Seed Library

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We are excited to now offer the avid gardeners and keen growers in our community the opportunity to share their seeds, sprouts and produce through our new Seed Library!

Our Seed Library is stocked with seeds donated by community members and sorted into packets, ready for you to take home and grow your own food or flowers.

The seeds are free, so people can take what they need to start their own growing journey! We would also love for you to provide us with some of your own grown or spare seeds too so we can share these with other people, however the returning and donating of seeds is completely optional. 

To further support and encourage our community to learn to grow their own food or improve on their existing skills and knowledge, we will be hosting various workshops, activities and events in collaboration with Grow it Local and other expert facilitators. Come along to one of these events and pick up some seeds while you’re here!

How does it work?

First, generous community members donate seeds from packets they haven't used up, or by harvesting seeds from their own plants.

Then, seeds are collected and displayed in our Seed Library ready to be taken home. The seeds will be sorted into small quantities, and put out on the shelf in a vegetable, fruit, flower or native seed packets. On the back, you’ll find the name of the seed to help you make your selection. You can take a packet or two from the shelf, and grow the seeds at home in your backyard or on your windowsill! You don’t need much room to grow your own food. 

Visit the State Government's ‘What to grow when’ page to check out what time of year is best to grow your seeds.

The back of the packet also has a QR code which takes you to our catalogue to find books about growing your own food.

You can return the packets for us to reuse, but this is not a requirement. Once the packets have reached the end of their life, remove the stickers and place the paper packet in your green bin or home compost.

Finally, seeds harvested from these new plants may be donated back to the Seed Library... or not! We don't mind - the more donations we receive means a bigger bounty of seeds for you to choose from, but we mainly just want more food and flowers growing in our community.

How can I donate seeds?

A box on the Seed Library shelf will be available for you to drop off your seed donations. These donations may be half-used seed packets, or seeds you’ve harvested from your own garden.

Donations are welcome during business hours and we ask that you provide seeds in a sealed bag, labelled clearly with the type of seed they are.

Your donations will be collected and sorted into packets in smaller quantities and put back on the shelf for customers to take.

If you’ve never harvested seeds before and would like to learn how, please visit Grow It Local for information and workshops online or near you.

How can I get involved with the Seed Library?

There are many ways you can be involved in our Seed Library!

You can:

  • Donate seeds to share with our community
  • Attend our Seed Library events and workshops to learn to grow your own food or improve on your existing skills and knowledge
  • Become a volunteer and help us by sharing your gardening wisdom at workshops or sort and label seed donations as they come in

Can I volunteer for the Seed Library?

We are looking for volunteers to help manage our Seed Library. If you are interested in the following roles, please get in touch:

  • Managing the seed library stock levels by checking in on the shelf supply and putting out new and seasonal seed stock
  • Sorting donated seeds into packets and labelling them, prioritising seeds that can be sewn in the current season
  • Sharing gardening and growing wisdom by running or sharing at workshops and events related to the Seed Library

Are you interested? Contact us now to request more information about volunteering opportunities.

Want to know more? Ask our friendly customer service staff for help! Contact the library