Spring Earth Day to celebrate Madison Children’s Garden

Flowers are blooming, grass is greening and library patrons have a budding interest in the Spring Earth Day Celebration at Madison Public Library.

Madison Friends of the Library is sponsoring the event on April 22 from 1 to 3 p.m. Madison Children’s Garden will be the celebration’s centerpiece.

The garden’s grand opening was held in September 2011. “We wanted to have another ‘party’ to showcase the garden coming back to life after the winter rest,” Liz Butler said. She and husband Dave are the Friends’ garden liaisons.

Youth services librarian Maggie Allen will read “The Lorax” and “The Giving Tree” at 2 p.m. Prevailing Winds Flute Ensemble will perform pastoral background music.

Children will color posters for Earth Day and recycling efforts. “Families can put responses to prompts like ‘I love the earth because …,’ ‘I help our planet by …’ and ‘Ways I recycle …,'” Butler said.

Two new murals will be unveiled at the Earth Day celebration. Art clubs from Pope John Paul II Catholic High School and Bob Jones High School are painting the scenery.

To prepare for the celebration, community workdays will be held on April 7 and 14 from about 9 a.m. to noon. “We’ll spruce up the garden for our Earth Day celebration,” Butler said.

In addition, volunteers will lay sod on a bald hilltop. “Our dry riverbed needs some tender care to weed and replace the rocks. Adults are needed, but older children are welcome to help. People should wear work clothes and bring their gloves,” Butler said.

Madison Friends of the Library has a subgroup, Friends of the Garden, who plan to collect donations for garden maintenance and improvement. “We’re planning on replacing gravel paths with stepping stones/mulch … and a yellow brick road,” Butler said. “We’re selling engraved yellow bricks.”

For information, call 256-461-0046 or send email to mplgarden@shahala.com.