If there was going to be a state in the contiguous United States that was home to a “nature library,” which developers joke is “part REI, part library,” it makes sense that it would be in Colorado.
It’s not just a pipe dream for ski-happy mountain dwellers; the Anythink Nature Library, the first in the nation, just opened in Thornton, Colorado, around 11 miles north of Denver.
Here, visitors can play in an on-site mud pit, walk along a trail system, become a green thumb in the “kinship garden,” and grab free outdoor gear for the whole family: Bird-watching kits, snowshoes, waterproof tents, telescopes, wildlife cameras, gardening equipment, and more.
There are also books, but they’re mostly focused on the natural world.
The amenities don’t stop there, either. The nearly $44 million project also includes a live plant wall, a darkroom with stars projected onto the ceiling, a fireplace for chilly Colorado winters beside a heated bench, a bevy of electric vehicle chargers, a cafe on the premises, and ample natural light brought to you by walls of bird-safe glass.
Oh, and it’s all powered by 300 rooftop solar panels.
“Before we even had a design for the building, we knew we wanted an experience of muddy, dirty play,” branch manager Maria Mayo-Peaseley told Colorado Public Radio earlier this year.
“Our relationships with nature have gotten really tidy, especially for children. This will be a really special space in our community for hands-on play.”
And the community can finally take part. The Anythink Nature Library just opened to the public on Saturday, August 8. It is now the eighth branch of the Adams County Library and takes up 33,000 square feet of the 140-acre Aylor Open Space.
According to The Brighton Blade, about 5,000 people attended the library’s grand opening.
“Public libraries have always evolved alongside the needs of the community,” Mark Fink, executive director of Anything Libraries, told The Brighton Blade.
“We knew that in Adams County, our patrons enjoy the outdoors and so we decided to offer activities and material that is geared toward nature and the outdoors.”
At the time of opening, the library offered visitors access to about 550 items across 65 collections.
Officials say the Nature Library was designed with input from community members and Indigenous and Native American leaders on the Anythink Nature Library Advisory Council.
Adams County, where the library is located, is also a “minority majority community,” Fink told Colorado Public Radio, with more than 40% of residents identifying as Latine.
“This library is all about building access points for our community no matter who they are, their experience in nature, no matter their background,” Mayo-Peaseley added. “We know that not everyone comes to a relationship with nature from the same place.”
Much of the programming and offerings stem from a curriculum called The Environmental Kinship Guide, which breaks down connections to nature into four categories: Learning about nature, in nature, with nature, and for nature.
What started as a guide for educators in school spaces became the blueprint for building a library like this.
“The vision for this new library is inspired by the Environmental Kinship Guide, which reminds us that ‘everything in the natural world is interrelated and that humans are a part of this as cohabiters,’” a press release about the Nature Library reads.
“The Anythink Nature Library represents our commitment to helping everyone — kids, teens, families, and lifelong learners — discover their place in the natural world.”
While the library aims to lower the cost barriers for locals who likely don’t have an annual ski pass or the materials they need for a fun, safe time outdoors, it also hopes to inspire a love of adventure right where people already are.
“People think that nature in Colorado means going to the mountains,” Fink told Westword, “but we want to show that you can have a really amazing outdoor experience in your backyard — in the plains, on the prairie.”
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Featured Image: Courtesy Unfound Door/Anythink Libraries
