The Fifth Annual Green Street Fair will return to the streets of Downtown Plymouth on May 4, 5 and 6, 2012. Founded to help educate people about the benefits of green, organic and eco-friendly products and services, the Green Street Fair promotes "global interest, personal well-being and offers insight to those interested in having a softer footprint on the planet." Admission is free.

Join us Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 2:00 to 3:00 PM as we explore the act of Going Green! We will have the chance to learn about the plants that are all around us and get to plant a flower of your very own to take home and nurture. This program is open to kids in grades Kindergarten through 3rd grade accompanied by a caregiver. See you there!  Registration will begin April 26, 9:00 AM. 

In celebration of Canton's Acts of Culture Week, we are pleased to present photographer Rick Lieder as he shares his beautiful book, Step Gently Out. Lieder worked with award-winning poet, Helen Frost to create an amazing 'picture' of what we can find in our own backyards if we just step gently and keep our eyes and minds wide open. You will be stunned by what you see on Tuesday, May 1st at 7:00 PM. Everyone is welcome.

The Organization for Bat Conservation visited the library on Earth Day to kick-off our Earth Week celebrations. Mr. Chad presented their Animal Adaptations program and brought over a number of furry and feathered friends. Check out our slideshow.

The theme for Earth Day 2012 is Mobilize the Earth. Try some of the following titles from the Library's collection to help you get started!

Attracting birds, butterflies and other backyard wildlife by David Mizejewski

Backyard wildlife: how to attract bees, butterflies, insects, birds, frogs and animals into your garden by Christine and Michael Lavelle

Bats by M. Brock Fenton

We can all observe Earth Day this year by educating ourselves about the challenges that face our environment and what we can do about it. Try some of the titles suggested below to get started:

The age of stupid [videodisc] — Pete Postlethwaite stars as an archivist living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, who spends his days looking at old footage from the years leading up to 2015 - when a cataclysmic climate change took place.

This program has been canceled.

Be the envy of your neighborhood. Have a beautiful lawn and be friendly to our precious earth at the same time. Mary Vangieson of the Wayne County Department of Public Services shares the need-to-know information on Composting and Healthy Lawns and gardens. Join us on Tuesday, April 24 at 7:00 PM as we continue our celebration of Earth Week.

Are you trying to be a little healthier with your eating habits? Are you trying to save the creatures that share our world with us? Well, The Fat Chef in the Little Coat has suggestions for eating delicious, healthy food at least once a week or more. He shares his recipes for vegetarian dishes we can all love in Vegetarian Eating for Everyone. Join us as we continue our Earth Week celebrations on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:00 PM.

This post is part of our Earth Day 2012 celebration.

To wrap up our Earth Week celebrations, CPL will present a screening of the original, 1972, animated version of Dr Seuss's The Lorax. Join us on Friday, April 27 at 4:00 PM to watch the story of the greedy, truffula tree-chopping Once-lers and the brave little Lorax who speaks up for the vanishing forest. When the film is over patrons are invited to create their own truffula tree vista to brighten up their home. This program is open to families and kids of all ages.

This post is part of our Earth Day 2012 celebration.

Kids, do you see animals around your neighborhood and wish they’d pay your yard a visit? Join us Thursday, April 26, from 7:00-8:00 PM to continue our Earth Week celebrations and learn how to use feeders, houses, baths, and more to make your yard the happening place to be. Participants will have the opportunity to create their own nestball to attract nesting birds.

Meet and learn about some of Michigan's animals that wake up when you go to bed! The Organization for Bat Conservation will present their program: Animal Adaptations: Bats! Owls! Flying Foxes!. Discover the fascinating features and adaptations of a variety of Michigan's native nocturnal creatures. In this program, learn what adaptations are, how they are formed and why animals develop these amazing tools for survival. Live animals will be present! Join us on Sunday, April 22nd from 2:00-3:00 PM to kick off our Earth Week celebrations.

This post is part of our Earth Day 2012 celebration.

We're celebrating Earth Day all week (April 22-27) and want you to join us! See the write up in the Canton Observer. There will be events for adults, teens, tweens and children, including:

• Bats! Owls! Flying Foxes! — Sunday, April 22, 2:00-3:00 PM
• Living Green in Southeast Michigan — Monday, April 23, 7:00-8:30 PM
• Composting and Healthy Lawns — canceled
• Vegetarian Eating for Everyone — Wednesday, April 25, 7:00-8:30 PM
• Attracting Backyard Wildlife — Thursday, April 26, 7:00-8:00 PM
• The Lorax (original 1972 animated version) — Friday, April 27, 4:00-5:15 PM

The heirloom life gardener: the Baker Creek way of growing your own food easily and naturally by Jere & Emilee Gettle ; with Meghan Sutherland

This book contains a wealth of information, including a history of seed-saving, background on one of the most prominent heirloom seed companies in the U.S., information and instruction on how to grow your own food from heirloom seed, and a guide to some of the most commonly grown heirloom varieties. Also included are engaging color photographs of the fruits, vegetables, gardens, and people featured in the information.

Seeing trees: discover the extraordinary secrets of everyday trees by Nancy Ross Hugo ; photography by Robert Llewellyn

Trees are all around us, but how often do we really look at them? This book takes a VERY close look and includes stunningly detailed photographs of trees and their constituent parts. Once you've looked through this book, every walk through your neighborhood will be an opportunity to notice these incredible details. Check out the video preview for a sneak peek.

According to msnbc.com, the Doomsday Seed Vault located in Norway is scheduled to receive nearly 25,000 samples of seeds this week from around the world. The vault acts as a backup for living crop collections around the world to ensure crop diversity and future food supplies. The vault opened on February 2008 and is dug into the Platåberget mountain ("Plateau mountain") located near the village of Longyearbyen, Svalbard, a group of islands north of mainland Norway. Look to CPL for more resources on seeds or search our Science in Context database for information on the Doomsday Seed Vault or Svalbard Global Seed Vault. [Photo courtesy of AP Images]

Closet monsters: stitch creatures you'll love from clothing you don't by written & illustrated by John Murphy

We all know that closets are havens for scary monsters that come out after dark, but did you know that your closet can also be the source for making your own terrifying creatures? These critters are all made from clothing, so you can re-use your old stuff, or maybe drop by our local Goodwill to find some monster fodder. This book gives step by step instructions for 13 unique creatures, and from there you can customize them to make them as scary or cute as you'd like.