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Welcome to Your Daily Dot where Dot will share tips, advice, and stories on how we can make our world better. |
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All Dear Dot illustrations by Elissa Turnbull. |
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Dear Reader,
You all know of Dot’s deep, abiding love for Little Free Libraries! But libraries, it turns out, aren’t simply for books. Indeed, increasingly, there are Libraries of Things, offering up the chance to borrow sports equipment, garden implements, musical instruments, board games, and more! (Find one near you!) But even seeds, those tiny birthplaces of natural beauty, can be housed in a library, where planters can retrieve them, introduce them to soil, and coax them into incarnation.
There are now more than 2,600 seed libraries in the United States. These community-led initiatives allow people to take seeds out from the library and then, when they harvest a crop, “return” new seeds to the collection. But more than just a feel-good practice, seed libraries — which make seeds free to gardeners — also help local plants maintain greater genetic diversity and build resilience by increasing access to a greater number of varieties, and the number of places those varieties are grown. (Did you know that just four companies control 60% of the world’s seeds?) What’s more, a diverse selection of plants in your garden will attract a broader diversity of insects and wildlife, and provide them with a healthier habitat.
While some seed libraries operate out of actual libraries, plenty of others are housed at farms, community centers, or schools. Seeking seeds? See if you can find one near you. Or create your own!
For inspiration, read about Bluedot Climate Champ Shirley Bellows, who saves seeds that are at risk of disappearing in an effort to ensure ongoing diversity. And refamiliarize yourself with perennial Bluedot favorite, Tom Brown, the apple hunter, who’s single-handledly preserving variety in the humble apple.
Seedily,
Dot
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What if the most effective climate solutions aren’t coming from Congress or global summits—but from mayors working city by city, block by block? This week on the Bluedot Living podcast Imagine If, former Los Angeles Mayor and U.S. Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti joins us to explore how local leadership has quietly driven some of the biggest climate wins of the past decade. From the rise of Climate Mayors to L.A.’s vision for the first carbon-reducing Olympics, Garcetti shares why practical, community-based action cuts through partisanship—and why courage, joy, and connection are essential tools for climate leadership in uncertain times.
Listen in to imagine what’s possible. |
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