HOUGHTON – While winter continues to cling to the Keweenaw, the Fifth Annual Seed Swap is scheduled for Saturday, April 11, from 11 a.m.-2 p.m at the Portage Lake District Library, on Huron Street, in Houghton. The Western U.P. Food Systems Collaborative is sponsoring the event.

Evan Lanese, planning technician with the Western U.P. Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR), who also works with and provides support for the food systems collaborative, said the event have seeds from the Seed Library, displayed by family for people to take for their own home gardens and personal uses.

“Maybe they’re making a container garden on their porch or growing herbs in their window or something,” Lanese said. “We just want to give people access to seeds.”

Lanese said some people may not have the means to obtain seeds themselves, or they just want certain varieties that they may not be able to find in stores.

Another presentation involves a local agricultural grower from a local farm talking about how to start seeds.

There will also be some presentations for interested people, said Lanese.

“One of the presentations is about native plants,” he said, along with some tips and tricks and lessons learned from a native plant grower.”

Lenese, who is a seed librarian, and Emily Shaw, will give a 15-minute presentation on how to use the seed library located at the library.

There are three seed libraries in the region: The Portage Lake Seed Library, the Ojibwa Community Seed Library and the Calumet Public Library Seed Exchange, are hosted by the Western U.P. Food Systems Collaborative.