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Seed Libraries in Kimberley & Cranbrook
An exciting collaboration between community libraries and community gardens & gardeners is growing in the KimCran area.
Across Kimberley and Cranbrook, community gardens and public libraries have been working side by side to strengthen local growing across our interconnected communities. These partnerships make it easier for residents to access free seeds, build practical growing skills, and connect with others who care about local food. Together, gardens and libraries are helping cultivate not just vegetables — but shared knowledge, resilience, and collaboration across the KimCran region.
In Cranbrook, the Cranbrook Public Produce Garden collaborates with the Cranbrook Public Library to support the Cranbrook Seed Library initiative, along with seed starting workshops and Seedy Saturday events. Library members can “borrow” up to three packages of vegetable, herb, or flower seeds free of charge at planting time — including rare, open-pollinated, and heirloom varieties suited to our local climate — and are encouraged to save and return a portion of seeds at the end of the season to help restock the library for the following year. By helping people cultivate locally raised seeds, the program supports community members in growing nourishing food, improving health, building confidence, and strengthening their relationship to the land.
In Kimberley, Kimberley Edible Gardens & Greenhouse (KEGG) and the Wildsight Community Garden work alongside the Kimberley Public Library to help steward the Kimberley Seed Library program, which is located near the front entrance of the library throughout the growing season, along with hosting seed starting workshops and collaborating on Seedy Saturday events. The seed packets on display are generously donated by members of our growing community — including local gardens, gardeners, garden stores, and other garden-positive folks — and are free for any library visitor interested in growing locally. No check-out process is required; households are simply asked to take between one and five seed packets and, if possible, consider saving and sharing seeds back with the community in the future.
While each seed library partnership is rooted in its own community, the intention behind them is shared: to make local growing more accessible, collaborative, and community-driven. Across Kimberley and Cranbrook, gardens and libraries support connected initiatives such as Plant A Row, Share A Row, encouraging residents to grow a little extra and share what they can, and the #KimCranGrowTogether hashtag on Facebook & Instagram, which highlights local garden stories, tips, and seasonal successes throughout the growing season. Together, these efforts help strengthen a culture of seed sharing, food growing, and neighbourly support — building a more connected and resilient regional food system from the ground up.
These seed libraries exist because of collaboration. United Way British Columbia, the Kimberley Public Library, the Cranbrook Public Library, KEGG, Wildsight Community Garden, the Cranbrook Public Produce Garden, Top Crop Too, fellow KCFN members, and a growing community of local gardeners, garden groups, businesses, and organizations all contribute to making seed access possible and encouraging the growing & sharing of local food.
At its heart, this work is sustained by people who believe in planting seeds — both in the soil and in the stories we share about local growing.
