Seed Libraries Reap Stronger Communities

It's official. Dandelions, snow drops and daffodils have been spotted. Spring is upon us and so is the planting season. Brewster Ladies' Library is cultivating a year-round seed exchange program. But dig a little deeper and the giving and taking of the native heirlooms represents something much bigger.

What is the spring equinox?

We are on the other side of the spring equinox and have officially moved into spring season. For many that also means getting your hands dirty and your fingers green – time to start a-planting. Don't have any seeds? Some Cape Cod libraries have the solution: seed libraries, a kind of exchange program where people can donate and take seeds.

What is the seed library?

The seed library in Brewster is growing more than just plants. With a deeper purpose of connecting and strengthening the community, Gabrielle Griffis from Brewster Ladies' Library is hoping to inspire people to participate in the seed exchange program. Planting seeds can reap greater benefits such as growing a shareconomy and countering the loss of biodiversity. With the seed library Griffis wants to offer a public place where people can exchange materials without the use of money. The seed library is a library of seeds where people can bring seeds that they have saved from their previous harvests, and the library also stock seeds so people can take seeds, says Griffis.

How can the seed library help the environment?

Through the seed program people are cultivating healthy ecological systems and abundant ecological communities, says Griffis and that taking seeds to the library creates a vital system, a microcosm with a more equitable society. It represents the sort of world I would like to live in, she adds. To give seeds to the library, Griffis suggests preserving the seeds when harvesting in the late summer and early fall. Alliums, i.e. onions, shallots, leeks etc., is a good start for a beginner. Griffis explains in the video how to save the seeds from the crops you are growing.