In partnership with the Greene County Conservation Board, the Greene County Librarians Association (GCLA) is offering a new opportunity to get individuals outside to enjoy nature and our Greene County parks.
Each of the six libraries in Greene County have added two birding backpacks to check out to patrons, with 12 backpacks spread throughout the county. These backpacks include an adult bird identification book along with a youth-level birding book, and binoculars. “Exploring our parks is a wonderful individual, family, or group activity, and you can do it in any season and see different things,” said Tammy Ross, director of the Scranton public library.
Along with the birding backpacks, the Greene County libraries and Jacob Fernholz, Greene County naturalist, are planning a nature walk series. “We are working on three hikes throughout 2025 and a winter event about birding to encourage people to check out the backpacks and get to know our amazing Greene County parks. Be on the lookout for the dates of our nature walk series,” said Cara McCoy, GCLA president and director of the Rippey public library.
“The Greene County conservation bBoard is excited to collaborate with GCLA in providing new educational opportunities for youth in Greene County,” Fernholz said. “Through this partnership, GCLA has introduced birding backpacks, offering hands-on learning tools that encourage outdoor exploration and environmental education. We are proud to support GCLA’s ongoing efforts to develop diverse resources and programs that foster a deeper connection to nature and enhance the educational experiences of our local youth for years to come.”
Public libraries offer unique and interesting items to check out that may be considered uncommon or non-traditional. These collections are called a “Library of Things”. Greene County libraries are offering these backpacks as a way to provide items that are uncommon but still meet the educational and recreational needs of our patrons.
Learning happens in different ways. Learning can and does happen anywhere from the great outdoors to the library itself. “We’re big proponents of learning through play, particularly with younger children,” said Bailey Mount, youth services librarian of the Jefferson public library. “People have evolved past traditional book learning, and libraries are choosing to adapt and incorporate non-traditional learning as well.”The six libraries of Greene County often collaborate on programming using funds they receive from the Greene County board of supervisors. “Their funding is greatly appreciated and makes it possible to offer new services to the residents of Greene County through our libraries,” said Jane Millard, director of the Jefferson Public Library, adding “The new birding backpacks are an example of this collaboration and we hope everyone will enjoy using them to get a closer look at nature in our beautiful county parks.”
