[CANCELLED] Sustaining Community: A Climate Change Book Group (Main)
The climate is changing, and we're all here on the planet together. Join us for a monthly community gathering and discussion of a variety of books about climate change. We will share thoughts, resources, and occasionally host special guests in a welcoming small-group environment.
For our January meeting, we will discuss Human Nature: nine ways to feel about our changing planet by Kate Marvel.
Copies of the book are available at the Main Library Q&A Desk.
Registration is required. Please contact alengel@cambridgema.gov with questions.
Washington Remembered, Washington Forgotten: Washington and Slavery (Main/Virtual)
To mark the 250th anniversaries of the American Revolution and the founding of the United States, a coalition of local non-profits and government agencies will present Washington in American Memory, a seven-part speaker series.
Explore how Americans have remembered and forgotten Washington’s involvement with slavery over the past 250 years. Three historians who work at the intersection of scholarship and public history will shed new light on our founding contradictions:
Kelli Racine Barnes, ACE Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Fellow and historian of 18th- and 19th-century U.S. history
John Garrison Marks, author of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory (forthcoming April 7, 2026) and Vice President of Research and Engagement at the American Association for State and Local History
Kyera Singleton, Executive Director of the Royall House & Slave Quarters and Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tufts University Center for the Humanities
This event will conclude with a book signing by John Garrison Marks. Copies of Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory will be available to purchase.
CPL Nature Club: Rethinking Urban Green Spaces: Nature Walk with Earthwise Aware (Main)
Join Earthwise Aware (EwA) for an interactive walk to observe, document, and take part in shaping urban spaces that work with nature. Together, we will explore how design choices and climate pressures shape the ecological value of our everyday green spaces, and document habitat conditions using simple citizen science tools.
Starting at the library lawn, we will examine spaces that appear green but often function poorly. Manicured lawns and sparse tree plantings may look inviting, yet they frequently support little biodiversity and can limit soil health and resilience. What makes a space truly nature-friendly? We will record what is present, what is missing, and what that tells us about ecological function.
During the walk, we will:
Observe and document plant communities and habitat quality
Identify signs of low and high ecological function
Compare conventional landscapes with more resilient plantings such as native beds or meadow patches
Contribute real data that supports local ecological understanding and decision making
This is participatory science in practice. Your observations will feed into broader efforts to track urban biodiversity and inform better land use choices.
The program will meet outside the library in Joan Lorentz Park. Registration required.
Rain date: Wednesday May 6