By Kathy Cheney, Branch Librarian
Many people love to visit the Plainfield Twp. Branch of Kent District Library because of all the great things in addition to books that can be found inside. Some of these include the large children’s wing, colorful mural on the way to our program room, KDL Lab space, community room with periodicals and bookstore, e-sports gaming computers, public computers with printing, teen space and the wonderful plants that can be found throughout the library.
Even if you never set foot in the library, or if the library is closed, there is still much to see and do outside the building. There are several large outdoor percussion instruments that are so beautiful that they are almost works of art. There is an obstacle course painted near the instruments that gets refreshed every summer and encourages users to be active. There are several benches around the building to sit on.
In addition to these fun things, if you walk around to the back of the library there is a staff favorite, a pollinator garden. There are more than a dozen native perennials (these are the plants that return year after year) that are frequently visited by pollinators of many species. Some of our favorite plants this year have been Royal Catchfly, Lead Plant, Blue Wild Indigo and Prairie Coreopsis. Even when nothing is blooming, the empty seed heads fall to the ground ensuring the plants will spread and return every year, and the dried plants help sustain many animal species.
The Plainfield Friends of the Library and Plainfield Township have been instrumental in making these outdoor spaces happen. Next time you visit, take a walk around the building and see if you can hop through the obstacle course, play a tune on one of the instruments and see how many pollinators you can spot enjoying their special garden.
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