. Photos by David Prenatt

“I’m pretty excited,” Glatz said. “We love Earth Day around here. Every day should be Earth Day.”

The library will have vegetable and flower seeds available for people either to swap with their own seeds, or just to take, Glatz said.

“Hopefully, people will keep us in the loop of how the seeds are doing,” she said.

The library will also be giving away plant cuttings for people to take, as well as newspaper pots for sunflower seeds. As Glatz explained, sunflowers do not transplant well, so with a newspaper pot the whole pot can be planted without disturbing the plant. The sunflowers will be planted after the last frost in the “wild side” of garden beside the milkweed, she said.

Glatz said she is also hoping to launch a club for care of the library garden, which was reclaimed in 2022.

Alexander Findley Library will hold its Earth Day Celebration and Plant Extravaganza from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday. “We love Earth Day around here. Every day should be Earth Day,” Library manager Cala Glatz said. Photos by David Prenatt

“That’s when I got the idea for a garden club,” she said. “We will try to see who is interested.”

The garden was first created in 2003 by the Girl Scouts, under the leadership of Mary Cooper and Pam Watriss. However, lack of maintenance through the years, has allowed the garden to become overgrown and covered in weeds. Glatz said she had always wanted to revive it. With the help of Girl Scout Troop 20006, and volunteers including Glatz’s mother, the garden was completely renewed last year.

Glatz said she is working to get a sign for the library garden, which is designed to attract beneficial insects and butterflies. A butterfly bench was purchased so visitors can sit and enjoy the garden. The Girl Scouts are getting a plaque to the bench, which was donated in memory of Mary Cooper, who created the first garden.

Although the garden does not have an official name yet, it will be linked to its creator.

“It is in honor of Mary Cooper,” Glatz saidd. “It is both a memorial garden and a pollinator garden.”

According to her obituary, Cooper, who died in 2018, “was passionate about nature and was always ready to seize upon a teachable moment to share her enthusiasm and knowledge with Girl Scouts and others.”

Glatz said the library is strongly encouraging people to create their own gardens. A array of gardening books and anything Earth Day related will be on display at the library, Glatz said.

“This is for people who want to start their own garden, but don’t know where to begin,” she said. “You have to just dive in and just do it and find out what works best for you.”