Emma Nelson read to Whitefield Library story time attendees at during a field trip to Sheepscot Valley Farm on July 18. (Iris Pope photo)
Since March, the Whitefield Library has offered story times for local families every Friday, held both at the library and throughout Whitefield.
The story time field trips take place at various locations, including the Sheepscot General Farm’s strawberry fields and Midcoast Conservancy’s Whitefield Salmon Preserve, where attendees are read stories on theme with the activities.
The most recent field trip took place on July 18, at Sheepscot Valley Farm in Whitefield where families learned about organic dairy farming. Dairy farmer and co-owner of Sheepscot Valley Farm Annie Watson gave attendees a tour, describing the milking process and the purpose of the giant hay “marshmallows.” Highlights of the tour included petting the young calves in the barn and a special appearance from Otis, the farm dog.
Julie Elder and her daughter, Piper, of Whitefield, have attended several of the Whitefield Library story times.
Piper Elder (left) and Rosemary Pope, of Whitefield, pet a newborn calf. The Whitefield Library story time attendees took a field trip to Sheepscot Valley Farm on July 18. (Iris Pope photo)
“It’s been great in the summer to come to these and see people,” Elder said.
Since its official reopening in January 2022, the Whitefield Library has worked to become not only a functioning public library, but also a space focused on building community. With the help of donations and volunteers, the library is seeing their vision come to fruition.
Emma Nelson, the children’s program coordinator for the Whitefield Library, has organized the Friday story times since March.
“It’s been really good to see the library actually take form from where it started out,” she said.
Nelson believes the library will be able to bring citizens of Whitefield and nearby towns together.
“When I moved to Whitefield, I knew there was so much untapped potential for a thriving community,” Nelson said. “The library is non-denominational in a way. It’s open for school families and homeschool families.”
Whitefield Library story time attendees watch as dairy farmer Annie Watson explains the milking process during a field trip to Sheepscot Valley Farm on July 18. (Iris Pope photo)
Due to its volunteer-run status, the library is currently limited in its hours. The library hopes to gain insight on ways to become more accessible to the community and expand its schedule.
“We’re figuring it out, we’ve come a long way,” Nelson said.
Friday story times with “Miss Emma” will continue through the summer and welcomes new faces. The next field trip story time is Wednesday, Aug. 17 at Spicer Bees.
For more information about Whitefield Library, go to whitefieldlibrary.org or find the library on Facebook.
