"Hi there! Did you know UofM now has a Seed Library?"
If this sounds familiar, then you were probably one of the hundreds of people the Seed Library was able to meet at our first time tabling at HarvestFest and EarthFest, and boy were we glad to meet you!
For anyone who missed out, HarvestFest 2024 was presented by the UM Sustanable Food Program (UMSFP) at the Campus Farm. Students were able to drive and park at Matthaei Botanical Gardens or Campus Farm and a bus was also provided that ran every 20 minutes from campus. It hosted games, music (the live band was awesome!), food, farm tours and activities like screen printing. The tabling area were all groups on campus that had a special place in their hearts for sustainability and the Seed Library was so happy to be there. While we weren't able to bring seed packets, we did provide information about our seeds, the program and seed libraries in general.
How I imagine student farmers as a non-student and non-farmer. Photo by kanpisut
While the weather mostly cooperated, it did get a bit soggy by the end but definitely an event the seed library will be back for in 2025!
And as well as HarvestFest went, nothing could have prepared us for how amazing EarthFest ended up being. Thank you to the 400+ folks that stopped by our table to chat about seeds, grab our library academic calendars, and ask about ways to support our program.
Even though we are still the new kids on the sustainability block, the reception and excitement we received from this community will absolutely have us back again and again in the future.
And for folks looking to join our volunteer list, keep an eye out for future blog posts as it will be available soon!