SCCLD Seed Kits

During my internship at Santa Clara County Library District (SCCLD), I initiated a free seed kit program for adults and teens and developed the initial two seed kits: Golden Detroit Beets (August 2025), and Common Chives (November 2025).

The seed kits consist of a pack of seeds, along with a brochure describing the plants, how to grow and use them, and helpful external and library resources, including relevant books from the library's collection.

The seed kits were developed in collaboration with library staff and volunteers, and University of California (UC) Master Gardener of Santa Clara County volunteer Joan Cloutier.

I was inspired to create these kits after observing a high level of interest in gardening among library patrons, and to fill a gap in the existing 3-month rotation of tea and spice kit programs.

As I am not really much of a gardener myself, creating these seed kits involved collaborating with local Master Gardener Joan Cloutier, and a considerable amount of research into identifying, selecting, and describing appropriate plants, including their cost and commercial availability, seasonality, and ease of successful growth.

I used Canva to design the materials for the seed kits, including brochures, flyers, labels, and other graphics. I also posted the seed kits as events to the library's BiblioCommons website.
We were fortunate to have many library volunteers help with assembling the seed kits, including preparing the seed packs, folding brochures, and attaching the two together.

During my internship, we created 50+ seed kits every three months, which were all happily claimed by library patrons.
The seed kit program continued after my internship and departure from the library: as of October 2026, the seed kit program continues to provide library patrons with seeds and brochures for seasonal, easy-to-grow plants; supports the library's relationship with community partners; and encourages library visits and circulation.