Plant sale raises nearly $1,500 for Carlow Mayo library

May 21, 2024

By Michael Riley

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

A plant sale fundraiser for the Carlow Mayo Public Library happened on May 18 at the Fort Stewart Community Centre in Fort Stewart. This is the fourth year that the sale has been held in support of the library and was organized by Mary Jane MacLeod, a library technician at the library. MacLeod told Bancroft This Week that to her knowledge, their plant sale is one of the township’s biggest fundraisers of the year and is supplied by donation from their generous community members. This year, the plant sale raised $1,478.50 to go towards CMPL.
CMPL library board vice-chair Celene McClintock hosted this fourth annual plant sale on May 18 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Fort Stewart Community Centre. All proceeds went to the CMPL. Plants for sale that day included tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, basil, parsley, catnip and more. Suggested values were placed on each box of plants, but they were amenable to customers paying what they could for the items. No attendant was on site and a cash box was there to accept payment for the plants. While they had a limited supply of trays and boxes for transporting the plants home with customers, they suggested that attendees bring their own just in case they ran out.
McClintock told Bancroft This Week that the plant sale began back in 2019 with extra seedlings she inadvertently had that were included at a table at the library garage sale fundraiser.
“The following year, I deliberately planted extra and held a sale exclusively for plants at the end of my driveway, which in spite of all the uncertainty in 2020, was both well received and attended. Four years later, the sale continues to grow as more people contribute plants and more people show up to buy them,” she says.
McClintock says that this year saw a steady stream of garden enthusiasts, braving the black flies, raising a total of 1478.50. She says that library CEO Carrie MacKenzie consistently finds resources that serve our community in the best ways and has earmarked the funds for programming and materials. For example, two years ago, the plant sale monies went towards acquiring laptops for patrons to borrow.
“The motivation for the plant sale, in addition to contributing to our library, which serves and enhances the community in so many different ways, is connecting people with the land and food that they eat, by participating in growing food and community.”