Rooted Knowledge: Tactile Ecology in the Library Makerspace

Rooted Knowledge reimagines library makerspaces as classrooms for urban and suburban land-based skills and ecological understanding.

Whether through small-scale homesteading, pocket habitat restoration, seed libraries, gardening, or other regenerative practices, library makerspace are uniquely situated to help their patrons reconnect with their local landscapes. This presentation will explore the ways you can help empower your community, foster resilience, and improve your local ecology while honoring both traditional knowledge and modern sustainability practices.

About the Presenter: 
Mark Lesniak is the Access Services Manager at the Rahway Public Library where he supervises the children's, circulation, and reference departments.  Outside of work, he is an amateur ethnobotanist, herbalist, and long time practitioner of primitive skills and permaculture.  Mark is passionate about dirt-under-the-fingernails conservation. He believes that environmentalism is best grown locally and ripens through a hands-on relationship with our regional ecosystem.