The Goffstown Public Library Community Conversations series is designed to help us understand issues affecting our community and provide a starting point to open up conversations. Community Conversations bring together resources, experts, and concerned community members to discuss complicated issues in a gracious, safe space.

The 2021 Community Conversations initiative is focused on the environment. Join us as we separate fact from fiction and foster a dialog to improve our town and planet for the future. This year’s Community Conversations will explore the impact of our changing environment on the Goffstown community. Topics will include trash and recycling, stormwater, weather, global climate change, birds, bees, and much more!
For more information, please contact Dianne Hathaway, Goffstown Public Library Director, 497-2102, dianneh@goffstownlibrary.com
Schedule of Events
APRIL - MAY
CUT the CARBON! with the Kill-A-Watt Energy Detector
Save on your electric bills and reduce your carbon footprint by borrowing the CUT the CARBON! kit from the Goffstown Public Library. The CUT the CARBON! kit includes a Kill-A-Watt Energy Detector that you can use to calculate the monthly cost of your appliances and electric devices. Kill-A-Watt Energy Detectors are also great at determining which devices are using phantom energy, driving up your bill and using valuable resources.
Additionally, the kit includes instructions on using the device, calculation sheets to determine your monthly costs, and energy-saving tips to help you cut the carbon. Request the kit with your library card.
This kit is powered by NHSaves in partnership with the New Hampshire State Library and is being offered as part of the Goffstown Public Library’s 2021 Community Conversations about the environment.
For virtual events, registration is required at www.goffstownlibrary.com/calendar. All virtual events will be held via Microsoft Teams and once registered, all participants will receive an email link to join the discussions.
All pre-recorded video presentations will appear on our YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary
APRIL
ADULTS
- Thursday, 4/1/2021 at 1pm – Let’s Make – Earth Bookmarks. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Saturday, 4/10/2021 at 11am – The Future of Energy in NH with State Representative Peter Somssich, Ph.D.
- Tuesday, 4/13/2021 at 6:30pm – Climate Change and New Hampshire’s Birds with Dr. Pamela Hunt, Avian Conservation Biologist of the NH Audubon.
- Tuesday, 4/20/2021 at 6:30pm – Well Water in a Time of Climate Change with Derek Skillings of Skillings and Sons, LLC.
- Thursday, 4/22/2021 at 6:30pm – Blame it on the Rain with Adam Jacobs, Director of Goffstown Department of Public Works. Rescheduled – date TBA
TEENS
- Friday, 4/9/2021 at 1pm – Let’s Create – Teen DIY Beeswax Food Wraps. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Friday, 4/23/2021 at 1pm – Essential Teen Life Skills – Grow Your Own Herbs. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
KIDS
- Thursday, 4/22/2021 at 9am – Composting 101 for Kids. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Friday, 4/30/2021 at 9am – Wildflower Seed Bombs. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
MAY
ADULTS
- Saturday, 5/1/2021 at 11am – For the Love of Pollinators with pollinator expert and beekeeping educator Jodi Turner of Imagine That Honey.
- Saturday, 5/1/2021 at 1pm – Let’s Make – Soda Tab Keychains. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Tuesday, 5/4/2021 at 6:30pm – Evening Book Discussion – How To Be Alive by Colin Beavan. Please read the book before the discussion; online access is available with your library card through hoopladigital.com and print copies will be available to borrow at the Library.
- Thursday, 5/6/2021 at 6:30pm – Reduce, Reuse, & Reflect with Adam Jacobs, Director of Goffstown Department of Public Works. Watch a recording of this event on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Tuesday, 5/11/2021 at 6:30pm – NHSaves Button Up Energy Workshop with Andy Duncan and Ted Stiles as representatives for the NHSaves Consortium. Watch a recording of this event on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Saturday, 5/15/2021 at 9am – Beautification Day with the Friends. Meet on the Library lawn and please bring your own garden tools if possible.
- Tuesday, 5/18/2021 at 6:30pm – Film Discussion : How to Let Go of the World and Love All the Things Climate Can’t Change. Please watch the video before the discussion; access to online streaming will be available from Saturday, 5/15/21 through Monday, 5/17/21 and DVDs will be available to borrow at the Library.
- Saturday, 5/22/2021 at 11am – A Conversation with the State Climatologist with New Hampshire State Climatologist Mary Stampone, Ph.D.
