Why a seed library?
Over the past several years at UNC Asheville, hundreds of pollinator-friendly native plants have been planted, beginning beekeeping classes and workshops have been offered, beehives have been installed and maintained, and a bee hotel has been constructed. As part of its multi-dimensional commitment to sustainability, UNC Asheville is committed to maintaining educational, demonstration pollinator meadows and gardens in highly visible locations throughout the campus, including along the portions of the City’s greenways that the University maintains along Reed Creek and Glenn’s Creek Greenways. Ramsey Library is joining in this effort by collecting, cleaning and packaging seeds from these gardens and offering them to the community to plant to create more pollinator habitats.
When the collection is available?
Seeds are available annually fall and spring based on supply.
**You might notice our seeds look a little different from commercial seeds. All of our seeds were gathered and cleaned by hand. After drying the seed heads, we used techniques like Flailing, Threshing and Winnowing to clean the seeds. In some cases, the seeds are very small, so in some packets you might find some chaff along with the seeds. This is normal for hand cleaned small seeds.