You can 'borrow' seeds from the Windsor Public Library

Windsor residents will be able to "borrow" seeds from the Forest Glade branch of the Windsor Public Library later this month.

A seed bank there is tentatively scheduled to open March 21, just in time for spring planting.

Forest Glade branch manager Adam Peltier said he hopes to have several varieties of indigenous plants and vegetables available.

Peltier said the branch will start with 50 varieties of vegetables, herbs and native plants, but he hopes that will grow to 250.

He said the idea is that those who borrow the seeds, germinate their own seeds, and then return those to the library for someone else to use.

Peltier said the cost to lend seeds through the branch would be next to nothing, just the resources of some library staff.

"What I like is how it fosters a sense of community. It's just not about taking the seeds home and planting your own garden. It's about returning the seeds, talking to other community members, having even donations of new types of seeds that we didn't have as part of the original collection," he said.

Steve Green, the general manager of the Downtown Windsor Farmers' Market, and Philippa von Ziegenweidt, a community activist, approached the library with the idea.

The idea is similar to that of the London Seed Library. It provides free seeds to encourage local food production and pollinator protection. In exchange for seeds, members of the London Seed Library are asked to grow one plant for seeds and return those seeds for circulation.