Anyone curious about or baffled by plant life, water cycles and how everything works together can find some answers Monday.

Sylvia Arthur, 51 of Ironton, is a self-described independent community educator and will be leading a series of workshops beginning at 10:30 a.m. Monday at the Briggs Lawrence County Public Library.

“The first workshop is to give people a new vocabulary for understanding how the plant functions and how ecosystems work,” Arthur said. “Just really basic stuff, like our water cycle and how everything is connected.”

Arthur led a similar class last summer and this year she is breaking it down more simply.

“I did a longer workshop at the library last year where I talked about the environment and the green economy,” Arthur said. “With this one I have taken the same subjects and made shorter workshops and I am focusing on the environmental part.”

Arthur said these workshops are especially for adults who don’t know much about environmental issues, but want to understand.

“They’re intended to give people enough information to make informed decisions,” she said.

The workshop will last about an hour and a half and will have time for a question and answer session.

“That’s kind of my goal, to answer as many questions as possible,” Arthur said.

Lori Shafer, librarian at Briggs Lawrence County Public Library, said the event is free and open to everyone.

“We can hold up to 75 in our room, so anyone who’s interested is welcome,” Shafer said.

Shafer said the library tries to do two or three different kinds of informational workshops a month.

“I think it’s a great way to get information out to the public and it’s free,” Shafer said. “A lot of times you either have to pay to take a class or read 100 books to find the information you want, but this is an opportunity where you can talk to an expert or someone who has studied in this field.”

Arthur moved to Ironton a year ago and has been interested in environmental topics for many years.

“I majored in environmental studies and economics at the University of Vermont in 1977,” Arthur said. “I’ve been part of the environmental movement ever since. It’s like all the problems I learned about in school are still with us, and have gotten worse, like we expected. It’s important for people to learn how the planet works and how we affect it.”

Arthur said she is always looking for more opportunities to teach and share information with people.

She will lead three additional workshops on related topics throughout the month of July.

For more information, contact the library at (740) 532-1124.