'Convince me that you have a seed there, and I am prepared to expect wonder.'
-Henry David Thoreau
The Beauty of Seeds (Lagasse, 2020).
Sources of Vigour-Seed Savers in my Community
'Talent means nothing, while experience acquired in humility and with hard work, means everything.'
-Patrick Suskind
Inspired by spending time with local seed savers in my classroom, I realized that in searching for a source of vigour in my community, this was the perfect fit. Over the past few weeks, I spent time with four members of The Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective via Zoom, telephone and distanced in-person visits. Self-referenced as being ‘…like a swarm of bees-we just get together and do something, and then go off again. There is so much work here to be done…’ (Lagasse, 2020) With how busy they are; educating, promoting seed saving, and giving freely of their time and skill to help others, I feel lucky to have pinned any them down long enough to gain some knowledge for this project. But that's how they are with their time and seeds, ready to give freely if it means just one more person might start to see the value of a seed.
This seed collective is as grassroots as they come. None of them do the good work for money or fame. In fact, in sharing with me, they preferred to keep their identities fairly private, sharing stories only with the hopes that they would inspire more people to learn to collect, store, save and plant seeds in their local communities. They save for food security, sovereignty, protection and to make the planet a better place. They are gracious and willing to tell anyone anything they need to know to get started in seed saving. I myself am so grateful for the time spent with all of these fine women and here I offer you a mosaic of small seeds of their knowledge that you may take and plant at will.
The Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective - who are they?
'A tree is a seed that never gave up on the dream to flourish'.
-Matshona Dhilwayo
(Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective, 2020).
Seed Saving - why do it?
'The desire to save seeds comes from an ethical urge to defend life's evolution.'
-Vandana Shiva
An excerpt from an interview with Leonie Croy, an avid seed saver, educator and artist. (Croy & Groves, 2020).
‘…it’s a creative response to changing culture and a life affirming culture. Seeds are vitally full of life and create a connection to thousands of years of history. Every time you plant a seed, you are holding something in your hand that has passed through hands for thousands of years of history. Imagine in your mind’s eye who held that seed before you, their life stories, their time and place. You are holding the past and a link to the future every time you save a seed..’ (Lagasse, 2020).
Conversations in the greenhouse with seed savers Grace Lewis and Denise Lagasse. (Groves, Lagasse, Lewis, 2020).
My own exploration of seed saving at school, and my first attempt at a Cellphilm (Groves, 2020).
How do you save a seed?
'The simple act of sowing a seed, saving a seed, planting a seed, harvesting a crop from a seed is bringing back this memory—this timeless memory of our oneness with the Earth and the creative universe.'
-Vandana Shiva
(Groves, 2020).
There are so many ways to save seeds! Every unique plant has its own packaging and protection system for that little seed. Maggie Guzzi-Phillips does her best sell seed saving to students by using a leaf blower to get the chaff off kale seeds. Seed chaff were first crushed by little feet on a paper bag. Her audience was baffled and delighted.
(Groves, 2020).
One thing to know about the committed seed savers I have met is that they will share whatever they have for the greater good of protecting seeds. This includes any and all resources if it means an opportunity to educate the general public. Below is an example of dry (seeds that come from plants that dry their seeds in pods, chaff, etc.) and wet (seeds that come from the heart of a succulent fruit like tomatoes or cucumbers) seed saving. The one page how-to guidelines were put together by Seeds of Diversity, and are used by the Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective in workshops.
The dry method:
The wet method:
What's the Planetary Benefit of Seed Saving?
'Nourish beginnings, let us nourish beginnings. Not all things are blest but the seeds of things are blest. The blessing is in the seed.'
-Muriel Rukeyser
‘…Thomas Jefferson said that you can only have a democracy if 10% of your population is growing food. Saving seeds is political. It is a creative response to change. This pandemic was the first time in my life that I saw an empty shelf in the store. My father was in WWII and told me stories of empty shelves, which were common then. With depleted shelves and stores, I saw people putting plastic containers of arugula from California into their carts and realized that I have months worth of arugula in my garden. In this act, I have removed plastic and fossil fuels from my life without signing a petition. I’ve removed the need for health care by walking out my door for food. I find that seed saving and growing food is the most joyful and political action you can take. My husband built me a kiosk at the end of our driveway where I leave ‘pay it forward seeds’. Anyone can have the seeds I leave there. It is a small way for me to pay my own knowledge forward..’ (Lagasse, 2020).
'...I think of it as a direction that we need to go as a species. I envision a life where everybody is happy and healthy and living is sustainable. Humanity seems so far off track, we need to get it back on track, not by pushing against what is happening out there but by veering onto a sustainable course and truly living on the earth again...' (Croy, 2020).
How do you Inspire Others?
'Seed is created to renew, to multiply, to be shared, and to spread. Seed is life itself.'
-Vandana Shiva
Seeds as Food, Seeds as Art
Bean Seed Project artwork (Croy, 2020).
(Croy, 2020).
Bean Seed Project artwork (Croy, 2020).
Seedy Saturday
Seedy Saturday Poster (One Straw Society, 2020).
Seed Shares at the Public Libraries
A COVID-friendly seed return box at the Gibsons Public Library (Croy, 2020).
An old-school library card catalogue repurposed for seeds of all shapes and sizes (Croy, 2020).
Local Stories of Land and Seeds
(Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective, 2012).
Reflections
The members of the Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective are working to protect our community's food source. They are doing it selflessly, out of reverence for the more-than-human world and its capacity to sustain us when cared for in a healthy approach filled with care and understanding. I am in awe of the work the members are doing, quietly planting their seeds with kindness and an eye to a better future. I thank them for their work and for encouraging me, just one more, to save my own seeds here on the Sunshine Coast. Deep gratitude to Denise, Grace, Leonie and Maggie for their stories, time and incredible work.
Sources:
Croy, L. (2020, November 23). Personal communication [Zoom].
Edberg, H. (2020, August 11). 87 Inspirational quotes for work (Motivation to work hard and smart). Retrieved from: https://www.positivityblog.com/quotes-for-work/
Good Reads. (n.d.). Seed quotes. Retrieved from: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/seed
Guzzi-Phillips, M. (2020, November 18). Personal interview [Personal interview].
Lagasse, D. (2020, November 21). Personal communication [Telephone].
Lewis, G. (2020, November 26). Personal interview [Personal interview].
One Straw Society (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.onestraw.ca/
Seeds of Diversity (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://seeds.ca/sw8/web/
Sunshine Coast Seed Saving Collective (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.sunseeds.ca/home
Van Gelder, S. (2013, November 16). Why Vandana Shiva says saving seeds is a political act. Retrieved from: https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/food-health/2013/11/16/vandana-shiva-freedom-starts-with-a-seed/
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