Green Libraries Week in Suffolk

Suffolk Libraries will be taking part in Green Libraries Week this week to highlight the role libraries can play in celebrating green spaces and tackling climate change.

Green Libraries Week takes place from 7-13 October and focuses on climate change and sustainability with a series of events across the country.

The very nature of the library service involves ‘recycling’ books and other items which are borrowed many times over but as a local charity with 45 branches at the heart of many communities, Suffolk Libraries recognises it has an important role in promoting sustainability and an appreciation of the wonderful Suffolk countryside.

Suffolk Libraries will be celebrating how it has been improving its own environmental impact in recent years. Several libraries are supporting wildlife and biodiversity by investing in their garden spaces including the transformed outdoor space at Stowmarket Library and the new dementia friendly sensory garden at Thurston Library.

There is also an insect highway at Bury St Edmunds Library and this year swifts have nested and raised chicks for the first time in special boxes set up at Felixstowe Library.

Suffolk Libraries has an environmental pledge which sets out how the organisation is trying to make its work more sustainable. This includes new biodegradable library cards, introduced in 2022 which are made from sustainable materials and not plastic.

This year for Green Libraries week Suffolk Libraries is highlighting events which have been planned as part of its recently launched ‘Wild Reads’ programme.

First launched in 2020, Wild Reads is run in partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and celebrates the connection between the natural world and the written word. It features a variety of creative writing and arts workshops, which explore and celebrate the environment and what we can do to protect natural habitats around Suffolk. This year, there is also a new ‘Go Wild’ children’s programme to encourage little eco warriors and young nature enthusiasts to explore nature in their local area throughout autumn with activities and recommended books with environmental themes.

The Wild Reads and Go Wild programmes will feature almost 100 nature-themed events taking place across our libraries and outdoor spaces around the county in the coming weeks.

The full list of Wild Reads events hosted by Suffolk Libraries is available on the Suffolk Libraries website

Events with Martin Scaiff

Martin Scaiff is Suffolk Libraries’ Environmentalist in Residence. He joined in April where he began a six-month walking journey, connecting all 45 of Suffolk’s libraries and collecting sound recordings along the way. He will be leading several events next week including a sunset listening walk from Glemsford Library on 9 October at 5.30pm, giving a talk about his work on 11 October at 6.30pm following a listening walk round Ipswich at 4pm. During Martin’s walks, participants are encouraged to walk silently, paying close attention to the sounds around them. There is also a chance to experience sounds above and below the limit of human hearing. Martin will also be hosting a nature silent disco at Mildenhall Library on 16 October.

(Martin Scaiff during one of his soundwalks)