This fall, the Massachusetts Library System (MLS) is hosting four MLS Member Webinars! MLS member library staff will share their knowledge and expertise about their selected topics for their fellow library colleagues.
This season, we’re spotlighting the presenters by sharing how their backgrounds connect to their chosen topics.
In today’s blog, learn more about starting a library pollinator garden from Dorrie Karlin and Laura Mills of the Fowler Branch of the Concord Free Public Library!
Be sure to also register for their webinar: Starting a Library Pollinator Garden: Plants, Programming, and Partnerships
What is your name and position, the name of your library, and the community/communities your library serve(s)?
Dorrie Karlin and Laura Mills: Our names are Dorrie Karlin (head of branch services) and Laura Mills (staff librarian), and we work at the Fowler Branch of the Concord Free Public Library.
What is your webinar about?
Karlin and Mills: Our webinar is about our experience with library pollinator gardens and all the ways they have allowed us to connect with our community. Since starting in 2022, we’ve learned so much about native plants, at-risk bees, and pollinator pathways.
Through our gardens and related programming, we have forged partnerships with everyone from local businesses to town committees and departments to environmental groups. Our gardens have been such a source of joy — we think every library should have one!
What is your background to pollinator gardens? Why are you passionate about them?
Karlin and Mills: We have developed our background as we go! We have now started two pollinator gardens at Fowler, helped run winter seed sows for the past four years as well as other related programming, and connected with many others doing this work. In “The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year,” Margaret Renkl writes, “I can’t change Americans’ love affair with poison, and I can’t solve the problems of climate change, but I can plant a garden.” It’s such a hands-on way to do something positive to support biodiversity.
Why did you decide to host an MLS Member Webinar?
Karlin and Mills: We truly believe every library, no matter its size or location, could do some version of a pollinator garden, and we’d love to inspire others to get started. We also have learned so much from other MLS member webinars that we would like to add to this valuable resource.
Do you have any advice to other library workers who may be interested in learning more about pollinator gardens? Do you recommend any resources for further learning?
Karlin and Mills: Seek out a native plant garden in your community for ideas. Find people or organizations who are already doing the work. Start small. You will learn as you go. Mistakes are part of the process.
We have collected resources that can help you get started.
Native Plant Trust’s Gardening for Pollinators Manual (2023) is a good introduction, even if you don’t follow it exactly. We also recommend Homegrown National Park, Grow Native, and the Massachusetts Pollinator Network.
