The Community-Led Learning Team is planning several spring events led by volunteers, including a program on growing dahlias on May 3 and on the impact of floods on the San Lorenzo River on May 31. Felton Library Friends and Boulder Creek Friends will join the Scotts Valley Friends meeting on April 12 to discuss possibilities for collaboration. See notes from the March FLF meeting here.
Library News
Living Alongside Pumas. Saturday April 8, 10–11 a.m. in the Teen Room. The Bay Area Puma Project presents this program on the pumas in our mountains.
April is National Library Month, and includes National Library Workers Day on April 25th. Let our wonderful Felton staff know that you appreciate them!
All library branches will be closed Thursday, April 27 for a staff inservice day.
Poetry Workshop for Teens. Saturday, April 15, 2–4 p.m. Advisory Council for Teens. April is National Poetry Month.
The FEMA Disaster Resource Center is going to be back at the Felton Library Community Room from April to May 5 (depending on demand) to assist storm survivors. The center will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. There are closures on Easter Sunday April 9 and Wednesday April 19. For more information, visit the Disaster Recovery Resources page for storm events.
Author Talk
For Fork’s Sake: A Quick Guide to Healing Yourself and the Planet Through a Plant-Based Diet. Wednesday, April 19, 5–6 p.m.
In celebration of Earth Day, this talk will cover environment and food choices, actionable steps to take, and why the book was written. Author Rachel Brown has been an adjunct professor in nutrition and wellness, a certified yoga and Pilates instructor, and a licensed massage practitioner. Sponsored by FLF. Learn more here.
Community-Led Learning
Sumi-e Painting. Wednesday, April 19, 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. This class will explore the revered art of Asian Ink Painting, inspired by “The four Honorable Gentlemen” (also known as the four season plants): Bamboo/Summer; Chrysanthemum/Autumn; Plum Blossom/Winter; Orchid/Spring. We will be using a quality bamboo brush and ink to paint on paper place mats. Materials are provided and no previous experience is necessary. The second class is scheduled for Wednesday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m. Participants are encouraged to register for both classes; however, each class will introduce and complete paintings. Register here.
Tour of the San Lorenzo Valley Water District’s Kirby Water Treatment Plant. Wednesday, April 26, 10:30–noon. Learn how your water is treated before it arrives at your home. Participants will also learn more about the San Lorenzo Valley watershed as a whole. The group will meet on the patio of the Felton Library before walking together to the plant. Registration is required here.
(above left) Many thanks to volunteer Renee Shepherd for her talk and demonstration on seed starting in March.
(above right) Derek R. Whaley, author of Santa Cruz Trains: Railroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains, presented “Off Track in Scotts Valley: Exploring the Curious Absence of Railroads in Scotts Valley” in March, a well-received program sponsored by the SLV Museum, SCPL, and FLF.
If you missed seeing The CZU Fire In Their Own Words—Fighting Fires, Losing Homes, and Rebuilding Community by Peter Gelblum last fall (left), it can now be seen here.
History Display in the Community Room
The history of Welch’s Big Trees, now the Redwood Loop Trail at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, is displayed in images on the walls of the Community Room for you to enjoy. On loan from the SLV Museum, each image has a QR code that will enable you to learn more about the image and the story it tells.
Volunteer Spotlight
Lisa Robinson is the Local History Coordinator on the Community-Led Learning Team. She says, "So much unusual history has happened locally; the Community-Led Learning program allows not just the stories to be told, but, with the recollections of others, expanded and enriched."
As president of the board for the San Lorenzo Valley Historical Society, which owns and operates the San Lorenzo Valley Museum, she has guided its mission for over 15 years. As a volunteer, she wears many hats including managing the collections and overseeing the curation of exhibitions, bringing together knowledge and skills from a wealth of disciplines learned over the course of a varied career. She has authored two books and published over one hundred articles on San Lorenzo Valley History. Lisa and her family have lived in Boulder Creek since 1990.
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers with service animals are sought for Tales to Tails at the Felton Branch. Tales to Tails is a literacy program designed to help children improve their reading skills and self-confidence by providing them the opportunity to read to certified therapy animals. Interested? Contact Barbara Doss, Furry Friends Pet Therapy: bdoss44@aol.com and specify the Felton Library. More information here.
The next Discovery Park garden work party is Saturday, May 6, 9 a.m.–11 a.m. Help keep the park thriving this spring!
Discovery Park News
Thanks to a team of 10 students from Earth Stewards Project who removed invasive weeds from the park on March 23! This project for alternative high school students focuses on practicing stewardship and cultivates interest in green careers. Museum Education Coordinator Chris Soriano, a Felton resident, also serves as the Environmental Sciences Coordinator on the Community-Led Learning team.
The long, wet winter has been both a boon and a curse for plants in the Discovery Park—too much water for some plants but producing abundant growth in others. The Elderberry (Sambucus mexicana Calflora) and Toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia Calflora) shrubs have grown leaps and bounds, putting out healthy new growth and doing more to cover the fence line between the park and the water district land. The larger they grow, the more they will support healthy pollinator populations and birds. Other plants that were planted last fall were discouraged by the heavy rains and have disappeared. Putting on a spring show now are the wild currants, including Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum Calflora), Fuschia Flowered Gooseberry (Ribes speciosum Calflora), and White Flowering Currant (Ribes indecorum). If you look on the street side of the library, you will also find some Island gooseberry plants, a rare species native to the Catalina Islands (Ribes viburnifolium Calflora).
Photographer Jim Bourne, a member of Friends of the Aptos Library, shot this photo of Patti Maxine and Alison Steele playing songs of the Depression era at the Our Community Reads event sponsored by FLF in February. The Friends of the Scotts Valley Library sponsored an exhibit of Jim’s photos recently. See Jim’s striking photos on his website.
