Alameda library focuses on gardening in March

Alameda Free Library is hosting a community-reading program through the month of March with the theme "Grow, Eat, and Read Local." Activities include free workshops and events for both adults and children.
The month of activities kicks off 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday with the grand opening of the Seed and Gardening Tool Lending Library at the Main Library. The aim of the lending library is for community members to learn about borrowing seeds and using gardening tools to increase healthy plant diversity in Alameda while helping residents cut costs.
The schedule and focus of the month's activities are based on the books "Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer" by Oakland author Novella Carpenter and "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman, who lives near Gilroy. Carpenter, who turned an abandoned Oakland lot into an area for raising fruits, vegetables, bees, pigs and other animals, will speak at the Main Library at 7 p.m. on March 31.
"We created the theme for the month's activities based on Carpenter's 'Farm City,' which is about backyard gardening," said librarian Karin Lundstrom. "And we really wanted to include local Bay Area authors who could come and talk to Alameda residents at the library."
In addition to Carpenter's presentation, other activities include workshops on seed saving, wreath-making crafts for kids, talks on local farming and gardening, movies and book discussions. Fleischman, whose book tells the story of how people of varying ages and backgrounds transform a trash-filled lot into a productive and beautiful garden, will lead a discussion of fourth- through-eighth-graders and others at 7 p.m. March 14 at the Main Library.
Some of the library workshops are being taught by staff from Ploughshares Nursery and members of Alameda Backyard Growers. The growing group will make a presentation on seasonal gardening in Alameda at 6 p.m. March 10 at the Main Library. And at 2 p.m. on March 13, Alameda gardener and recycler Matthew Levesque will share tips on creative and unexpected ways of using nontraditional materials to create beautiful landscapes.
Events on tap at the West End Library include a showing of the 90-minute film "Locavore" at 2 p.m. March 20. Bay Area author Elise Cooke will discuss how she feeds her family by eating locally and saves money on groceries at 7 p.m. March 23 at the Bay Farm Library.
"We hope to encourage the entire community to read a book and participate in this month's activities," said Lundstrom, "and are looking forward to the events."