First Seed Lending Library Opens in San Francisco with Two Initial Locations in Potrero Branch of San Francisco Public Library and Hayes Valley Farm
Next Seed Saving class is on June 4, 3:30-5:30 in the Potrero Branch Program Room, 1616 20th Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
Seed Lending libraries are sprouting up across the state with at least six in Northern California and one coming soon in Los Angeles. With the recent opening of two branches in San Francisco, community members are bringing food safety, biodiversity protection, and urban farming back into their own hands. The first two branches of the San Francisco Seed Library, a project of Transition SF and the San Francisco Permaculture Guild, are open for lending at Hayes Valley Farm and as a pilot project at the Potrero Branch of the San Francisco Public Library; the next seed saving class is on June 4 at 3:30 in the Potrero Branch Program Room.
The process is simple; residents choose from a list of vegetable seeds available in the Seed Library collection, borrow them, and plant their seeds. After they have harvested their crops, they save the seeds from the heartiest and healthiest of their harvest and return the seeds to the same branch. Over time, each SF Seed Library branch will include a wide selection of seeds that are best suited to each micro-climate since they have grown to full fruition, responding to the local soil, climate, and plant/animal diversity.
"It seemed like a natural fit for Potrero Branch to pilot a seed lending program at the library," states Lia Hillman, Potrero Branch Manager of San Francisco Public Library. "Potrero Hill residents love gardening, and there are a number of burgeoning private and community gardens on the hill. The Seed Library offers the library the opportunity to promote urban sustainable organic gardening in our neighborhoods by disseminating seeds. The library actively seeks ways in which to participate in the greening of our city and  promoting the health of our communities. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Seed Library in offering programs related to the seed collection. Please join us on June 4 @ 3:30 or September 4 @ 3:30 to learn how to save seeds.  The programs will take place in the Potrero Branch Program Room."
Read more here.