seed sharing

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Sitka Public Library launches new Sitka Seed Library

Photo from Sitka Public Library page on Facebook

The Sitka Seed Library, located at Sitka Public Library, is now open to the public.

Photo by Robert Woolsey of KCAW-Raven Radio

You can check out all kinds of seeds to bring home and grow in your own garden. The Sitka Seed Library also accepts donations of saved or purchased seed to share with the community. No library card is required. Just come to the library, fill out a registration form, and start growing.

“The original idea came after speaking to a friend who thought we needed a seed library in Sitka,” Sitka Public Library Adult Services Librarian Margot O’Connell wrote in an email. “After doing some research, I found it would be an easy project to start and would accomplish a lot of our programming goals.”

The Sitka Seed Library is a community seed project dedicated to feeding our community, sharing knowledge, and building resiliency. We offer free seeds to all participants and encourage donations of both purchased and saved seeds. All are welcome to participate. Members are encouraged to learn basic gardening and seed saving techniques, and to help us grow the project into the future.

“Folks are encouraged to return seeds, but it isn’t required because I want it to be as accessible as possible,” O’Connell wrote. “I have a feeling that the folks who donate will make up for those who don’t.”

Several public libraries have started seed libraries in recent months, following the model of the Growing Ester’s Biodiversity program at the John Trigg Ester Library in Ester, located just outside Fairbanks and one of the oldest public-library-based seed libraries in Alaska. Other seed libraries are in Dillingham, Homer, Soldotna, and other communities. In 2018, the Alaska Legislature passed a bill that removed several barriers to sharing seeds in the state.

On Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, O’Connell was a guest on the Morning Interview show on KCAW-Raven Radio, where she gave more details about Sitka’s new seed library.

For more information, please call Margot O’Connell at 747-4020 or email margot.oconnell@cityofsitka.org.

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Alaska Legislature removes barriers for community seed sharing

The seed library at the John Trigg Ester Library, just outside Fairbanks.

Gardeners and community members can now participate in local seed exchanges and opportunities for seed sharing without onerous regulations on the books.  House Bill 197, sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Johnston (R-Anchorage, Girdwood, Indian) passed the Senate unanimously on Wednesday (April 18), after receiving bipartisan support last week in the House.

Over the last several years, community seeds libraries, such as the one at the John Trigg Ester Library just outside Fairbanks, have been springing up organically around the state, offering opportunities for gardeners to share seeds and stories of growing great Alaskan plants. To encourage these libraries to flourish and allow more Alaskans to participate in this time-honored tradition, House Bill 197 removes regulatory barriers for community seed saving and sharing.

“I was intrigued when this idea was brought to me by community members” Rep. Johnston said. “It didn’t make sense that such homegrown, community-centric activity would be regulated in the same way as commercial operations.”

The labeling requirements for noncommercial seed sharing will now be the seeds’ common name, information on the seed library, and a label denoting any toxic treatment of the seeds. Additionally, the seed library must display the statement, “Not authorized for commercial use and not classified, graded, or inspected by the State of Alaska.” Currently there are more than two pages of requirements for seeds that are shared within the state.

“Improving community unity, access to healthy produce and decreasing food insecurity have brought the Legislature together, and I’m pleased to see the bill get so much support,” Rep. Johnston said.

House Bill 197 now heads to Gov. Bill Walker for his signature.