The library at Shire of Denmark, Western Australia, now has its very own Seed Library.
A partnership between the Library and the Denmark campus of South Regional TAFE has made a collection of organic, heirloom and locally grown seeds available to the community.
The Seed Library started in 2020 with seed collected from the certified organic garden at TAFE.
These vegetable, herb and flower seeds can now find their way into people’s gardens, with library members encouraged to ‘borrow’ seeds, grow the plants, enjoy the harvest, let some go to seed and then return some clean dry seed back to the library for future circulation.
This truly local initiative has been enthusiastically taken up by the Denmark community, ticking all the boxes of local interest, sustainability, learning new skills and fun.
It is a very positive addition to the library’s collection and people are keen to donate seed as well as try lesser known varieties such as heirloom pumpkins, daikon radish, kohlrabi and buckwheat.
Many of the varieties available in the Seed Library have been grown at TAFE and in people’s gardens for some years and are well adapted to local growing conditions.
Basing the Seed Library at the library makes it easily accessible to the whole community; joining the library is free and there is a wealth of relevant information available as well as the actual seeds.
Library volunteers help staff with packaging and labelling, and workshops are held a couple of times a year where people enjoy sharing stories, tips and seeds. Organisers are excited to see how the Seed Library will grow and evolve over time.
The Seed Library has also inspired new activities at the Library, such as a seasonal Spice Club and seed-related STEM activities for children in the school holidays.
