As the director of library and community services for both the City of Hayward and the City of Menlo Park, I created successful Seed Lending Libraries with robust volunteer support to provide access to heritage seeds, gardening workshops, education, and resources to encourage residents to grow food and foster community resilience, self-reliance, and a culture of sharing.
The Seed Lending Libraries operate as community seed exchanges in which borrowers are able to “check out” a wide variety of vegetable and flower seeds to plant in their gardens for home use. The project promotes open-pollinated vegetables and fosters a greater understanding of the value of biodiversity through seed-saving and gardening workshops.
The goal of the Seed Lending Libraries is to increase the capacity of community members to feed themselves and their families wholesome food with education and resources that foster community resilience, self-reliance, and a culture of sharing.
During the 2020 pandemic stay-at-home orders, I created the Seeds By Mail project for the City of Menlo Park as a way for library patrons to receive packets of seed from the Seed Lending Library without physically coming to the library or leaving their homes. The Seeds By Mail project was an innovative public-private partnership between Menlo Park Library, San Mateo County Master Gardeners, and Friends of Menlo Park Library.
Curriculum vitae
- Parr, R. (2013, April 12). “Library branches out: Seed lending program comes amid a surge in the number of patrons.” The Daily Review.
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Sean S. Reinhart 