Librarian Builds Little Free Library Inside a Tree Stump

When I launched Portland Wild last fall as a map driven guide to Portland’s urban wilderness, a number of people asked me why I included public street art, the city’s heritage trees and Little Free Libraries. I don’t think I’d have to explain this to Sharalee Armitage Howard.

When the venerable and ailing cottonwood in her Coeur d’Alene front yard began dropping branches on cars parked below, Howard faced the inevitable. But rather than chop the tree even with the ground, she arranged with the removal crew to leave a considerable amount of stump intact. Then, in a Pippi Longstocking-ish move, she filled it with books for her neighbors and strangers to discover.

I read this via OpenCulture, an awesome website with hundreds and hundreds of interesting items. You should check it out. They include more photos of the Little Library in the tree stump as well as a video on how to safely do this.