Clemson Extension and CCPL recently worked together to sprout an enhanced seed library program to help better serve communities in need. Clemson Extension was working to find ways to continue their program of providing free seeds for community-based educational programs. Leaders of the program tapped Michel Hammes, Adult Services Librarian at John’s Island Library, who they had been working with for years, to help find an innovative solution.
The result was a pilot program with CCPL to support seed libraries in communities with limited access to fresh food. After a training session, 11 CCPL branches and our Outreach Department worked on innovative educational displays to encourage and engage gardeners, provided bookmarks highlighting resources, partnered with Clemson’s Master Gardeners on special programming, and engaging with patrons about their growing seeds. Clemson Extension then partnered with the SC State Library to scale up the CCPL pilot program statewide and provided a training to more than 50 librarians around the state. Hammes shared her experience leading the pilot program during the training and was instrumental in the growth of the program statewide. To read more about the partnership and the program, check out Clemson Extention's feature.