StoryWalk comes to Sampson

Jan. 31—The fun-filled activity that blends reading and exercise known as StoryWalk, which came to Clinton back in November 2022, recently grew bigger after expanding into Roseboro.

"StoryWalk is copyrighted by a librarian in Vermont that came up with this idea to take children's books and place them along a trail or walking path, so that you can promote early literacy as well as physical activity for children," Kelsey Edwards, Director, Sampson-Clinton Public Library, said.

To achieve that, laminated pages from a children's book are attached to wooden stakes, which are installed along an outdoor path. As people transverse these trails they stop to read a page of the story then they're directed to the next page in the story further along the path. These are what's known as StoryWalks.

When the first StoryWalk was introduced last year Sampson-Clinton Public Library partnered with the Clinton Recreation and Parks Department to bring one to Newkirk Park in Clinton. They'd follow that same rhetoric to bring the second location to Roseboro but this time partnering with Sampson County Parks and Recreation.

"We are very excited to announce the completion of our second StoryWalk," a post on the Sampson-Clinton Public Library Facebook said. "This StoryWalk is located at Western District Park in Roseboro! Thank you to the Sampson County Parks and Recreation for your partnership in this project at Western District Park!"

This project was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

"These are, as far as I know, the first permanent StoryWalks in Sampson County," Edwards said. "There have been some temporary ones put up on yard signs and we've done some at our branches but this one allows us to change out the story periodically. That way we can freshen the stories up and it protects the pages as well."

The StoryWalk Project itself was created by Anne Ferguson a librarian of Montpelier, VT, in 2007 who had a simple desire to bring an innovative and delightful way for children and adults to enjoy reading and the outdoors at the same time. It was developed in collaboration with the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, also in Montpelier.

While Edwards hasn't seen how actively people are partaking in the StoryWalks she's received positive feedback about them.

"Most feedback that I've gotten so far was when I was putting the pages out for Western District Park," she said. "There was a child and an adult and they began looking at the walk as I was putting it up and they seemed to think it was really neat."

"Also the fact that the library had worked together for the Parks and Recreation Department, they felt that was a great partnership as well."

"It's kind of out there for people to see and we're not often there to see how they react so sometimes it's hard to get feedback," Edwards added. "But, one of the reasons why I like it, I feel like we may get people who use the parks but not always the library to starting thinking — oh wait, the libraries not far, we can come use the library as well — it's kind of a reminder that we're there."

Edwards went on to express what made here want to bring StoryWalks to Sampson County, an idea she noted was always something she wanted to do.

"To be honest I'd always wanted to do a permanent StoryWalk and the grant funding just was available at a good time to be able to do it," she said. "I think that they are really great resources to promote the literacy, especially early literacy, and physical activity."

"One other thing I will tell you that's cool about these StoryWalks is that they don't just have the story there," she said. "They also have at each station, where they're reading the story, a question about the story or a movement activity they can perform related to the story to help them interact with the story or the book."

For those that haven't had a chance to experience the current stories displayed at the StoryWalks Edwards let off with this information about when stories will rotate.

"So I'm thinking about leaving each story in there about six months," she said. "So the first park which is Newkirk Park, they have had their story about three months. So it'd be three more months before I would change it out. "Then the one in Roseboro was just completed in January, so it's gonna be in it probably about five more months before that would be switched out."

"I would also like to add that the Sampson-Clinton Public Library is extremely appreciative of the support and enthusiasm for that projects that we received from both the City of Clinton Recreation and Parks Department and the Sampson County Parks and Recreation department," she added. "The projects could not have been completed without them."

If the community is interested in visiting other StoryWalks in North Carolina, they can check out the map of Story Trails of North Carolina by visiting www.statelibrary.ncdcr.gov/nc-literary-trails/story-trails-north-carolina

The Story Trails of North Carolina map highlights StoryWalk, Book Trails and Book Walk programs across the state.

Reach Michael B. Hardison at 910-249-4231. Follow us on Twitter at @SamsponInd, like us on Facebook, and check out our Instagram at @thesampsonindependent.