LENOIR, NC (January 15, 2018)…The Caldwell Seed Library will host its grand re-opening on Thursday, February 1, 2018 at 10 am. Those interested in joining the Seed Library in 2018 should consider attending the opening. Membership registration will open at 10 am, and the ribbon cutting will occur at 10:15 am. Seed Library organizers will present a brief history of the Caldwell Seed Library and explain how to become a member and check out seeds. At 10:45, there will be a drawing for garden-related door prizes donated by the Caldwell Extension Master Gardeners. All those that become members of the Seed Library will be entered to win a door prize. Winners must be present during the drawing to receive a prize. Anyone who joined the Seed Library in 2017 is asked to re-register as a member in 2018.
The Seed Library is located in the Caldwell County Public Library at 120 Hospital Ave NE in Lenoir, NC. The Seed Library opened in 2017 through collaborative efforts of community volunteers, the Caldwell County Public Library, and the N.C. Cooperative Extension- Caldwell County Center. Community members join the seed library, select their seeds, and take them home for growing. In return, those who take seeds from the seed library are asked to donate high quality, fresh seed that has been purchased or properly saved. Other seeds are donated by Caldwell County gardeners and seed savers, seed companies, and businesses that sell seeds. A group of dedicated volunteers organized the Seed Library in 2017, and have worked to maintain the inventory and seed supply. Thanks to dedicated volunteers, there is no fee to join the Seed Library or check out seeds.
The seed library opened on June 3, 2017, and over 100 people joined the Seed Library by the end of the season. Over 500 seed packets were checked out over the course of the season, and many members grew new plants they had never grown before. Caldwell Cooperative Extension hosted a seed saving workshop in August 2017 at Unity Park and Community Gardens, so that gardeners could learn how to properly save seeds and plan their gardens for seed saving. Connections were made with local seed savers, and seed from several crops that have been grown in Caldwell County families for generations were donated to the seed library.
ABOUT N.C. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION
N.C. Cooperative Extension is a strategic partnership of NC State Extension, The Cooperative Extension Program at N.C. A&T State University, USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA), and local governments statewide.
Extension professionals in all 100 counties and with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians connect millions of North Carolinians with research-based information and technology from NC State and N.C. A&T. Educational programs specialize in agriculture, food and nutrition, 4-H youth development, community development and the environment.
Find your local center at www.ces.ncsu.edu/local-county-center.