There are new additions to some Broward County's public libraries — but they’re not books.
Alongside the usual range of literature, visitors will now find small, delicately painted wooden boxes with compartments for different plant seeds, like milkweed and sunflowers.
Decorated by local teens, these “seed libraries” are the work of the Broward Sierra Group Junior Team, which spent the summer setting them up at five library branches.
A seed library works much like the space it’s housed in — but instead of checking out novels, visitors “borrow” packets of seeds free of charge to plant in their own yards or community gardens.
The idea is to encourage residents to grow plants that support pollinators like bees and butterflies, increase biodiversity and reintroduce native plants in areas where they’ve been lost to development.
Anagha Iyer, a senior at Plantation's American Heritage High School who founded the junior chapter four years ago, said the club's goal is to promote biodiversity and make it easier for Broward residents to get involved with environmental activism.
The inspiration for the seed libraries came from other similar programs at libraries across the country. “ I thought we should start some in Broward County since a lot of people are very sustainability focused and centered,” she said.
Each seed packet includes instructions on how to grow and care for the plant and each seed library station offers gardening books for reference. Librarians are also readily available to answer questions from first-time gardeners.
In Broward’s program, the first of its kind in the county, the seeds provided are native or beneficial to South Florida’s ecosystems. Seeds like milkweed provide vital food for butterflies, while sunflowers attract pollinators that help other plants thrive.
Youth-led environmental action
The Sierra Club is a national environmental organization, with chapters in every state. The Broward Sierra Group Junior team is the youth chapter in the county, made up of high school students ages 13-18 who share a passion for sustainability, climate advocacy, and environmental education.
Sierra Club Junior team members have since set up the seed libraries at Miramar Library, Carver Ranches, Southwest Regional, Northwest Regional, and West Regional.
“They're all painted differently and they all have our little artistic flair on them since we did them together,” said Iyer, who is currently the junior chapter's president.
The seed libraries have been running for two weeks, with dozens of participants already checking out seeds.
For Ana-Maria Bitere, a librarian at Miramar Library, the seed libraries were something she saw the community wanted for some time, but that it was simply an issue of resources and funding.
For the past year, Bitere kept track each time someone would ask her about a seed library. She said she took down at least 15 people’s contact information, many from local gardening groups.
“ It was really satisfying to reach out to all those people and let them know that it's set up,” she said.
Since the seed libraries went up two weeks prior, Bitere has seen many community members come to the library to pick up some seeds. Earlier this month, Bitere said that a group of about 15 homeschooled students lined up at the Miramar branch, each taking home a packet of seeds.
“The teacher told me she plans on incorporating it into their lesson plan,” Bitere said.
Growing interest and support
Sasha K. Lindo, the club’s fundraising chair and event planner, said she sees the project as a gentle entry point for people who might be unsure how to get involved with environmental efforts.
“ I think it's a great way for members of the community to get involved with the environment who may not know the first steps to take,” she said. “So if you're coming into the library, you can see this and maybe you can get inspired to not only plant, but also support biodiversity.”
Lindo is actively working on future events for the club, including an environmental jeopardy show on Aug. 16.
Funding for the initiative came from the Broward County Natural Resources Division and Bloomberg Philanthropies, with Iyer spending the summer applying for grants.
“We recently received the Youth Climate Action Fund grant for $5,000, and so that's how we're able to supply the five different libraries with the seeds,” Iyer said.
Adrienne Chadwick, the library regional manager for Broward County Libraries, said these five seed libraries are the pilot program before possibly introducing them to more branches in the future.
“We're doing surveys in order to find out how the community is reacting to the project in order to potentially do it again,” Chadwick said. She said working with Iyer and the teens has been a gratifying experience.
If the program is successful, she said she’d like to integrate it during the “One Book, One Broward” program, formally the NEA Big Read, that starts Jan. 1. That’s because the book selected is “The Seed Keeper” by Diane Wilson.
The seed libraries will be available through October. Iyer said that if it does well enough, she hopes to receive enough funding to continue making native plants accessible to the community.
