Dover Public Library hosted Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday celebration today, featuring First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, Delaware’s Secretary of Agriculture and the state librarian.
The event included story time, songs and cupcakes for Smokey’s latest stop on his Delaware tour.
Smokey and Delaware Forest Service’s training and education specialist Ashley Melvin are visiting libraries throughout the state in honor of this milestone birthday and the Smokey Bear Reading Challenge.
She said this year’s Smokey Bear Reading Challenge pairs nicely with the National Summer Reading Challenge, whose theme is “adventure begins at your library.”
“We really wanted to use it as an opportunity to show children across the state of Delaware that adventure indeed begins at your library, but it can also extend out into the many open spaces and state force that we have here in Delaware,” Melvin said.
Literacy and nature education are closely tied, Melvin added. Storybooks are often children’s first exposure to nature, and they teach kids valuable lessons like Smokey’s famous focus, wildfire prevention.
“We know that if we want to change human behavior, that the children are where we should direct our message,” Melvin said.
Melvin said these events spark curiosity, and maybe one day, attendees will pursue a career in natural resources.
In all, more than 30 library visits are scheduled throughout the state, including upcoming ones at the Bridgeville Public Library on August 15, the Delmar Public Library on August 28 and the Appoquinimink Community Library on August 30.
