COLUMBIA FALLS — The seed library at the ImagineIF Library in Columbia Falls is fully restocked ahead of the busy spring planting season.
The Good Seed Company owner Robin Kelson said the seed library helps promote healthy, sustainable living in the Flathead.
“And the library hands out over 1,500 packets a year, so that’s been growing every year,” said Kelson.
The seed library is up and running thanks to community partnerships with Nourish the Flathead and the Good Seed Company.
Columbia Falls ImagineIF Branch Manager Tony Edmundson said the seed library is completely free and open to all Flathead residents.
“It’s just an exciting time because people get excited, I get phone calls from all over the valley asking do you have seeds. What kind of seed do you have? Can I come and get seeds? And right now, the answer to that can be yes, yes and yes," said Edmundson.
He said the library offers a large variety of seeds, thanks to hard work from community organizations and donations.
“Again, being based on donations, we need that influx in order to turn it back around and we’ve been able to do that with the Free The Seeds event this year, we got a lot of donations at that time," Edmundson said. "And there were a lot of seeds leftover from that occasion and that allowed us just to turn right back around into the seed library so that we could just pass them along to our community."
Nourish the Flathead Executive Director Gretchen Boyer said her nonprofit partnered with ImagineIF to make sure there was no shortage of seeds during the pandemic.
“Harder to get people together to pack seeds so we’ve been working really hard as Farm Hands Nourish the Flathead to help bolster the seed library and pack with the community,” said Boyer.
Edmundson said the Columbia Falls ImagineIF library is now a one-stop-shop for community residents looking to start their own garden this spring.
“People can come in and get what they need, get the books they need, get books on gardening, DVDs on gardening on how to save seeds, how to grow seeds, all of that is right here in one building,” said Edmundson.
The seed library is open-year-round and completely free for all community members. It is only available at the Columbia Falls ImagineIF location at 130 6th St W.
