BELLOWS FALLS, Vt. – To get people thinking about what they need or want in an emergency, Sustainable Rockingham invites the community to partake in an “I Spy” game, a Storywalk, and a coloring contest between Friday, July 23 and Monday, Aug. 4, in downtown Bellows Falls. Sustainable Rockingham increases community resilience to face climate change in ways that are inclusive and equitable.
Before the lights go out, or the plow trucks can’t keep up with the snowfall, or floodwaters lap a home’s foundation, people can be ready with a flashlight, a stash of nonperishable food, and a well-packed grab-n-go bag.
To learn more and get fresh ideas about preparing for emergencies, community members and visitors alike can come down to the square in Bellows Falls to play “I Spy” at shop windows, featuring kits prepared by local people from all walks of life. The items a senior citizen packs in his or her emergency preparedness kit will differ from one packed by a single woman who has a cat and dog or a family with young children. Have fun finding a light source, a food supply, an important document packet, and other items at each window.
Partake in a Storywalk beginning at Hetty Green Park and ending at the doors of the Rockingham Library at 65 Westminster St. A Storywalk is an invitation to take a short stroll with friends and family while reading a picture book. “I Am The Storm” by Jane Yolen and Heidi E.Y. Stemple is featured for this Storywalk. It is a nominee for Vermont’s Red Clover Award.
Children and adults alike can glean ideas about both necessities and comforts of life to help make it through an emergency from the illustrations in this treasure of a book. Each page of the book is attached to a post. These posts start at the parking lot side of the War Memorial Park at the corner of School and Church Streets, run the perimeter of the park, then grace the lawns of Hennesey’s Funeral Home, the Moose Lodge, the Masons building, and ending on the Rockingham Library’s front lawn. The StoryWalk® Project was created by Anne Ferguson of Montpelier, Vt., and developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library in Vermont.
Sustainable Rockingham’s Coloring Contest challenges children of all ages to reflect on their possible needs during an emergency. The judges for this contest will not only be noticing the neatness of the coloring. They will take note of the additional items drawn and colored in that make the artist’s sheet a true reflection of what he or she would need in an emergency.
Coloring sheets for this contest can be picked up and dropped off at the Rockingham Library, The Village Square Booksellers, or Parks Place, next to the Central Elementary School. The deadline for dropping off a completed coloring sheet is Monday, Aug. 2 at 5 p.m. The six winning contestants, to be chosen Aug. 4 and notified that day, will each receive a $25 gift certificate from Village Square Booksellers. Public notification of the winners will be announced on the library’s website, www.rockinghamlibrary.org, and in the newspaper.
A final event at the Firemen’s Memorial Park near the Square is planned for Wednesday, Aug 4, from 4 to 5 p.m.
These free events are co-sponsored by Sustainable Rockingham, Rockingham Library, and Rockingham Help & Helpers. For more information, visit www.rockinghamlibrary.org/blueskydays.