Take a seed, give a seed: A community-engaged exploration of seed library sustainability and accessibility
Date
2026
Authors
Lister, Hannah
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Publisher
University of Victoria
Abstract
This project is employing a community-engaged approach and is working in collaboration with LifeCycles, a local nonprofit whose mission is to build a resilient food system in Greater Victoria. LifeCycles is in the process of developing a seed library and has identified concerns around balancing the project's accessibility with its sustainability. More specifically, there is a concern that if the library does not encourage users to save and return seeds at the end of each season, there may not continue to be sufficient stock each year.
This project seeks to identify experiences and perceptions held by individuals involved in developing and maintaining seed libraries, understand challenges associated with that work, illustrate successful strategies that contribute to the sustainability and accessibility of seed libraries, and evaluate the extent to which community is deeply connected with the seed library's mission.
Ultimately the intention is to develop recommendations for developing a seed library program which is both accessible and sustainable. Insights will be shared with LifeCycles to help inform the creation of their seed library, with the hope that the findings can be applied more broadly to different organizations as well.
Description
Keywords
seed library, seeds, sustainability, accessibility, community engaged, connection, Jamie Cassels Undergraduate Research Awards (JCURA)