Earth Day 2026

Earth Day was established in April of 1970 in response to a nationwide concern about environmental degradation. Fifty-six years later, it is still recognized! This Earth Day, Wednesday, April 22nd, the library is excited to announce that Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer-prize winning author who also lives in Williamstown, will be hosting a book talk about her latest book, Life on a Little-Known Planet: Dispatches from A Changing World. All are welcome.

All of our upcoming Earth-friendly events:

Wednesday, April 15th: The Hoosic River: A Poem with David Crews

Saturday, April 18th: Birding for Beginners with Mass Audubon

Wednesday, April 22nd: Earth Day Book Talk: Life on A Little-Known Planet with Elizabeth Kolbert

Thursday, April 23rd: Book Talk: Birding in New England with Zach Adams

Thursday, April 30th: Film: The Plastic Detox, discussion with Deb Burns

Saturday, May 2nd: Live Birds of Prey with Tom Ricardi

Thursday, May 7th: Book Talk: The Drum Tree with Catherine V. Wolf

Saturday, May 9th: A Guided Birdwatching Walk with David McGowan

Recycle waste at the Milne... that you can't bring to the Transfer Station:

April 13th - 25th only! Dell Reconnect Computer Recycling

Here... for the duration of the Sustainable & Resilient New England Libraries grant: Terracycle boxes

In the Community

Northern Waste Solid Waste Management District Reduce, Reuse, Recycle 2026 Events

In multiple Northern Berkshire locations from Saturday, April 18th through Saturday, November 14th

Other Library Initiatives

Here at the library, we strive to be good stewards of the Earth year-round with initiatives such as Second Chance composting (registration required), Terracycle Zero Waste Boxes, community garden beds , a seed library and the Sustainabili-Reads Book Group, all of which are free and open to the public. And take a look at our Fast Fashion blog! Also at the library we have a pollinator-friendly garden, solar panels, heat pumps, reusable coffee mugs and a water-bottle filling station. This Spring, we are celebrating birds and bird migration through the grant-supported Flight Path program.

Sustainability Committee

The Milne Public Library also formed a sustainability committee last year to address environmental sustainability both in the library and in our community. See see our Sustainability page for more details, including our commitment statement. Please email kwilliams@cwmars.org if you'd like to get involved!

Last September we held our first Community Eco-Fair, and we will be hosting it again this year on Saturday, September 19th! (We will soon be asking for community participation in the form of tabling, food providers, and volunteers.. stay tuned!).

Would you like to know more? Please email Kira Williams, Adult Services Librarian, for more information about sustainability initiatives at the Milne: kwilliams@cwmars.org.