TEENS
- Friday, 5/14/2021 at 1pm – Let’s Create – Teen DIY Make Way for Butterflies. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
- Friday, 5/28/2021 at 1pm – Essential Teen Life Skills – Being an Environmentally Responsible Citizen. Watch on YouTube at www.youtube.com/goffstownlibrary.
KIDS
- May 1 – 27 – “Love our Earth” BINGO Board Challenge. Print your BINGO board here – http://bit.ly/GPLccBINGOkids
- Monday, 5/10/2021 at 9am – DIY Field Notebook.
Resources
- All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson & Katherine K. Wilkinson (2020)
- The Arctic is Heating Up by National Geographic (09.2019)
- Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution by Peter Kalmus (2017)
- Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming edited by Paul Hawken (2017)
- The End of Ice: Bearing Witness and Finding Meaning in the Path of Climate Disruption by Dhar Jamail (2019)
- The Ends of the World: Volcanic Apocalypses, Lethal Oceans, and Our Quest to Understand Earth’s Past Mass Extinctions by Peter Brannen (2017)
- Enviromedics: The Impact of Climate Change on Human Health by Jay Lemery (2017)
- False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet by Bjorn Lomborg (2020)
- Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion – and the Future of Clothes by Dana Thomas (2019)
- A Furious Sky: The Five-hundred-year History of America’s Hurricanes by Eric Jay Dolin (2020)
- Future Sea: How to Rescue and Protect the World’s Oceans by Deborah Rowan Wright (2020)
- The Future We Choose: Surviving the Climate Crisis by Christiana Figueres (2020)
- The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable by Amitav Ghosh (2016)
- Growing Good Food: A Citizen’s Guide to Backyard Carbon Farming by Acadia Tucker (2019)
- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need by Bill Gates (2021)
- How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time by Will McCallum (2019)
- How to Prepare for Climate Change: A Practical Guide to Surviving the Chaos by David Pogue (2021)
- How to Talk to Your Kids About Climate Change: Turning Angst into Action by Harriet Shugarman (2020)
- Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have by Tatiana Schlossberg (2019)
- Losing Earth: A Recent History by Nathaniel Rich (2019)
- Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy (2019)
- The New Climate War: The Fight to Take Back Our Planet by Michael E. Mann (2021)
- One Last Chance by TIME Magazine (07.20.2020)
- Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl by Jonathan C. Slaght (2020)
- Rising: Dispatches from the New American Shore by Elizabeth A. Rush (2018)
- Sea Level Rise: A Slow Tsunami on America’s Shores by Orrin H. Pilkey (2019)
- Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet by Mark Lynas (2008)
- The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert (2014)
- The Soil Will Save Us!: How Scientists, Farmers, and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet by Kristin Ohlson (2014)
- Storms of My Grandchildren: The Truth About the Coming Climate Catastrophe and Our Last Chance to Save Humanity by James Hansen (2009)
- The Story of More: How We Got to Climate Change and Where to Go from Here by Hope Jahren (2020)
- Tales of Two Planets: Stories of Climate Change and Inequality in a Divided World edited by John Freeman (2020)
- This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate by Naomi Klein (2014)
- This is the Way the World Ends: How Droughts and Die-offs, Heat Waves and Hurricanes Are Converging on America by Jeffrey Asher Nesbit (2018)
- The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience by Rob Hopkins (2008)
- Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future by Elizabeth Kolbert (2021)
- The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming by David Wallace-Wells (2019)
- We are the Weather: Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast by Jonathan Safran Foer (2019)
- What Can I Do?: My Path from Climate Despair to Action by Jane Fonda (2020)
- With Distance in His Eyes: The Environmental Life and Legacy of Stewart Udall by Scott Einberger (2018)
- The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One by Sylvia A. Earle (2009)
- 350 New Hampshire – People Power for Climate Justice: 350nh.org
- AA Metal Recycling – Electronics recycling: www.aametalrecycling.com/electronics-recycling
- Appalachian Mountain Club – New Hampshire Chapter: amcnh.org
- ecoATM – sell your phone for instant cash: www.ecoatm.com
- GreenDisk – Electronics Recycling: greendisk.com/gdsite/accept.aspx
- NH Department for Agriculture, Markets & Food: www.agriculture.nh.gov
- Plymouth Area Renewable Energy Initiative: plymouthenergy.org
- Reliable Asset Recovery – Computer Recycling Specialists: www.rar-recycles.com/recycling
- SciStarter’s I See Change Citizen Science Project: scistarter.org/nlm/iseechange-nlm
- SciStarter’s Nature’s Notebook Citizen Science Initiative: scistarter.org/nlm/natures-notebook-nlm
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
- Carbon Nation (2011)
- Chasing Ice (2013)
- Before the Flood (2017)
- How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things Climate Can’t Change (2017)
- An Inconvenient Sequel (2017)
- An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
- This Changes Everything (2015)
- The True Cost (2015)
Find these in the e-library – available to you free with your Goffstown Public Library card.
