Library displays were created to highlight relevant books, and the libraries also hosted careers advice sessions for green jobs.
Queen Mary University: Whitechapel Library For Green Libraries Week 2025, Whitechapel Library hosted a “Grow Your Library” event. This was an informal drop-in session, where students and staff were invited to plant spring bulbs in an unused bed in the library entrance courtyard and share a sustaina- bility wish or pledge.
The activity was designed to be simple, accessible and welcoming, allowing people to participate even if they only had a few minutes available between lectures, placements, or study commitments. “Our key aims were to raise awareness of environmental sus- tainability, promote the library’s wider services, create positive engagement opportunities following the busy Welcome Week period, and strengthen connections between the library and its user community. We also wanted participants to leave a lasting legacy through the bulbs they planted, which would bloom in the spring and act as a reminder of the collective effort.”
Barnsley Libraries.
and drawing an eco superhero, and wrote a new poem with the children; Healthy Planet, Healthy You, an introduction to plant- based eating; Tidy Tots Bounce & Rhyme: A special Bounce and Rhyme session that included eco-themed stories and songs; and a Meet Your Climate Councillor session.
“The events were so well-received that we intend to reprise all of them in the future. They were also a good opportunity for staff development, notably including a newer staff member who assisted at his first Early Years event.”
Bridgend College
The library team at Bridgend College created an interactive display to support the UN ActNow campaign, which encourages individual action around the Sustainable Development Goals. The display focussed on the impacts of global warming, combat- ting climate misinformation. Students joined in by committing to Climate Action Promises and collective efforts were added to a “Promise Tree”. Highlighting carbon footprints and real world impacts, the team used carbon emissions data taken from the UN AWorld app.
“Our goal was to inspire students, and the AWorld app – gam- ifying sustainability action - was our way in. We wanted to focus on long-term resilience, showing students how small, individual choices drive change. Contributing to College carbon targets, we wanted to demonstrate measurable impact. Our aim was to reduce the carbon footprint of the library community, one prom- ise at a time.”
Cheshire West & Chester Libraries With the support of the generous Libraries Connected North-West grant, the library service purchased 90 “Pot Gang” kits for use at events in five libraries, which were chosen based on those areas highest on the Index of Multiple Deprivation. The services also had 800 specially printed wildflower seed bookmarks made. Each bookmark was printed with the Green Libraries Week logo and came with a QR code to a web page explaining how to plant it so as to germinate the wildflower seeds in each one. These were used as the prize, along with sweets/choc- olate/stickers, in each library in the borough for when children completed a specially created treasure hunt.
Eastern Education Group
Students were invited to take part in Wild Writing sessions – creative writing inspired by nature and the environment. Wild Words took place, with author Mai Black and her colleague Jane Spencer-Rolfe from the Suffolk Writers Group. Staff and students wrote poetry and created doodles inspired by nature. These were submitted through a travelling post box Mai and Jane use for these events and were posted anonymously across social media. Staff were encouraged to take part in a plant swap, and students were given the chance to have their own seed swapping sessions.
August-September 2026
South Ayrshire Libraries South Ayrshire Libraries and the One Small Thing team led a rag wreath making workshops, reusing materials to stop them going into landfill, and sessions teaching families how to create upcycled draught excluders, filled with either reclaimed plastic bags or shredded paper: helping to reduce draughts in homes without the need to turn up the heating.
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen Green Libraries group began in 2024. It aims to provide library users with access to resources on sustainability and climate change, organise events to promote sustainability across campus, and forge relationships with the local community. To celebrate Green Libraries Week 2025 they put on a number
of events, including an online workshop for staff and students on reducing your carbon footprint, covering: what is a digital carbon footprint, digital device lifecycle, energy awareness, data storage and environmental impact of AI; creating a series of information videos to be displayed on digital signs throughout the library providing facts and solutions to environmental issues. The team also gave away almost 70 spider plants to encourage users to learn about easy plant care. “Everyone agrees that making events interactive can have real benefits, and the resulting interaction can often provide excellent feedback. Green Libraries Week helps us by providing a focused period of communication. All our projects demonstrate how creative action can spark conversations and interactions that build awareness around sustainability and environmental issues.”
Find out how you can get involved in Green Libraries Week 2026 and add your events to our interactive map to help inspire others at
https://tinyurl.com/CILIPGLWeek26. IP
Blackpool Libraries. INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 33
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