THE SEED LIBRARY

We are very excited to announce a new partnership with Noosa Library – the introduction of the Seed Library! This collaboration will benefit the Library, Permaculture Noosa and the community, and we can’t wait to see it take off!

What …

Noosa Library Service has been successful in gaining grant funding for a Seed Library as part of the State Library of Queensland’s Strategic Priorities Grants program. Starting ‘from the ground up’ the Noosa Seed Library will provide seeds to members of Noosa Library Service to borrow, plant, grow, harvest and return. While enjoying produce from the plants, members are also encouraged to complete the cycle by harvesting seeds from their plants to return to the library for others to borrow. As the program grows, there will be a series of educational workshops to germinate and feed the interest.

Why, Who and How … 

Sustainability: The Seed Library aims to ignite community interest in gardening and empower members to grow their own food and contribute to community building by saving and donating seeds back to the seed library. This will, in turn, contribute to both the preservation of seeds for future generations and the development of locally relevant and resilient seed stocks.

Community Connections: As well as growing plants and a love of gardening, this project also aims to propagate deeper connections in our community. Sharing information and skills is essential to the yield of the program. The Noosa Seed Library is a collaborative initiative, with local organisations and community supporting the project. Partnering with Permaculture Noosa and the Cooroy Community Permaculture Gardens the seed library will draw on the local knowledge and experts in the field to guide the program in all things growing and seeds.  And although the seeds are already valuable in themselves, the seed packets will showcase the work of local artists, thanks to the support of the Butter Factory Arts Centre in Cooroy. Selected artists will gain exposure for their works while broadening community awareness of their missions and services. Permaculture Noosa will play a large part in providing seeds for the Seed Library, and will expand the plants grown at the community gardens to accommodate the Library. Users of the Seed Library who become interested in expanding the range of plants in their gardens at home will be able to purchase from the extensive Permaculture Noosa Seed Bank, which will be available for sale in the Library shop.

Lifelong learning: As part of the Noosa Seed Library program Noosa Library Service will host a series of informational workshops and develop a suite of instructional videos for the community to provide both inspiration and education, and facilitate deeper social connections among community members interested in gardening, food, and sustainability issues. These events will provide the secondary benefit of establishing cross-visibility and awareness among various local groups that share comparable interests but that might not have been previously familiar with one another.

When …

The start date is still to be announced with a lot of ‘ground work’ needed to be done prior to launching the Seed Library.

Watch this space for more news to sprout!

Proudly funded and supported by the Queensland Government and the State Library of Queensland