SWAMPSCOTT — Residents stopped by the Swampscott Public Library on Saturday for “Garden Day,” a community event celebrating the launch of the library’s new seed library with free starter supplies, hands-on educational programming, and gardening resources for all ages.
In the library’s lower level, volunteers at the seed station handed out free planters and potting soil, and used paper-pot makers to turn old newspaper into small starter pots for seedlings. Grow lights from the library’s “Library of Things” collection were also available for residents looking to get started growing plants at home. Nearby, visitors browsed through the newly installed seed library, where residents can take home up to five packets of seeds at a time, with guidance from volunteers.
Upstairs, children and parents gathered around interactive educational tables focused on gardening, pollinators, composting, and insects. One station featured demonstrations about composting, worms, and bugs, while another included information about bees and pollination efforts in Massachusetts. Representatives from the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Apiary Program and Change Is Simple encouraged residents to think about the pollinators and ecosystems supported by backyard gardens and native plants.
The centerpiece of the event was the launch of the new seed library, housed inside a vintage wooden card catalogue cabinet organizers found through Facebook Marketplace. The cabinet, once used to organize paper library index cards, has now been repurposed to store hundreds of seed packets for residents to grow vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs.
“It’s the classic library card catalogue, which many of us remember from our elementary school libraries or our public libraries when we were kids,” Adult Programmer and Reference Librarian Dave Archer said.
Archer, who helped spearhead the project, said the idea came together after several local organizations and volunteers independently expressed interest in starting a seed library around the same time. He said the project ultimately became a collaborative effort involving the library, Erin Pierce of the Swampscott Conservancy, Lindsey Schotke of Big Blue Bargains, and local volunteer Ashley Grullemans.
“With all four of us working in the same direction, it just came together perfectly,” Archer said.
Archer said volunteers played a major role in bringing the project to life, helping collect donations, organize and label seed packets, assemble materials, and prepare the card catalogue itself, which he had lined with old reference cards earlier that morning.
For Schotke, one of the best parts of the event was seeing families and children come into the library excited to learn more about gardening.
“I’m super excited to see all the kids who are excited about gardening,” she said. “It’s like a new generation.”
For Archer, Saturday’s launch carried additional significance because it also marked his final day working at the library before transitioning into a new role elsewhere. He said he wanted his final major project at the library to create something lasting for the community.
“A lot of programming is one event and then you move on to the next one,” Archer said. “I wanted something lasting.”
Organizers emphasized that the seed library is intended to be approachable for everyone, including residents who have never gardened before. Archer said residents are encouraged, but not required, to donate seeds back to the library in the future.
“It’s really just that these seeds are for everybody,” Archer said. “Hopefully it helps people expand their gardens, practice with their green thumb, grow their own food, and just feel comfortable trying it out.”
The seed library will remain open year-round, with organizers planning to add additional native plant seeds in the fall. Residents can sign out up to five packets of seeds at a time so volunteers can track what varieties are most popular and what may need to be replenished. The library accepts donations of commercially packaged seeds and properly harvested seeds from home gardens, though organizers said they will not accept seeds harvested from store-bought produce or any plants included on the Massachusetts prohibited plant list.
By the end of the afternoon, residents left carrying seed packets, pots, and gardening supplies, and organizers said they hope the project will continue growing into a long-term community resource for Swampscott gardeners.
