Discover & Go –
Free and discounted tickets to museums and more By Michael Beller, Community Library Manager at Ygnacio Valley Library
T they suggested that extra water not be provided for parties since the students bring their own water bottles to school and there are water fountains everywhere. To reduce the waste of plastic utensils, etc, they created the “Party Set” that consists of 30 reusable plates, bowls, cups, utensils (knife, fork & spoon) as well as a tablecloth. Walnut Acres has 3 “Party Sets” that can be borrowed by the classrooms and staff. The process to use these “Party Sets” is simple, including a signup form to reserve them and all sets need to be returned clean. These sets were graciously donated by Recycle Smart. Marci and Monique are excited to see this change at their school as even the teachers are using them for their teacher appreciation lunches. Walnut Acres also composts! Like many schools in our area, the Walnut Acres Gardeners put garden compost from their lovely school garden into the green bins at school, and the school cafeteria also composts all of the food waste created from school lunches. In the future, the school is working on plans for a working school food garden in which the compost can be used to help fertilize the food they grow.
his month’s library resource is Discover & Go. Discover & Go is a program provided by the Contra Costa County library that offers free and low-cost passes for museums, science centers, zoos, theatres, and other cultural destinations. All you need is your library card and you’re on your way. Last week, for example, my wife and I planned an outing to Napa. Before we left, we checked to see what Napa museums were available on Discover & Go. We have never heard of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, but there it was on the list of attractions. Curious, we decided that this would be a great adventure so we downloaded some Discover & Go tickets and got on the road. We were right. The museum is wonderfully interesting. Located in a lovely vineyard, the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is comprised of two buildings filled with a variety of art, and grounds filled with amazing sculptures. The cost of the adventure was free, except that we are certain to become regulars there. Other attractions include: The Asian Art Museum, the Legion of Honor, Safari West, the Blackhawk Museum, the California Academy of Sciences, and many more. To access the Discover & Go website and schedule an adventure of your own, take your library card to the following website:https://ccclib.discoverandgo.net/ If you have any problems, just contact your local librarian. We’re happy to help.
Their recent initiative is bringing the idea of the Zero Waste lunch to the students and their parents. Many families use reusable lunch bags and containers, but many do not, and the trash bins and recycling bins are full of used paper and plastic bags as well as packaging from chips and other pre-packaged goodies. The idea behind the Zero Waste lunch is to bring lunch to school and leave nothing behind. This is possible by packing lunch in a reusable lunch bag, in snack containers and lunch containers. Marci and Monique are partnering with Planet Renu to offer many eco-friendly products made from stainless steel, wheat straw (wheat straw containers are reusable, they look like plastic, but are compostable after years of use), compostable straws and Bee’s Wraps. Marci and Monique are also working with the school cafeteria to offer eco options for their cutlery and plates instead of plastic. It is exciting to see so many eco-friendly changes at Walnut Acres Elementary. I believe that if we adapt the motto “Be a Contributor, not a Consumer,” we can make great strides in reducing the amount of waste (plastic, trash, etc) that we produce. We all know it takes a village, but together we can start taking small steps towards making our world a better place.
NORTHGATE LIVING 15
