If there is one word that comes to mind when I reflect on this year’s CCJ Seed Swap at Citizens Library, it would most certainly be GROWTH. Not only did we see growth in attendance, but we were also able to supply local families with more seeds, more grow bags, and have more meaningful conversations with community members than ever before!
We were joined by fellow community organizations including the Friends of Citizens Library, the Common Ground Teen Center, the Washington Trust, Penn State Master Gardeners, Chickadee Cottage Microfarm, and Wash Arts who had the chance to talk to attendees about their work. Our very own Community Advocate, Jason Capello also hosted an info table discussing the importance of native warm-season plants.
In addition to all the generous donors mentioned in our previous blog: Cultivating Community: Why We Host An Annual Seed Swap, we were also very fortunate to have the support of two local greenhouses: Stimmell’s Greenhouse of Washington who generously donated coupons for bags of soil and Wagner’s Greenhouse of Hickory who donated seeds.
We set a goal this year to make our seed sharing even more sustainable and to allow more people to get their hands dirty in the garden this year. Guests were encouraged to take only what they needed for this growing season by providing a packaging station with empty seed packets, bulk seeds to choose from, and staff to help make it all happen. The station was a hit and I can not wait to see how we can make it even better next year!
It is my belief that when communities grow together, they bloom together. The smiles in the room were contagious. One gentleman, who found out he had won a mushroom grow kit provided by Back to the Roots, was smiling ear to ear and shared his excitement since he loves to eat mushrooms! 🍄Another participant, told me she was tickled to be given a grow bag. She has accessibility needs and commented how excited she was that she could place a grow bag where she can easily access it in the garden as traditional gardening is hard for her. Children got to partake in the fun, too. They got to decorate their own native wildflower seed shakers, so they can continue to spread the joy of growth throughout the community.
This testimonial shared by a community member during the event when asked “Why the seed swap was important to them?” sums it up best:
“Seeing how much the community came out for this, how accessible it was, and all the free resources and knowledge sharing. My heart is happy.”
As this was my first year coordinating this event, I am so thankful for all we were able to accomplish with the help of the community and I look forward to seeing how this event continues to grow in the future.