WHAT IS THE SEED LIBRARY & HOW DID IT START:
During February of 2019, the Library System and the Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District introduced the Upstate’s first seed library which offered seed packet “check outs” to visitors to our Berea Branch Library using their Greenville County Library System library card. This program has continued to grow and during the recent public health concerns due to COVID-19, has expanded their efforts to continue distributing seeds. Our efforts to provide access to the Seed Library through this online delivery service during this time are generously supported by a grant provided to Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District by Duke Energy.
To jumpstart the 2019 growing season in Greenville County, just over 8,500 seed packets were distributed in the first 2 months of the program. Now, over 30,000 seed packets have been distributed.
The Seed library was created in partnership with Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District to:
• provide education on sustainability in growing food, flowers, and/or native plants
• increase local food production and promote healthy diets
• help to preserve plant diversity with regional and heirloom varieties
• promote backyard conservation practices to protect Greenville's natural resources
Please see attached media release for details about the Seed Library opening at Greenville County Library System’s Berea Branch location back in February 2019.
SEED LIBRARY DELIVERY SERVICE
To continue the growth of this program while all Library System locations are closed due to public health concerns, we are excited to offer a temporary online seed delivery service.
HOW IT WORKS
• A Seed Packet Request form can be found on our Seed Library page. Simply complete the online form for up to 3 seed packets to be delivered to you in the mail!
• For: Greenville County residents with a Greenville County Library System library card.
• Access: Not available to patrons holding eCards, Reciprocal (residents of Anderson, Laurens, Pickens & Spartanburg Counties) cards, or Little Learners Cards
• Checkout limit: Each cardholder may submit a one-time only online Seed Library order of up to 3 seed packets.
• Lending Period: No borrowing, no returning. We just send you seeds in the mail. Please allow five to ten business days for delivery.
Public statement: Due to the high volume of requests, please submit only one order per household. We may send different seed packets than requested as our inventory allows. A comparable variety will be provided.
Grow your world!
RESPONSE SO FAR:
Since the launch of the Seed Library online delivery service last week, a total of 1,584 requests for 7,691 seed packets have been received.
During the fall of 2019, the Greenville County Soil and Water Conservation District received a grant from Duke Energy to expand the Seed Library efforts. Our efforts to provide access to the Seed Library through this online delivery service during this time are generously supported by this grant.
