Enjoying the Great Outdoors with Melanie Buckingham

The echo of birdsong softly reverberates through the Price Park woods as Melanie Buckingham wanders on the dirt path in front of her. With binoculars in hand, she gazes to the sky and takes in her surroundings.

To be outside is a meditative act for Buckingham, the environmental resources librarian at the Kathleen Clay Edwards Family Library. Nature is a place where she can slow down and enjoy some of her favorite hobbies - such as teaching, bird watching, and gardening.

"Being out in nature just brings joy, pure joy," Buckingham said.

That joy radiates when the Wilmington, NC, native leads the various outdoor community programs. From the recent salamander catch, which saw about 80 people search and learn about the small amphibians, to green-living programs that focus on reducing food waste and energy saving, Buckingham's programs hold something for everyone.

It takes a lot of hard work to manage the library's extensive outdoor programs, and that effort hasn't gone unnoticed. Buckingham recently received the Environmental Educators of North Carolina's Outstanding Practitioner Award, which recognizes an environmental educator who "lends their skills to the growing body of environmental education as a profession."

"It made me feel this job is a partnership. There isn't a program that I do that does not involve some sort of partner," Buckingham said. "So really it's accepting the award on behalf of all of these partners we have worked with over the years. It shows how rich our state is as it relates to environmental people, resources, and knowledge."

A GROWING PASSION

Buckingham's love of the environment and library science blossomed as a University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) student in the late 90s, but as a child the seeds of interest in the fields took root.

"I was always a big reader when I was younger. When I was a kid I wanted to own my own bookstore," Buckingham said. "Then I was involved in Girl Scouts, and we did a lot of outdoor camping and things like that."

While studying library science at UNCG, an environmental politics class sparked a passion to pursue an environmental librarian role. Her two interests came together as the sole librarian in the NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources in 2000, where she worked with collection development and interlibrary loans, among other duties. She earned her NC Environmental Education certification and started on a path toward her present role.

Buckingham lived in Greensboro during her four years with the state, which required vanpooling to and from work with about 15 others. In 2004 the position at the Edwards Branch Library opened. She jumped at the opportunity and found a perfect fit.

"I'm seeing the kids that came to the library, now as adults, bringing their kids to the library. I'm seeing three generations of families using the library and coming to the programs," Buckingham said. "We are creating a lifelong connection to nature and to literacy."

OFFERING OPPORTUNITIES

When a local Girl Scouts troop planted a garden at the library in 2004, Buckingham realized she didn't know how to garden. So she took master gardening classes and was hooked. As a result, the library now offers garden programs, including classes in native plants, horticultural therapy, and permaculture. Her programs are intergenerational, so people of all ages can come together to enjoy gardening.

"There are so many ways that gardening can be made more attainable to people," Buckingham said. "That's the thing that's exciting to me. You can engage in gardening anywhere, even if you're in a retirement home and you have a terrarium."