ECU Seed Swap

The Emily Carr Library is excited to be home to the ECU Seed Swap! Emily Carr community members can pick up free seed packets at the seed swap station in the Library. It is one of our sustainability initiatives, and can be found by the Library entrance. If you are looking for inspiration, there are also some gardening books available in the Sustainability display, as well as other books on sustainable practices and-based knowledge. Several types of seeds are available including veggies, pollinators, dye plants, native species, and easy to grow varieties. Empty envelopes are also available if you’d like to share some seeds from your garden for next planting season. And we’d love to see what you are growing and hear your gardening tips, stories and questions via Instagram (or email).

Our Seed Swap allows folks to 'borrow' seeds from us with the aim of germinating, growing, and harvesting various plants. As folks experiment with their seedlings and develop their gardening skills, we hope they will share their experiences with the Swap community. At the end of the growing season, we encourage our participants to harvest and save some of their seeds with the intention of bringing them back to the community to share in the year to come.

We have an Instagram account specifically for our Seed Swapping community (@ecu_seed_swap) - we will be sharing tips, tricks, resources, and stories from the community. Please consider sharing your stories with us!

Seeds can be picked up from our Swap Station in the Library. It is located in the Sustainability Resources Area, which can be found on our upper level, to the left of the staircase. Please check our website to ensure that you are coming during our open hours!

We have stocked the Swap with an array of seeds sourced from local vendors. Some highlights include:

Please be respectful of your fellow gardeners when deciding how many packets to take.

The logo stamped on the seed packets is the winning entry from the contest run by ECU Student Climate Action Network in collaboration with the library in March 2021. The design, by ECU student Peggy Chi, was chosen by viewer votes.