Participants selected from a variety of seeds they wanted to plant.
By: Sanjida Amin
Brock University’s Seed Library celebrated its second season by hosting two events aimed at educating the community about sustainable gardening practices. The Seed Library, a partnership between the Brock University Library and the Brock University Project Charter, provides the Brock and Niagara community with free seeds to “borrow” and plant in the spring and summer. Staff, students, and community members can “borrow” free seeds from the Seed Library to use in their own gardens. The cycle works like a library where participants can take seeds free of cost and are asked to return some from their harvest, so they can be given out to other community members. This Seed Library aims to protect the genetic variety in our food system and encourage open access to seeds.
This spring, the Seed Library hosted a seed packing event and a seed planting event to spread awareness of the Seed Library project and educate the community on the importance of biodiversity and healthy ecosystems, promoting pollinator populations, and preserving rare, endangered, native, and culturally significant seeds.
The Seed Packing Party was held on March 31 in the Matheson Learning Commons. Anyone who wanted to help pack seeds for the Seed Library’s stock was welcome to participate in the volunteer event, which was designed for students earning credits towards their campus-wide co-curriculum (CWC) activities. Moreover, students could also use these volunteer hours’ towards the completion of The World Wildlife Fund Living Planet Leader certification. It was wonderful to see students from various departments as well as staff, faculty, and community members participate in the seed packing event by counting seeds and placing them in envelopes.
Participants helped label envelopes and pack seeds to restock the Seed Library.
The Seed Planting Party was held on April 13. The main purpose of this event was to inspire the Brock community to grow and take care of plants with seeds given to them from the Seed Library. Each participant was allowed to plant up to six different varieties of herbs, flowers, and vegetables. Soil and necessary supplies were offered, including egg cartons donated by Dining Services. Additionally, educational materials were provided, which included details on the germination process and growth patterns for some of the popular seeds offered at the Seed Library. Participants could take their newly planted seeds home with them to later plant out in their gardens. It was an enjoyable and relaxing event for everyone who participated, especially students looking to de-stress during exam season!
Participants used egg cartons donated by Dining Services to plant their seeds in.
The Brock University Seed Library hopes to organize more events in the future to help preserve ecological balance, encourage home gardening, and enhance community involvement. To learn more about the Seed Library and how to participate, please visit our website here.
