The makerspace at the Greenfield Public Library has been all about community, creatures, and crochet lately.
The library celebrated International Crochet Day on Sept. 12 with a “how to crochet an octopus” class led by Greenfield resident Diane Levine, whose crochet coral reef inspired the library to put its own crochet aquarium on display.
“She did such a great job, and we’re hoping she’ll let us display it here,” said Nancy Little, an information services assistant at the library. “Almost a year ago, I started to promote the project. We have a Tuesday night crochet group which Diane comes to, and so she just really inspired the whole project, so I invited her to lead a class.”
The crochet coral reef that has been on display at the Greenfield Public Library for the past few months came from the Reading Public Library and was originally inspired by Christine and Margaret Wertheim, who crocheted a coral reef to spread awareness about the impact of climate change on the ocean.
“It’s been this worldwide ongoing project for over 10 years,” Little said. “It’s been very popular with libraries because it brings the community together and it helps raise awareness about climate change and how that impacts coral reefs.”
In recent years, climate scientists and marine biologists have reported more and more coral reefs dying off due to coral bleaching. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), “When water is too warm, corals will expel the algae (zooxanthellae) living in their tissues, causing the coral to turn completely white.” Corals can survive these bleaching events if water cools and the algae can return; however, if water remains too hot, the corals will remain “bleached” and die.
“It’s kind of funny, when I think about living out here in western Mass, we don’t have the ocean nearby, but a lot of people go to the ocean, or have been snorkeling in the Carribbean or Florida, places where there are coral reefs,” Little said. “So there is a connection, even though we might feel a little landlocked here in western Mass.”
Little said that the reef exhibit is leaving the Greenfield Library in the next week or two, and will be heading to another library to be displayed, although that location has yet to be determined.
To replace it, Little hopes Greenfield residents will submit their own crocheted creatures. She said she is currently in talks with a fiber artist who has crocheted a few tree frogs, and hopes Levine and some other frequent attendees of the library’s Tuesday night crochet group will loan their works to the library.
The crochet and knit group meets in the second-floor makerspace from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays.
