Native Seed Library

What is a Native Seed Library?

The native seed library contains seeds for plants native to Utah, primarily plants native to the Wasatch Back. The library exists to provide a native seed exchange and resources for community members, homeowners, and land managers to help create fire-wise, waterwise, native landscapes that increase wildlife habitat and biodiversity. 

Collecting Native Seeds

1. Know where you’re allowed to collect seeds? Collecting from your own garden is the easiest! Or, you can ask a friend if they have a nice collection of native plants in their yard. You always need landowner permission to collect seeds and will need a permit and permission if you are collecting on public lands.
2. Learn about your plants! Make sure you know what plant you are donating and its status in Utah. You can use local guidebooks, iNaturalist, and resources on our website to help! It is easiest to determine what plants you have while they are in bloom before they go to seed in the late summer/fall.
3. Collect the seeds. Learn when to harvest seeds and what they look like. Most native plants seeds are easiest to collect after they dry on the plant. If you have permission to harvest wild populations, only collect 10% of the population and only collect from robust, healthy populations.
4. Clean and process your seeds. You may need to allow your seeds to dry more before processing them. Separate the seed as best as you can from the rest of the plant material.
5. Package in a breathable container (paper bags work well) and label with the name of the plant, date, collection location, and your name. 

Donating Native Seeds

1. Bring your seeds to the Swaner EcoCenter front desk during open hours (Wednesday-Sunday 10 am-4 pm).
2. Staff will provide you with a donation slip to fill out with plant and harvest information. Swaner staff will check your seeds and add them to the library.
3. Check out the library and gather new species for your landscape and learn more about native plants! 

Borrowing Native Seeds

1. Peruse the seeds and plant information.
2. Decide what plants work best for your shade, soil, water, and habitat goals.
3. Pick your seeds; individuals can take up to 3 seed packets. Only take seeds you plan on using and return unused seeds to the library.
4. Fill out the checkout slip; this helps us track the use of the library and improve the library!
5. Place the slip in the box and get to planting! 

Additional Resources

Why Plant Native?
Pollinator Habitat Resources
Plants for Pollinators
Localscapes

Looking for edible seeds and herbs? Check out the seed library at the Park City Library, or The City Library in Salt Lake. 

Get Involved

Check out our volunteer page for seed collection dates in August and September. Join Basin Recreation on a sustainable seed collection hike to help collect native seeds for restoration in August and September.  

Interested in helping us sort, process, or organize seeds? Reach out to margaux.klingensmith@usu.edu, we need the most help in August-December.