Get Your Seeds! Cicero Public Library opens ‘Seed Library’
The Seed Library was created by librarians Diana Rocha and Angel Caranna of the Cicero Public Library to bring accessibility to green space, nature and fresh produce closer to residents. The Seed Library will change with the seasons and has seed for flowers, fruits and vegetables and herbs (photo by April Alonso).
By Jorge Martinez
Among the books and hushed whispers of the Cicero Public Library, Cicero residents can now find seeds to take home and enjoy. The seeds are part of a new community initiative to create a Seed Library, founded by Diana Rocha and Angel Caranna. Both library employees, Rocha and Caranna, have been breaking down barriers to allow more people to connect with nature and gardening in the community.
“Everyone should have access to growing their own food or being able to touch a plant and have some green space, even if it is in their backyard or window,” Rocha said. The green initiative is a creative outlet and stands in contrast to the highly industrialized town of Cicero, which is surrounded by major corporations on the town’s border. “It is important to connect to green spaces and nature, and the food you’re growing and eating. It’s good for you, mental health-wise. Especially with how industrialized this area is,” Rocha said.
The Seed Library will change with the seasons and has seed for flowers, fruits and vegetables and herbs (photo by April Alonso).
“For the Cicero Library, we repurposed this little card catalog and we put some seeds in so patrons can bring them home, so they can put them in their own pots or gardens,” Caranna explained.
“For now, the seed library only contains seeds which are ready for planting in spring. When summer rolls around, we may add more seed varieties for plants that are better sown after the last frost/in summer,” Rocha explained via email. Community members can now enjoy easily-plantable summer seeds such as cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers along with native and pollinator plants.
Studies have shown the various communal benefits of gardening, ranging from increases in food security to positive environmental impacts. Rocha and Caranna say they’re confident that all community members can partake in reconnecting with the Earth.
“You don’t have to be an expert gardener,” Rocha said. “Planting a seed and watching it grow is so beautiful and everyone should have access to that” They hope the project will be as low-barrier as possible, providing bilingual and readily accessible information to engage any participant regardless of skill. They hope to see the project become self-sustaining into the future, providing intergenerational introductions to gardening for all.
“This is a town with a large immigrant population. A lot of folks with [strong ties] to the Earth and this can be a way to reconnect with that as well,” Rocha said.
“We’re facing extreme inflation, so why not grow your own tomatoes and not spend so much money in the store,” Caranna asked.
For immigrants and non-immigrants alike, community gardens can be a powerful tool. While both groups of people benefit by saving money on food costs and increasing overall wellbeing, immigrant gardeners report a greater value in increasing access to food and personal connections to their homelands.
Rocha and Caranna hope to use this intersectionality to empower community members of all ages and backgrounds to connect with nature and improve the community’s mental health.
“There’s no obligation to bring any [seeds] back. You don’t need a library card to check one out. Our only real rule is that you should take no more than four [seed packets], just so everyone has an opportunity to take some,” Caranna said. Each seed packet comes with around 20 seeds.
The seed library is free and easy to use. No library card is required and all are welcome to take this first step in their gardening journey. The seed library is open to the public at the Cicero Public Library (5225 W Cermak Rd, Cicero, IL 60804) and both Rocha and Caranna encourage everyone to visit.
Jorge Martinez is a Cicero Independiente Fall reporting fellow and is currently a student at Bennett Day School. Jorge is a community activist for queer and youth voices.
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