How the Altadena Seed Library is helping regrow the community after the deadly Eaton Fire

A bright blue wooden box, adorned with hand painted pink flowers and purple butterflies, is a stark contrast to the charred homes on the other side of East Calaveras Street in Altadena.

Besides a thin coat of ash and soot, the Altadena Seed Library is still standing after the deadly Eaton Fire ripped through the area, killing 17 people and displacing thousands.

The libraries are a free, community resource that help people share seeds from their gardens, much like the free drop-one-off-take-one-home library stands that have popped up in SoCal front yards over the years. But now this one needs help regrowing the community — one pot and plant at a time.

Nina Raj, the UC Naturalist library founder and Docent Naturalist at Eaton Canyon, told LAist there’s a lot of healing on the horizon for Altadena, and seeds are part of that powerful work.

“ I think they represent so much hope,” she said. “And they represent the future.”

How we got here

The neighborhood’s generational ties to farming and gardening is part of what drew her to the area, Raj said, and she was overjoyed to see how those little wooden boxes could bring people together.

A freshly stocked Altadena Seed Library.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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But the fire put everything in a new perspective.

“ I didn't really realize quite how much seeds meant to me, or this work meant to me,” she said. “Needing to rush out of the house and, like, seeing the flames from our backyard and having the first thing I packed be seeds …  it was, I think, a powerful moment for me.”

Nina Raj, founder, stocking an Altadena Seed Library.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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One at a time

The Altadena Seed Library was overwhelmed with the response to their call out for donations, including bulk box shipments of seeds, but Raj is encouraging people to start small.

She recognizes that it can be difficult to slow down and sit with grief when you’re faced with massive destruction, but one “individual seed can actually do so much good.”

At this point, the library is prioritizing donations of native plant seeds that can help restore the ecosystem and attract birds who distribute seeds all on their own.

They include mule fat, California buckwheat, saltbush, and telegraph weed, which Raj added can pull heavy metals out of the soil. They’re also seeking toyon, lemonade berry, and a lot of shrubs.

But the most meaningful gift would be something you’ve collected or grown yourself.

“Someone brought me like three loose pumpkin seeds, and it just totally moved me to tears,” Raj said. “Because that's the kind of thing that I think feels like we are building those community connections, those neighbor to neighbor connections, in addition to those connections with the earth.”

However, it’s unclear if Altadena residents can safely grow fruits, vegetables, and other edible plants in the soil right now, she noted.

Raj is working with a team of experts to evaluate and test the soil before potential bioremediation projects, which she added would need to happen before they’re ready to plant anything edible in the area.

How you can help

If you have seeds to spare, you can mail them to: 37 Auburn Avenue #8, Sierra Madre, 91024, care of Altadena Seed Library.

The Altadena Seed Library also has six other locations, including in South L.A., Sierra Madre, and Glendale. They have several others in the works for neighborhoods that might not have much access to green space or fresh produce, but Raj is now focusing on getting more throughout Altadena as well.

Some well-intentioned people may want to go out and scatter seeds in wildlands on their own, but she “cannot discourage that enough.” The earth has its own seed bank that’ll come back to life — without human interference. It’s critical to respect the natural healing process and then see where we can help from there, Raj said.

“ Seeing how this neighborhood has come together in the wake of such an enormous disaster has been so moving to me,” she said. “Thinking about the impact of planting seeds and … the metaphor too of regrowing our neighborhood is really powerful for me. And so I would offer that to anybody who's having a difficult time accessing hope, or any kind of optimism in this time.”

The Altadena Seed Library on East Calaveras Street.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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