Happy National Take a Hike Day! This holiday is dedicated to the joy of spending time in nature. The American Hiking Society has excellent resources on how to celebrate National Hiking Day, including the benefits of hiking, how to plan a hike, and what to bring with you on a hike. There are so many great ways to encourage hiking at a public library. You can run a family hiking program, like this really fun one created by the Simsbury Public Library (CT). Or, if the weather is rainy and cold, you can create an indoor nature walk program, like I did at my library. Creating the Indoor Nature Walk I created my indoor nature walk as a program for preschoolers and their caregivers. First, I searched for images of different animals and their tracks. I printed out the pictures of the animals on large, 11 inch by 17 inch…