It was August when brand-new, first-time homeowner Zach Stevens realized his backyard needed an overhaul.
“I’m really interested in laying down some garden beds and fruit trees and doing some drip irrigation,” he explained. We especially needed a gas-powered cultivator because it was heavy and had a lot of rocks in it.
Stevens, like any new homeowner, had just put a lot of money into buying a home in La Mesa, so he had a few more tillers for this one project. I wasn’t interested in spending a hundred bucks, so I did a few things. research.
He had heard of tool libraries elsewhere in the country and wanted San Diego to be nearby. Sure enough, he found the Tool Loan Library at the Solana Environmental Innovation Center in Encinitas. With a small deposit of $5, he could rent not only a cultivator, but also a pickaxe, a wheelbarrow, and a large rake shovel.
As a job, Stevens creates exhibits at the New Children’s Museum in downtown San Diego. Friends have come to help him clean up his garden, and now he’s attacking the ground with a cultivator.
Nam-Huy Leduc demonstrates how to collect fruit from tall branches using a pole picker.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
This is news that pleases Jessica Toth, Executive Director of the Solana Center. The non-profit organization was founded in 1983 by a group of local residents as Solana Recyclers. In 1991, when their successful home recycling program was purchased by a local waste hauler, the group transitioned to direct community education focused on soil, water and waste diversion. . Its name was changed to the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation in 2003, reflecting a changing focus on education and action through public-private partnerships.
Today, the center offers science-based school programs, numerous workshops on topics such as food waste prevention and composting, gardening events, e-waste disposal, business consultations on low-waste processes, food cycle community composting, and more. We offer programs. About ten years ago, shortly before Toth joined the organization, the team launched his library of tools.
Initial funding from the County of San Diego’s Healthy Works Program allowed the Solana Center to purchase the tools, which the Boy Scout Troop built a hut to house. Outreach for this project continues and is supported by his recent $2,000 funding from the City of Encinitas and the Mizell Family Foundation Community Grant Program.
What started as a home recycling program in 1983 has evolved into a community education program overseen by Jessica Toth, executive director of the nonprofit.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
The core idea behind the lending library is to support county residents with home, school and community garden projects, but it’s much more. The Solana Center also uses the tools for hands-on workshops on-site and on-site to engage participants in the activities.
The Tool Library has a great inventory of garden supplies. There are hand tools such as cultivators, mattocks and trowels. We have a variety of items such as shovels and brooms. Borrowers take home a hand-held hula or large hoe, a lopper, a rake, a rake, a stool, a pruning saw, and even a pole picker for when they’re ready to harvest out-of-reach oranges and pomegranates. can do. There are also wood chippers, but they are not for home use. Stay on site.
The website solanacenter.org has an inventory list and allows users to rent tools online in advance. You can pre-book and prepay a $5 refundable security deposit to pick up your rental items and return them 7 days later. If there are no pending requests and staff do not need the item in the workshop, the item can be approved for another week of renewal.
Environmental Education Associate Manager Kelsey Jacobsen uses a hand hoe to weed a garden box. Those who come to the center can receive advice from staff on the best tools to use for a particular project and how to use them.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
According to the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, a network of local sustainability advocates, tool lending libraries have popped up across North America and have been a “thing” since at least the late 1970s. Between 2013 and 2015, the number of tool lending libraries in the United States increased from about 40 to over 60, according to online network resources.
Libraries often offer classes and workshops, which vary in content. In addition to garden tools, there are also shops offering home construction tools, kitchen tools, sewing tools and camping tents. The DPR Garden Tools Share site in Washington, DC has not only gardening tools, but also solar ovens, vacuum cleaners, camp stoves and cider presses. In Los Angeles County, county library cardholders age 18 and older are eligible to borrow tools from the Tool Lending Libraries at five library locations. Options include garden supplies, power tools, bike repair kits, sewing machines, clothes steamers, cake molds, and hand mixers.
Executive Director Jessica Toth selects tools in the library hut. Appointments can be made online to rent the tool and after 7 days of use she will be refunded the $5 deposit.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
What they all have in common, including the Solana Center’s Tool Lending Library, is their dedication to helping each individual, business, or city achieve their environmental goals.
