The Seed Savers regularly attend events around town. Photo: Canberra Seed Savers/Instagram.
Seeds are the bedrock of life, but are often overlooked or taken for granted.
On 26 April, seeds get the recognition they deserve on International Seeds Day, which the Canberra Seed Savers Co-operative is celebrating at an event aimed at inspiring, educating and supporting people from across the community to save, share and grow seeds.
Canberra Seed Savers Co-op is a network of backyard growers who are working together to establish a living seedbank for the community. Founding member Arian McVeigh said the day will be an opportunity to celebrate the work of community seed savers across Canberra.
“International Seed Day is all about celebrating our abundant natural heritage of food seeds and the vitally important role that seeds play in our food system and our communities,” she told Region.
“It’s also a time for us to have fun exploring and learning about seeds, getting involved with processing seeds, learning about how to grow seeds, and even making seedy crafts, which is a great activity for kids to get involved in, discover where their food comes from and how seeds work.”
The Canberra Seed Saver Autumn Seed Swap will be part of their broader International Seed Day celebrations. Poster: Cat Mueller.
The International Seed Day event will take place at Canberra City Farm and will involve a ‘seed hunt’ across the farm, and demonstrations where people can learn how to process and save seeds, and how to grow food from seed at home.
The Canberra Seed Savers will also be hosting their Autumn Seed Swap on the day, where people can bring seeds from home to donate and maybe take home some new, interesting seeds to grow.
Learn to process, save and grow from seeds at the event. Photo: Lucy Ridge.
While the event is a celebration, it’s also an important way for the community to assert their rights of seed sovereignty in the face of genetic engineering and corporate ownership, which threaten people’s ability to save and share seeds as a common resource.
“What’s happening in the seed and food systems at the moment is a concentration of ownership. There’s a small number of large multinational corporations that are infringing on our rights to grow, save and share seeds with each other, which we’ve done for generations and generations,” Arian said.
“When we lose those rights, it’s bad news for the environment and bad news for our community because it makes us less resilient to the impacts of global warming and an uncertain economic future. The rights of all people to be able to grow, save, and share open-pollinated food seeds help to preserve biodiversity, protect our cultural heritage and, of course, feed our community. ”
Kids will enjoy making ‘seedy creatures’ and other craft activities. Photo: Canberra Seed Savers/Instagram.
The community will be fed on the day by a seed-themed, potluck afternoon tea, where attendees are encouraged to show off homegrown or local produce in whatever they bring.
Children’s craft activities include making clay creatures decorated with seeds, bark, sticks and leaves.
“We’re going to have fun! We want to show people that seed saving is really fun, and anyone can do it,” Arian said.
The Canberra Seed Savers International Seed Day Event will be held from 2 pm to 5 pm on 26 April at Canberra City Farm, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Everyone is welcome, including children. Entry is free and un-ticketed. Attendees are encouraged to bring something to share for a seed-themed, potluck afternoon tea. Find out more about the Canberra Seed Savers Co-operative and follow them on Facebook or Instagram.
