The Jefferson County library system has partnered with state, local and nonprofit entities to bring new reading opportunities to three outdoor locations.
The Arnold, Northwest and Windsor library branches will create StoryWalks at Arnold City Park, the Peace Pantry in Cedar Hill and the Mastodon State Historic Site in Imperial.
The first StoryWalks were created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vt., and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library. She was working with the Vermont Department of Health when she created the project as a way to encourage families to get outside and be active but also work on their literacy skills.
The walks typically consists of 18 posts spaced out on a 1-mile trail with pages from books displayed at each stop. Typically the readings are geared toward younger readers,
“It has become very popular with libraries across the country,” Arnold branch manager Meredith McCarthy said.
The city of Arnold is providing $5,000 for the walk to be installed at Arnold City Park on Bradley Beach Road off Jeffco Boulevard near the Meramec River. City Council members
voted unanimously April 21 to approve the expenditure.
McCarthy said the StoryWalk path is expected to begin at the Farmers Market near the park’s entrance and lead to the park’s lake.
The Northwest branch has partnered with the Peace Pantry, which donated $3,000 for the project, to have a StoryWalk installed at the pantry’s track at 8100 S. Industrial Drive in Cedar Hill. The location will be close to the Library’s satellite location under development at 6780 Mall Drive in Cedar Hill that is expected to open later this year, Northwest branch manager Cindy Hayes said.
“I reached out to (the Peace Pantry) to see if we could put it in on their property, and not only did they say yes, but they came back with an offer with some money for us,” Hayes said. “It is a very good relationship for us. We will be neighbors with them very soon.”
Money from a Walmart Foundation grant also will be used to fund the walk in Cedar Hill, McCarthy said.
The Windsor branch has partnered with the Mastodon State Historic Site to place a walk on the Spring Branch Trail, a 0.8-mile trail that follows a small stream flowing from the Bollefer Spring past the remains of the old Bollefer springhouse built in 1937.
Windsor branch manager Adam Tucker said the $5,000 cost for the Story-Walk at the Mastodon State Historic Site will be covered with funding from the historic site and from the Friends of the Library group, along with some of the money from the Walmart Foundation.
“The partnering organizations in Arnold, Mastodon and Peace Pantry have all been really open to the idea,” Tucker said. “We appreciate being able to work with them on it.”
The branch managers said they expect to receive the materials to create the StoryWalk displays this spring and hope to have them assembled by the summer.
The libraries plan to change the readings along the walks quarterly, and the books selected will likely have a seasonal theme or nature theme. Each site likely will have a different story, and the books will rotate throughout the county as the libraries create a supply of displays, McCarthy said.
“(The postings) will be easy-to-read books and something colorful, so it will draw your eyes to (them),” Hayes said.
Tucker said he is excited for the StoryWalks to be completed.
“It is a way for us to get outside of our buildings and into the community,” he said. “It will combine physical activity with reading. This is a concept that kind of took off during the pandemic when some libraries were not able to do any programing indoors. It is another outlet for us to be out in the community and partner with another organization in the community.”
McCarthy said she expects the walks to be popular attractions.
“It may bring in people from outside the area,” she said. “Families do seek these out to get out and do things in nature.”