The Seed Library at Fenwick

What is a Seed Library?

Seed libraries have quickly grown in popularity around the country, being found in public libraries, community centers, community gardens, makerspaces, and university libraries. The concept of the seed library model is that the library is stocked with seeds, which patrons take, grow, and then return seeds to the library. The emphasis, however, is on the taking and growing of seeds and less on the drying and returning, given the experience of other seed libraries. They promote growing your own food, wellbeing, community, and learning in a hands-on way.

The seed library has lots of awesome books and online resources that teach you to garden. You can also learn to garden by volunteering at GMU’s greenhouses and gardens through University Sustainability. It is located on a cart on the first floor of Fenwick Library, at the bottom of the grand staircase!

This Seed Library is funded by the Patriot Green Fund, a yearly grant offered by Mason Facilities in conjunction with University Sustainability.

The Patriot Green Fund operates with three distinct goals:

• Enable students to conduct research and implement scholarship-related projects that demonstrate environmental leadership and benefit the Mason community and surrounding region.
• Reduce Mason’s environmental impact by making tangible improvements to habits, facilities, and operations.
• Improve awareness of, and support for, building a culture of sustainability on campus and in our communities to grow a strong community network of stewardship.

Any current student, faculty, or staff member may apply for funds to support a sustainability project.