In the Education category –
- Universal Class offers courses like Ecology and Global Warming as part of its unlimited access to over 500 continuing education courses covering a broad range of topics. Classes are self-paced and instructor-led, with certified instructors available to answer questions and assess performance. Includes the option for CEUs (continuing education units) on approved courses, and over 100 video audit courses available.
In the Science category –
- GreenFILE by EBSCO offers well-researched information covering all aspects of human impact to the environment. Its collection of scholarly, government and general-interest titles includes content on global warming, green building, pollution, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, recycling, and more.
- NewsBank – Environment – is a searchable resource including information on climate, conservation, energy, green living, human factors, natural disasters, pollution, and wildlife preservation. This is a collection of full-text U.S. newspapers including The Union Leader and the NH Sunday News (since 1989) and The Concord Monitor (since 2002).
Picture Books
- The Earth and I by Frank Asch
- Franklin Plants a Tree by Sharon Jennings
- Minnie and Moo Save the Earth by Denys Cazet
- What Planet Are You From Clarice Bean? by Lauren Child
- One Little Bag: An Amazing Journey by Henry Cole
- Bloom by Doreen Cronin
- City Green by DyAnne DiSalvo-Ryan
- We Are the Gardeners by Johanna Gaines
- Roslyn Rutabaga and the Biggest Hole on Earth by Marie- Louise Gay
- The Trouble with Dragons by Debi Gliori
- Beehive by Jorey Hurley
- Emeraldalicious by Victoria Kane
- The Fisherman and the Whale by Jessica Lanan
- We are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom
- The Family Tree by David McPhail
- Hike by Pete Oswald
- The Dump Man’s Treasures by Lynn Plourde
- A New Green Day by Antoinette Portis
- Hey, Water! by Antoinette Portis
- Anywhere Farm by Phyllis Root
- Thank you, Garden by Elizabeth Scanlon
- The Lorax by Dr Seuss
- The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith
- The Bug Girl (a true story) by Sophia Spencer
- Miss Fox’s Class Goes Green by Eileen Spinelli
- The Water Princess by Susan Verde
- Trash! by Charlotte Wilcox
- The Girl Who Spoke to the Moon : a Story About Friendship and Loving Our Earth by Land Wilson
Juvenile Chapter Books
- Mr. Granite Is from Another Planet! by Dan Gutman
- You go First by Erin Entrada Kelly
- Judy Moody Saves the World by Megan McDonald
- A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park
- The Fog Diver by Joel Ross
- The Lost Compass by Joel Ross
Nonfiction for Kids
- Protecting the Planet by Louise Spilsbury
- Earth Day Every Day by Jill Wheeler
- Magic School Bus & the Climate Challenge by Joanna Cole
- Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life by Molly Bang
- Earth Verses and Water Rhymes by Patrick Lewis
- 101 Ways to Save the Planet by Deborah Underwood
- Earth-Friendly Energy by Ron Fridell
- Save the Planet : 50 Simple Ways to Go Green Now by Gregory Rutty
- Garbage: Investigate What Happens When You Throw it Out by Donna Latham
- The Down to Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David
- Protecting Earth’s Water Supply by Ron Fridell
- Humans and the Hydrosphere: Protecting Earth’s Water Sources by Ava Sawyer
- The Spinner’s Gift: A Tale by Gail Radley
- Honeybee by Candace Fleming
- Green Crafts: Become an Earth-friendly Craft Star Step by Easy Step by Emma Hardy
- Scrapkins: Junk Re-Thunk by Brian Yanish
- Wild Girl : How to Have Incredible Outdoor Adventures by Helen Skelton
- Hello, Earth! : Poems to Our Planet by Joyce Sidman
- Our House in on Fire: Greta Thunberg’s Call to Save the Planet by Jeanette Winter
Web Links for Kids
- Composting At Home https://www.epa.gov/recycle/composting-home
- Composting Food Waste: How to Get Started http://www.newmoa.org/solidwaste/projects/food/Composting_Guide_LRPC_11x17.pdf
- National Institute of Environmental Health Services https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/topics/environment-health/index.htm
- NASA https://www.nasa.gov/content/earth-day-2020-50th-anniversary-toolkit
- NIH (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/topics/environment-health/index.htm
- New Hampshire Drinking Water Festival https://nhwaterfestival.org
- Recycle City (Environmental Protection Agency) https://www3.epa.gov/recyclecity/mainmap.htm
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
Teen chapter books: Green Reads / Cli-Fi / Apocalyptic
