This month, the Library is celebrating Spring by sharing resources, local shops and organizations, and events related to nature, the outdoors, and all things sustainability.
Members of the Caltech community can now receive a Free Metro Pass that is valid for unlimited rides on all Metro bus and rail lines, as well as many local bus systems including Pasadena Transit.
On Sunday, May 1, from 9:00am - 4:00 pm, the roadways from Mission to Mission (San Gabriel - Alhambra - South Pasadena) will be temporarily opened for people to walk, jog, skate, bike and more!
A manifesto for a radically different philosophy and practice of manufacture and environmentalism "Reduce, reuse, recycle" urge environmentalists; in other words, do more with less in order to minimize damage. But as this provocative, visionary book argues, this approach perpetuates a one-way, "cradle to grave" manufacturing model that dates to the Industrial Revolution and casts off as much as 90 percent of the materials it uses as waste, much of it toxic. Why not challenge the notion that human industry must inevitably damage the natural world?
The belief that all life-forms are interconnected and share the same breath--known in the Rarámuri tribe as iwígara--has resulted in a treasury of knowledge about the natural world, passed down for millennia by native cultures. Ethnobotanist Enrique Salmón builds on this concept of connection and highlights 80 plants revered by North America's indigenous peoples. Salmón teaches us the ways plants are used as food and medicine, the details of their identification and harvest, their important health benefits, plus their role in traditional stories and myths. Discover in these pages how the timeless wisdom of iwígara can enhance your own kinship with the natural world.
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowing together to reveal what it means to see humans as "the younger brothers of creation." As she explores these themes she circles toward a central argument: the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgement and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the world. Once we begin to listen for the languages of other beings, we can begin to understand the innumerable life-giving gifts the world provides us and learn to offer our thanks, our care, and our own gifts in return.
Ban SUP Refill: Reduce plastic and other types of waste by providing alternative solutions including refills, unpacked products, sustainably packed products, and reusable items
Bryan Vejar, Caltech's tree care specialist, posts about his work taking care of trees on campus. Follow Bryan on
Instagram @caltecharborist
California Cactus Center: Family-owned resource for rare & common cacti & other succulents, pottery & accessories.
Address: 216 S Rosemead Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107
Theodore Payne Nursery:
They are "dedicated to propagating and cultivating native plants from throughout the State of California and within the California Floristic Province."
LA Compost:
"We work to restore lost connections to the soil and one another."
Get Out(doors)!
Outward Bound Adventures:
The oldest non-profit dedicated to providing outdoor learning expeditions for low income, urban and rural youth and their families who would not otherwise have the opportunity to experience time spent in wild places and open spaces.
Address: 1905 Lincoln Ave BUILDING G-224, Pasadena, CA 91103
The Stronghold Climbing Gym:
"We promote responsible enjoyment of outdoor climbing areas and Leave-No-Trace principles. We are committed to creating an inclusive and welcoming environment to train, learn, and develop a passion for climbing!"
Address: 650 S Ave 21, Los Angeles, CA 90031
Brown Girls Climb:
Brown Girls Climb envisions an “outdoor” and climbing community that honors our individual relationships to the land, complex histories and truths, centers the experiences and voices of those most impacted by colonization and industrialization of the land, and provides a just redistribution of resources so that everyone can find their relationship to the land around them.
Secondhand Goods and Repair Services
Buy Nothing Project:
Connect to people through hyperlocal gifting of goods and services
Repair Cafe Pasadena: A free, roving, all purpose repair shop & cafe for and by the community
Remainders Creative Reuse:
An arts and crafts thrift store and maker space focused on creative reuse and sustainability
Address: 787 E Washington Blvd suite 101, Pasadena, CA 91104
Suay Sew Shop: "As our global community demands change from corporations, our dedication to design, coupled with a drive for activism, is putting reclaimed product at the center of a social, economic and environmental revolution. Cultivating upcycling as the priority will not only massively impact our planet, but our daily quality of life."
Address: 2915 Knox Ave #105, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Cradle to Cradle by 
Iwígara by 
Ebook: Braiding Sweetgrass by