The Seed Broadcast Mobile Seed Story Broadcasting Station was just at the Du Quoin Seed Library, in southern Illinois, to find out how the library is developing and to listen to the story of seed savers. The seed library was organized through the joint efforts of Perry County Master Gardeners, Mary Jo Novak, Jane Chapman, Jon McClurkin, and Pam Swallers, working in collaboration with library director Kristina Benson and library assistant Sally Cook. It began, this year, when both Kristina and Mary Jo read the same article in Organic Gardening and got together to make it happen.
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| Sally Cook shows us the seed library, which is stored in the bottom of an old vacant filing cabinet at the Du Quoin Public Library. |
This is their first year as a seed library and they are very interested in seeing this library grow. In fact, they are dreaming of the day that the seed library takes over the bottom two drawers of the old filing cabinet in their public library.
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| The Du Quoin Seed Library discussing their organizational strategies and why this effort is so important for their community. |
They hope to address and take action on critical issues, such as health and the well being of people. Through eating locally produced, healthy vegetables, while getting people out in their gardens for exercise, this seed library is dedicated to promoting and encouraging abundance and vitality for every generation in their community. They also feel that seed saving is an essential practice to keep seeds and local food alive for the future.
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| Mary Jo Novak and Jon McClurkin look through the Seed Broadcast Bulletin Board and copy off seed saving and seed library information to post in their seed library. |
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Admitting there are many challenges that they face, these seed librarians and master gardeners are clearly committed to see this prosper. They need more vegetable seeds that are open pollinated, they need responsible and dedicated participants, they need a sorting and storage system implemented, and they need to consider what it means to save seeds in the midst of genetically modified industrial agriculture. They are willing to take on all these challenges as they continue through a major regional drought.
If you live in the area of Du Quoin, Illinois and would like to participate in the Du Quoin Seed Library, head on down to the public library and find out how you can help grow this tremendous effort to save seeds, produce local food, and cultivate abundance in community. Also, on August 6th, at the library, they will be holding a seed saving workshop. So stop by and find out how to save seeds. Contact the DuQuoin Public Library for more information: (618) 542-5045
You can hear the personal seed stories of Mary Jo, Jane, John, Pam, Sally, and Kristina here...
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| Seed Broadcasters - Nina Dubois, Jeanette Hart-Mann, and Seed Librarians - Sally Cook, Jon McClurkin, Jane Chapman, and Mary Jo Novak after meeting for an afternoon of seed stories. |
Thank you Du Quoin Seed Library for sharing your seed library and stories!