Library applies for funding for various projects

By CHARITY SMITH

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Bessemer — The Bessemer library has applied for grant funding to aid with three of its community engagement projects.

Librarian Melissa Lupino said that she applied for two grants that are being offered by the American Association of Retired Persons. One of the grants would provide $8,000 for recreational equipment. The equipment is intended to go along with the new Iron Belle trailhead to be built south of City Hall, Lupino said.

“The city is working on the trailhead project right behind city hall. So this would be kind of a way to bring the library outside, and encourage people to use the trail,” said Lupino.

Lupino said that the equipment would include 20 pairs of snowshoes in adult and kids sizes and poles, two sleds, two e-bicycles and an adult tricycle.

The grant would also help purchase other outdoor equipment including tents, sleeping bags, fishing poles, a tackle box, and a camp stove.

Lupino said a lot of the equipment is expensive and this would provide a way for people to try it and see if they like it before they buy it.

“The e-bikes are really nice, especially for seniors because if you don’t have the leg strength, or the lung capacity that you may have had in the past, but want to get out and ride, it makes things a lot easier,” said Lupino. “These ones would be pedal assist, that as you pedal an electric motor kicks in and helps you pedal faster; so you don’t have to like huff your way up hills.”

She said the idea is to encourage people to enjoy the great outdoors.

According to Lupino, while a lot of the focus for outdoor recreation is directed at people coming here from outside the area, this grant would encourage local residents to participate in these outdoor activities.

“I think local residents have kind of sometimes been forgotten,” said Lupino. “So I wanted to encourage more people to get out, especially seniors.”

She said the equipment would be available for residents to borrow from the library, but the details of the equipment loan process have yet to be determined.

The second AARP grant would provide $3,000 for elevated garden beds. The beds will be 8 feet long by 2 feet wide. Lupino said the elevated gardens would be an appropriate height for wheel chair users to be able to garden. The boxes are also portable so they can be taken apart and put in storage at the end of the season.

She said the elevated garden beds are easier on the back and knees, than gardens at ground level.

Lupino said the library is looking at purchasing five beds and they would be located in the parking lot near City Hall. She said the library would have “easy to grow, short season” items such as lettuce, kale, and green beans, in the boxes if they are awarded the grant this year, as they would not get them until around June. However she said the boxes are deep enough that you can grow carrots, and tomatoes, and other things that have deeper roots.

“Our hope for somewhere down the line is to build a proper community garden somewhere in Bessemer and this would kind of be the introduction to that,” said Lupino. “When we are able to find the space and build a real garden, we can take these boxes and put them inside the community garden for a more accessible garden space.”

Lupino said this would provide an opportunity for residents to have a more economical way to get fresh produce, along with some fresh air and exercise, and possibly make some friends, Lupino said the produce could be started from seeds inside the library next season and then transplanted in the gardens once the weather is warmer.

The library also applied for a grant from the Library of Michigan to help with summer programing. The grant would provide the library with $1,100 in funding for summer activities. The grant cannot pay for prizes, or guest speakers.

“If we get that grant, we’ve got some fun activities every week for kids and for teens – kind of like craft projects,” Lupino said. “Oh, I’ve got fun stuff.”

Lupino said she is expecting to hear if she received the summer programing grant sometime this month.

“We’ll do some fun things this year, because we can do things in person,” she said. “So exciting.”