LIBRARY SEED PROGRAM A MAJOR SUCCESS

An estimated 1,500 families in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality (CBRM) are reaping the benefits of a program offered by the Cape Breton Regional Library. That’s how many households participated in the Cape Breton Seed Library this year.

A few months ago, the library advertised on Facebook that you could order 10 packages of seeds from a selection of flowers and vegetables. The seeds could be picked up curbside at any of the library locations or mailed directly to your home. How’s that for convenience in a pandemic!

I haven’t grown vegetables since my younger days, but I ordered the seeds, picked up soil at the local garden centre and gathered up containers for planting.

This was a great activity during the COVID-19 lockdown. I find myself watching over my plants like a mother hen. Recently, I enjoyed my first batch of spinach with my scrambled eggs for breakfast. It just felt so good knowing that I had grown the spinach instead of buying it at the supermarket.

There has been a lot of media coverage lately on the need for a new central library. The seed program is proof that a library is more than books. A library is an asset to the community designed to improve the lives of the residents.

This is the second year for the seed program and I hope that it will continue into the future. My suggestion for next year would be to include herbs in the seed offerings.

Happy gardening to all the residents who participated in the seed program.

Yvonne Kennedy Homeville