CANCELLED - Teen Hangout (Valente)
Hangout with other teens in the Valente Branch Community Room after school to socialize, unwind, and participate in a rotating activity.
No registration required, drop-in between 3:30-4:30pm.
The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.
CANCELED Teen Hangout (Valente)
Hangout with other teens in the Valente Branch Community Room after school to socialize, unwind, and participate in a rotating activity.
No registration required, drop-in between 3:30-4:30pm.
The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.
Teens Planting Pride (Valente)
Celebrate pride month by planting seeds with a bloom kit we provide! Choose from a mix of zinnia, tomato, basil, coleus, and poppy seeds. No registration required, available until supplies run out.
The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.
Kick Back and Read a Story! (Central Square)
Drop by the Central Square Branch's Lewis Room to read and discus a short story together. Copies of the story will be provided, along with snacks. No preparation or registration required!
The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.
Short Story Reading Group (Central Square)
Drop by the Central Square Branch's Lewis Room to read and discus a short story together. Copies of the story will be provided, along with snacks. No preparation or registration required!
The City of Cambridge does not discriminate, including on the basis of disability. We may provide auxiliary aids and services, written materials in alternative formats, and reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to people with disabilities. For more information contact us at library@cambridgema.gov, 617-349-4032 (voice), or via relay at 711.
Medicinal Plant Walk (Central Square)
Join herbalist Mo Katz-Christy for a meander through the neighborhood to meet city plants and explore their medicinal uses! We will explore weeds and cultivated plants, trees and shrubs, and have lots of space for questions and conversation. Bring a notebook if you like, and meet us at the Central Square Branch Library. Note this program begins at the library but will then walk throughout the neighborhood -- arriving late may mean you miss the group at the library and will not be able to catch up.
CPL Nature Club: Danehy Park Winter Plant Walk (O'Neill)
Join herbalist Mo Katz-Christy for a meander through Danehy park to meet wintertime city plants and explore their medicinal uses! We will explore weeds and cultivated plants, trees and shrubs, and have lots of space for questions and conversation. Bring a notebook if you like, and meet us at the parking lot on Sherman Street (if you're late you should be able to find us -- we won't move too far too fast!). Registration is required. This event has been rescheduled from 2/27/25
Get Help Lowering Your Energy Bills
The City of Cambridge offers free, one-on-one help to residents looking to lower their energy bills. Through the Cambridge Energy Helpline (617-430-6230), callers get connected to a trained adviser who can explain cost-saving programs, from fuel assistance and discount utility rates to solar credits and no-cost energy assessments. Support is available to renters, homeowners, and landlords alike—regardless of building type.
Multifamily Citywide
In March 2024, the City Council passed Policy Order 2024 #37, which asked the Community Development Department “to work with the chairs of the Housing Committee to create zoning language that effectively promotes multifamily housing, including income-restricted affordable housing with the goal of having viable housing for everyone especially lower-income residents.” A series of Housing Committee meetings will be held to discuss the proposal throughout the summer and fall of 2024. Additional information will be posted here as the proposal is developed.
Summer Reading: Tiny Gardens Everywhere (Main)
Uncover the radical roots of urban gardening with Kate Brown, author of Tiny Gardens Everywhere (2026).
The history of gardening in European and North American cities in the 20th century is a story about ordinary people working with each other—and with plants and microbes—to cultivate life in the unlikeliest of places. Using the deluge of nutrients that flow into cities, working class gardeners regenerated wasteland, built the first garden city communities, and engaged in the most productive agriculture in recorded human history. Following the plants and microbes, urban gardeners also built mutual aid societies that advocated for equity, social welfare, and rights—rights not to liberty and the pursuit of happiness (who can eat that?) but to food, fuel, and shelter; to well-being for all.
Kate Brown is the Thomas M. Siebel Distinguished Professor in the History of Science at MIT. Her prize-winning books include Manual for Survival: A Chernobyl Guide to the Future (2019), Plutopia: Nuclear Families in Atomic Cities and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (2013), and A Biography of No Place: From Ethnic Borderland to Soviet Heartland (2004).
Presented in partnership with City of Cambridge Community Garden Program.