On Culture night (Friday 20th September) Transition Town Kinsale launched the Kinsale Seed Library at the lovely Kinsale Library.

This initiative is the result of a collaboration between past students from the Sustainable Horticulture course at Kinsale Campus, Transition Town Kinsale committee members, local social enterprise Regenerate our Ecosystems, seed savers and artists. The event was also part of the We Act campaign.

The Kinsale Seed Library will be a permanent fixture and will enable library goers to book out a variety of seeds to plant at home at no cost.

After an introduction by Donal Chambers, head of the Sustainable Horticulture department and Chair of TTK, local artist and storyteller Eidín Griffin shared a fascinating story of seeds, innocence and hope from the mountains of Lesotho before they opened the Seed Library. The cabinet housing the library has a long history in the town as it contained the patient details of local doctor Dr. Billy Fitzgerald for decades before being donated to the college where artist Natasha Vasileva O’Shea refurbished it.

The event had a fantastic turnout with support from local politicians, gardeners, farmers and enthusiasts. Seeds and ideas were exchanged with gusto and this small initiative aims to grow into a much bigger resilience project in the future.