Toth explains: No need to buy tools that everyone has in their garage. From that perspective, libraries are sustainable. It also facilitates the implementation of otherwise economically unsustainable projects, such as group gardening projects. ”
Workshops will be held at the center, including collecting rainwater in rain barrels.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
There is a bucket in the center where you can put leftover food and compost it.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Nam-Huy Leduc, an environmental educator at the Solana Center, added that its mission is to make the most of the resources people already have.
“As an individual, I may have all my tools at home, but who is using my tools?” he said. “Does my neighbor use them? Maybe. Anyone else? Probably not. In the world we live in, it’s very easy to just buy.I think there will be less demand by taking advantage of the lending library of tools instead of buying.This makes supply and production a little less stressful. will be
Another benefit of the Tool Loan Library is that gardeners can test tools to determine if they should be included in their collection and if they will use them regularly. You can also get recommendations on which tools you need for your specific project and instructions on how to use them from the Solana Center staff.
Jessica Toth cuts a fig tree branch with a lopper, assisted by Namhui Ledak.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
“If someone comes in and says, ‘I know this tool is what I need for this purpose, but I’ve never used it before,’ you can always come to the store and show me how to do it.” We can,” said Leduc. “There’s a lot of space in the back where you can demonstrate. I always think it’s really cool, at least for me, to be able to visually see something happening and be able to manipulate it myself. I know I’m comfortable using it.”
Painted bright green on the handle to identify it as belonging to the library, the tool is kept in good condition by staff, including longtime employee Mike Murphy. Murphy lives nearby, so he comes over to make sure the tools are working, makes sure they can be repaired if necessary, and walks the renters through how to use them.
Nam-Huy Leduc adds earthworm compost to garden boxes in the demonstration garden at the Solana Environmental Innovation Center in Encinitas. The center also offers workshops on composting basics, vermicomposting, aquatic gardening, and more.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
And, as pointed out by gas tiller renter Stevens, another advantage of renting tools is that you don’t have to store them.
“Another thing that really attracted me to tool libraries in general is that once you use the tools, you don’t have to store them, because that’s also the cost. I have one, but not everyone has that kind of storage space.
“This is another barrier people in the community can face if they want to participate in a garden project. Maybe they live in really small apartments or shared spaces. I’m not going to put it in.”
The shed stores items for e-waste recycling, another service offered at the center.
(Hayne Palmour IV / San Diego Union-Tribune)
Stephens said he would come back if he needed anything else after completing this stage of work in his garden.
“I’m a big proponent of tool lending libraries,” he said. “In my situation, maybe I’m a new homeowner or I don’t have the money to go out and buy tools for whatever reason, but I want to work on some projects to help develop my community. I think there are a lot of people who think that I support the development of gardens and their own gardens.
“Having resources like this just lowers the barrier. It makes gardening more accessible to more people in the county.”
Enthusiasm for garden projects can wane when factoring in the cost of tools, but the Solana Center for Environmental Innovation’s Tool Lending Library is a common-sense solution. As part of Reach, we serve San Diego County residents.
Where: 137 N. El Camino Real in Encinitas
time: Thursday noon to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm
Tool lending library: $5 refundable deposit with 7 days loan
Additional products: Discounts and vouchers for rain barrels, food waste bins, compost buckets, and compost bins (for unincorporated San Diego County, with additional suppliers listed here.
service: Information on e-waste recycling, free composting consultation, food waste prevention, rainwater harvesting, water conservation, staff training and compliance testing for businesses, school programs, and volunteer opportunities
Events and workshops: Here’s a sample of upcoming workshops (some provided in Spanish):
October 17: “Bamicom Post Introductory Workshop — Lakeside”
October 18: “Smart Ways to Fight Food Waste Webinar — City of Encinitas”
October 22: “Backyard Composting Fundamentals Workshop — City of Encinitas”
October 26: “Reduce Food Waste and Save Money — Free Webinar — City of San Diego”
November 8: “Water Wise Gardening Workshop — Valley Center”
November 12: “Workshop on Worms — 4S Lunch”
Nov. 14: “Shoo, Fly, Shoe! Pest Control Webinar for Livestock Owners – San Diego County”
information: (760) 436-7986, compost@solanacenter.org, solanacenter.org/tool-lending-library
Golden is a freelance writer and blogger from San Diego.
