Seeds of change: Exploring seed banks and seed libraries

While many of us are familiar with the concept of libraries that loan out books, there is another type of library that is growing in popularity - the seed library. But seed libraries serve an even greater purpose than entertainment. They help to preserve biodiversity and promote food security.

In addition to seed libraries, seed banks have existed for decades to safeguard rare and heirloom plant varieties. Both seed banks and seed libraries play an important role in sustaining our food security. They also give people a way to actively participate in issues affecting food supply.

Seed banks are large-scale operations that preserve thousands of seed samples in controlled conditions to ensure long-term viability. The most famous is the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located deep inside an Arctic mountain in Norway. Known as the "doomsday vault," it acts as a backup storage facility for seed collections from gene banks worldwide. Its remote location is meant to provide safety against wars or natural disasters that could threaten major seed collections.

On a smaller scale, some gardens and universities have seed banks to conserve rare varieties, maintain crop diversity, and conduct research. Some focus on specific crops important to a region. Their efforts help maintain genetic resources that plant breeders can use to develop new varieties with traits like disease resistance.

While seed banks focus on long-term preservation, seed libraries have a community orientation. They aim to spread awareness of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties while increasing local food security. Rather than storing them for safety like a seed bank, the library shares them for diversity.

Seed libraries function similarly to book libraries - members "check out" small packets of seeds to experiment with in their home gardens. After the growing season, they are encouraged to save seeds from their harvest to "return" to replenish the library's stock.

By sharing, biodiversity is improved with the cultivation of many different varieties adapted to the local climate and soils. It also builds seed resilience within the community by distributing seeds far and wide rather than concentrating them in a single location vulnerable to disaster. Many libraries host educational events to teach skills like seed saving, companion planting, and organic growing techniques.

One of the earliest seed libraries was started in 2006 in Brooklyn, New York. Since then, the model has spread widely worldwide. A national seed library network connects over 300 member libraries that exchange varieties and best practices. Many are run through community centers, schools, parks departments, or nonprofit organizations.

By making connections between gardeners and expanding local seed varieties, seed libraries support people to actively shape their local food systems. Participants gain control over the genetic resources that will thrive in a changing climate and support a successful agriculture for generations.

Whether through large-scale seed banking or small neighborhood seed sharing, efforts to conserve agricultural biodiversity deserve support from all of us. The seeds we choose to cultivate today will determine how we meet tomorrow's challenges. Together, through seed banks and seed libraries, we can safeguard a bountiful harvest for years to come.

There is a Mat-Su Seed Library that has shelves around the Valley in several locations.

Christian M. Hartley is a 40-year Alaskan resident with over 25 years of public safety experience and public service. He runs a freelance business, Big Lake Writer, from home in Big Lake that he shares with his wife of 19 years and their three teenage sons.