Seed Library Helps Grow Community Project

Heather Thompson is a patron at Florence Branch. Using Omaha Public Library’s Common Soil Seed Library, she and fellow church members at Trinity Lutheran are helping to feed a community.  

Green Thumb, a small group from Trinity Lutheran Church, has a garden that belongs to Lutheran Volunteer Corps. “They allow us to use the space and access water for free," said Thompson. “An adjacent space is owned by Nelson Mandela School. They have garden space for students and plots for community members to garden. Green Thumb helps prepare these spaces, assigns gardeners, and runs a watering system.” 

The produce grown in these plots is harvested weekly and shared with church-goers. The harvest has also been shared it the neighborhood community meeting place, The Minne Lusa House.

“Our church hopes to become a satellite food pantry this fall with the help of Project Hope,” said Thompson. "We have shared produce through Project Hope and are excited to share it at our church pantry."

Thompson enjoys browsing OPL's Seed Library, which she does from her phone using the MyOPL app. The app also allows her to place holds on seeds and have them sent to her local branch to pickup. “I love that there are many seeds to choose from," she shared. "Sometimes I pick things that I know I want to plant, but sometimes I see something new I have never tried or never even heard of. Trying new seeds is one of my favorite things about the seed library.”

Green Thumb has had much success with their Common Soil seeds. The group shared a photo of their harvest on OPL’s Facebook page, demonstrating the wide variety of foods they’ve been able to grow this year.

Learn more about what you can grow using OPL’s Common Soil Seed Library here. For those who don’t especially have a green thumb, a variety of classes to learn about gardening, seeds and more are available at OPL’s 12 Omaha branches. Get started today! It’s always a good season for growing something with the help of the Omaha Public Library.