- After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
- Dry by Neal Shusterman
- Each of Us a Desert by Mark Oshiro
- Frozen by Melissa De La Cruz
- H2O by Virginia Bergin
- Life as We Know It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- Midnight at the Electric by Jodi Lynn Anderson
- Not a Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis
- Pacifica by Kristen Simmons
- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
- Skink – No Surrender by Carl Hiaasen
- The Children of Eden by Joey Graceffa
- The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold
- The End by Mats Strandberg
- The Final Warning: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson
- The Last Boy and Girl in the World by Siobhan Vivian
- Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
- The Luckiest Scar on Earth by Ana Maria Spagna
- The Rule of One by Ashley Saunders
- The Storm by Virginia Bergin
- The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte
- The Wild Lands by Paul Greci
- Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
- Wolves, Boys, & Other Things that Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler
Teen Nonfiction
- Challenge Everything: An Extinction Rebellion Youth Guide to Saving the Planet by Blue Sandford
- Earth Day and The Environmental Movement: Standing up for Earth by Christy Peterson
- How to Change Everything: The Young Human’s Guide to Protecting the Planet and Each Other by Naomi Klein
- It’s Getting Hot in Here: the past, the present, and the future of global warming by Bridget Heos
- Poisoned Water: How the Citizens of Flint, Michigan, Fought for Their Lives and Warned the Nation by Candy J. Cooper
- Taking on the Plastics Crisis by Hannah Testa
- What is the Impact of E-Waste? by Cynthia Bily
Weblinks
- https://berecycled.org/ Learn about recycling, take a recycling journey, and play a recycling game
- https://climatekids.nasa.gov/ Learn about climate change, play games, watch videos, participate in activities
- https://www.epa.gov/students provides K-12 students and educators with access to quality homework resources, lesson plans and project ideas for learning and teaching about the environment.
- https://www.fws.gov/savethemonarch/ Learn about threats impacting monarch butterflies and how to help
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
- Eco-Minimalism playlist by Shelbizleee
- “Green New Deal: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)” by Last Week Tonight
- “A Simpler Way: Crisis As Opportunity” by Happen Films
- “Sustainability Issues We Don’t Talk About Enough” by Tiffany Ferguson
- “WATCH: Greta Thunberg’s full speech to world leaders at UN Climate Action Summit” by PBS NewsHour
- “Who is Environmentalism” by Jane McDonald for TEDx
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
- “Four Experts Are Asked, Is the Merrimack River at Risk?” by Roger Wood for InDepth NH
- Green Dreamer by Kamea Chayne
- “How Is N.H. Causing, Experiencing And Responding To Climate Change?” by Rick Ganley and Mary McIntyre for New Hampshire Public Radio
- A Sustainable Mind by Marjorie Alexander
- Think Sustainability by Julia Carr-Catzel
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
Online Articles and Resource Collections
- “Climate Change” by NH Department of Environmental Services
- Climate Change by NH Public Radio
- “Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions about the 2015 Paris Agreement” by Congressional Research Service
- Earth Day Every Day by EarthDay.org
- Environmental Topics by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- “It’s Easy to be Tricked by a Climate Denier” by William MacDonald
- “Knitters Chronicle Climate Change One Stitch at a Time” by Laura M. Holson for the New York Times
- “Projected Economic Impacts of Climate Change” by Congressional Research Service
- Recycling Simplified Education Program by Republic Services
- Sustainability in Libraries a collection of articles by the American Libraries Association (ALA)
- Sustainable RT Library a collection of resources by the Sustainability Round Table of the ALA
- “Weather and Climate: What’s the Difference?” by Congressional Research Service
- “Worthy Articles Address Plight of Trees in a Warming Climate” by SueEllen Campbell for Yale Climate Connections
- Yale Climate Connections a collection of resources by the Yale Center for Environmental Communication
Please evaluate these sites based on your needs and preferences. The Goffstown Public Library does not endorse any of these sites.
Downloadable PDFs of these resources –