{"id":100241,"date":"2025-07-11T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/?p=100241"},"modified":"2025-07-09T18:03:57","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T08:03:57","slug":"a-special-library-for-gardeners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/a-special-library-for-gardeners\/","title":{"rendered":"A special library for gardeners"},"content":{"rendered":"

HEATHCOTE Library is launching a seed bank to encourage seed sharing, local growing and food security.<\/p>\n

Everyone is welcome to browse, donate or swap seeds.<\/p>\n

The volunteer-led initiative encourages residents to browse and take what they need, to plant and grow, and where possible, return seeds to the library to keep the cycle going.<\/p>\n

The library accepts all kinds of seeds, particularly edible plants, flowers, indigenous and native species but no noxious weeds or invasive plants.<\/p>\n

A list of noxious weeds and invasive plants is available on the Agriculture Victoria Website.<\/p>\n

Seed banks have become popular at local libraries and the environmental, food security, and financial benefits of seed banking can be found at connectedlibraries.org.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Edible plant seeds, flowers, native and indigenous varieties are all welcome at the new library seed bank. Photo: SANDRA JAMES<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

Library services officer Emily Alexandra said staff are excited to be launching the seed library in Heathcote.<\/p>\n

“We have already had lots of interest from keen gardeners,” she said.<\/p>\n

“Local man Ron Miles has handmade and donated a timber box we can store them in, and we are currently recruiting a team of volunteers to sort and pack seeds for a couple of hours on rotation through the year.<\/p>\n

“I would encourage anyone interested to contact the library for more information on how to get involved in this great initiative.<\/p>\n

“I am excited to see local knowledge shared amongst patrons, and I hope to organise some seasonal swap events and workshops to help facilitate and strengthen Heathcote’s food growing capacity.<\/p>\n

“It is a simple, practical idea but it brings both immediate and long-term benefits to our local area including more productive<\/p>\n

veggie patches, more colourful gardens, and stronger local knowledge.<\/p>\n

“It’s a great way to make gardening more accessible and fun for everyone\u2014whether you’re a beginner or an experienced grower.”<\/p>\n

For more information, contact the library. Open hours are Tuesday 9am to 12pm, Thursday and Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 12pm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

HEATHCOTE Library is launching a seed bank to encourage seed sharing, local growing and food security. Everyone is welcome to browse, donate or swap seeds. The volunteer-led initiative encourages residents to browse and take what they need, to plant and grow, and where possible, return seeds to the library to keep the cycle going. The […]<\/p>\n

Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":215,"featured_media":100245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-100241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nA special library for gardeners - McIvor Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heathcote seed bank launches at the local library, encouraging seed sharing, local gardening, and food security for the community.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/mcivortimes\/news\/a-special-library-for-gardeners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A special library for gardeners - 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