WEBER COUNTY — This weekend, residents are being invited to take part in a community event that has become a spring tradition for the Weber County Library System.

In recognition of Earth Day, all of the county’s library branches will be distributing ladybugs to their patrons on Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m. Those interested in receiving a mesh bag (each of which contain approximately 150 ladybugs) are advised to arrive early.

“We have limited supplies of the ladybugs and, in recent years, they go fast,” Heidi Philpot, the Southwest Branch’s youth services librarian, told the Standard-Examiner.

The county library began giving out ladybugs — which eat insects that are harmful to plants, like aphids, and also aid in pollination — in 2008 as part of the grand opening festivities for its Pleasant Valley branch.

The Pleasant Valley facility was the system’s first LEED-certified building, a designation given to highly efficient and cost-saving green buildings, as recognized by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Now, all five of Weber’s branches are LEED certified. Meanwhile, the “ladybug roundup” further serves the system’s mission to be more eco-friendly.

Ladybugs are purchased from California-based Tip Top Bio-Control and flown in for the library’s Earth Day event.

“They arrive on ice to keep them dormant, so they’re very happy traveling here by plane until right before they’re given up,” Philpot said. “They wake up and they’re happy. They’re happy bugs.”

Each of Weber’s branches also will have a children’s program Saturday. The schedule for those events are as follows:

• Main Library, “Earth Day: Great Salt Lake Ecosystem” at 10:30 a.m.

Learn about the Great Salt Lake’s ecosystem and its insect inhabitants during a special interactive program presented by Weber State University.

• North Branch, “Earth Day: The Beauty of Utah” at 2 p.m.

Learn about the plants, animals and geology found in Utah, then make a nature journal to document what you find in you own neighborhood.

• Ogden Valley Branch, Earth Day Celebration at 2 p.m.

Staff from the Ogden Nature Center will be on-site to celebrate Earth Day. Learn about threatened and endangered species and meet some special animal friends.

• Pleasant Valley Branch, “Earth Day: We Are Water Protectors” at 3 p.m.

Hear a reading of the book “We Are Water Protectors” by Carole Lindstrom, followed by a watercolor painting project inspired by the book.

• Southwest Branch, “Earth Day: Recyclable Terrariums” at 3:30 p.m.

Make a terrarium from an empty water bottle, soup can, yogurt cup or other recyclable. Bring your own container or use one on hand.

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