The NS/S Seed Library opened its drawers to the public on January 15th, to much excitement. Located inside the Native Seeds/SEARCH Retail Store, this community seed reserve is the first of its kind in Arizona. Come sign up for free and check out what all the buzz is about!

Seed libraries function similarly to book-lending libraries. People “check out” seeds, grow them in gardens, and keep a few plants in the ground to go to seed. The saved seed is then “returned” to the library, ideally in more abundance than what was borrowed. As this process continues year after year, the seeds in the library become more productive and hardy by building up adaptations to local growing conditions. The concept is taking off across the country with more than 30 seed libraries currently underway.

Everybody's talking about this exciting innovation in community resilience and local biodiversity. Our own Deputy Director Belle Starr and NS/S board member Martha "Muffin" Burgess recently made an appearance on the KVOA morning news discussing the new seed library. Watch the video here.

The Native Seeds/SEARCH Seed Library is located inside the NS/S Retail Store at 3061 North Campbell Avenue in Tucson. Docents are on hand to help answer questions and assist with using the library. Membership is free, and all are welcome to join, grow, and save their seeds. Come check it out!

NS/S Deputy Director Belle Starr and Board Member Janos Wilder were on The Morning Blend to talk about the upcoming Janos Harvest Dinner. Janos cooked up some mouth-watering sample items from the Harvest Dinner menu. Watch the video of their appearance online.

Native Seeds/SEARCH (NS/S), the 28 year-old non-profit seed conservation organization based in Tucson, has been approved for a $300,000 grant from the Gila River Indian Community. The funding comes from the State Shared Revenue Program the Tribe contributes to for services that benefit the general public in Arizona communities.