On Tuesday, March 1 the Macdonald Campus Library will be opening up the Seed Library for online orders. The seed catalogue will be made available to McGill students, faculty, and staff on opening day. Please note that there is a limit of 25 seed packets per borrower.
If you're not yet a member of the Seed Library, please fill out the registration form.
Italian heirloom seeds for amateur gardeners
There is no one single accepted definition of an heirloom seed. “That’s a word that has a lot of different meanings to different people,” explains Dan Brisebois, a farmer at Ferme Tournesol, a cooperative based in Les Cèdres, Quebec, outside of Montreal.
An unconventional library at McGill is allowing students and faculty to borrow seeds.
Reading books might help you grow ideas, but McGill’s [Macdonald] Library is giving out something that sprouts way more literally. The library is offering 130 varieties of seeds, free of charge, as part of a new program.
“We’re providing seeds that are more rare, more unusual, and ones that are adapted specifically for our climate,” said librarian Dana Ingalls.
There were happy faces all around at Monday's launch of the Macdonald Campus Seed Library. The project, initiated by Liaison Librarian Dana Ingalls, offers seeds and gardening resources to members of the McGill community. According to Ingalls, "many public and academic libraries are expanding services to meet community needs. They are lending tools, artwork, exercise equipment, and more.
On March 20, 2017, the first day of spring, the Macdonald Campus Library at McGill University will officially launch a seed library. The Macdonald Campus Seed Library is the first academic seed library of its kind in Quebec and third in Canada. The library serves the entire McGill community.
