Seed library locations sprouting across Cambridge as home garden popularity grows
Among the stacks of books at the Preston Idea Exchange, you may be surprised to find stacks of seeds too.
But with the popularity of home gardens growing, the Idea Exchange is helping gardens sprout.
The collection of seeds available at the Preston Idea Exchange. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV News)
At the Preston Idea Exchange you don’t even need a card to check the seeds out.
“Generally, when people come into the library, and they see we have seeds, it's quite a surprise,” Gayle Hoover, manager of the Preston Idea Exchange said.
The seed library was created there in 2017 and is open year-round for members and non-members to come in and take what they please.
Hoover said the Preston Idea Exchange has everything from broccoli to carrots and cucumbers.
The Idea Exchange does encourage seed saving - which is when people bring extra seeds back so the library can put them into circulation again.
Collected seeds are placed into envelopes for storage. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV News)
“Lately, it's a lot of people coming in, and it's more food security. So, people are seeing that vegetables and things you can grow are very, very expensive,” said Hoover.
Because of the organic growth the Preston branch has seen, the Idea Exchange is now branching out.
“We're actually having little seed libraries that will be found at all the locations,” said Hoover.
The collected seeds are catalogued at the Idea Exchange. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV News0
From March to June, people will see smaller seed libraries popping up at the other Idea Exchange locations across Cambridge.
While they won’t be as big as the Preston location’s seed library, it is expected they will have a fairly comprehensive catalog of seeds for the taking.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.
Australian police arrest 7 alleged teen extremists linked to stabbing of a bishop in a Sydney church
Australian police arrested seven teenagers accused of following a violent extremist ideology in raids across Sydney on Wednesday, as a judge extended a ban on social media platform X sharing video of a knife attack on a bishop that started the criminal investigation.