On April 23, 2024, in celebration of Earth Day, Fort Peck’s Poplar Head Start students came together to decorate one of the Little Free Library (LFL) boxes for their tribe. This LFL box will house books for the children and their families to take, read, return, and add to, fostering a culture of reading and sharing within the community. The children added their unique touches to the box using paint, stickers, stamps, and their boundless imagination.
The event, hosted at Fort Peck’s Poplar Cultural Center, was coordinated by Hilary Gourneau, the director of the Fort Peck Head Start (pictured above in a black hat and apron). In addition to decorating the boxes, Head Start students received free books about Earth Day and nature from Unite for Literacy, further increasing their interest in environmental topics and instilling a love for environmental stewardship.
This initiative is part of the Reading Nation Waterfall Sunrise Project, through which Fort Peck Head Start received two LFL boxes. One box is dedicated to children’s materials, while the second will cater to adults and teens. The high school students decorated the second box, fostering a sense of ownership and connection to their community as they transition into adulthood. By involving children and teens in the decoration of these LFL boxes, the project not only promotes literacy, but also instills a sense of pride and responsibility towards their community resources.