I have had some success reaching out to our local recycling plant OCRRA in Syracuse, NY and having them do programs for kids at the library. We've also been able to have some field trips organized to their composting location. Other orgs that I've reached out to successfully include our County's unique Save-the-Rain program, to have educators come and do trainings and programs on watershed function, and raise awareness about pollution in the infamous Onondaga Lake, a superfund site due to years of industrial effluents from the Solvay process being dumped in it. We've also done something similar with the Onondaga Lake Conservation Corps (funded by Honeywell Corporation since they now own the land and are responsible for its restoration), including educational field trips for K-3 and families.
These are partnerships that I unilaterally created, and I was able to because as an Environmental Studies major as well as having been an environmental professional in my pre-library career. Therefore, I have a lot of local contacts in the biz, and some of them are my friends who help me out from time to time. However, by and large most organizations try to do some outreach and they love doing so at the library. All you have to do is ask them, and they will usually do it for free if they have a strong outreach mission, or for a small honorarium.
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Saptarshi Lahiri
Librarian 1
Syracuse University SLIS
He/Him/His
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Original Message:
Sent: Jun 14, 2023 02:45 PM
From: Lauren Bissonette
Subject: June Monthly Sustainability Discussion Thread
Hi all!
We're back with another monthly discussion of questions and topics related to sustainability in your library, brought to you by the Publicity and Outreach Committee.
Our discussion topic for this month is:
Does your library work with any community groups committed to sustainability? I.e. local recycling programs, library-garden collaborations, student activist groups, etc. If so, how did those collaborations begin? What lessons, successes, and challenges could you share?
Comment below to let us know! Do you have a sustainability topic you would like to ask members? Email them to the Publicity and Outreach Committee chair, Lauren Bissonette (lauren.bissonette@foresthistory.org).
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Lauren Bissonette
Librarian
Forest History Society
She/they
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