Building resilience in the Saugeen Region.
Seeds of Transition - January Meeting Minutes
Thank-you all for coming the first Seeds of Transition meeting at the Mennonite Church in Hanover.
What follows is a quick recap of what happened at the meeting as well as a reminder of the next meeting - details for that at the very bottom.
What follows is a quick recap of what happened at the meeting as well as a reminder of the next meeting - details for that at the very bottom.
The mission statement that was written initially by Corey, Leslie, Monica and Nathan was shared in so many words at the meeting but here are the exact words we wrote down when creating an initial vision for what this project might be:
"The goal of the Seeds of Transformation project is to re-localize our source(s) and knowledge of quality, organic seed. Seed for growing food is vital to our well-being and food security since it is among the primary inputs for growing food. The project will work with interested local people (with a passion for seed saving as the only pre-requisite), farmers and local businesses to create quality seed that is exchanged throughout the community with pride, joy and fairness to all."
We also discussed a three tiered notion of how people might identify themselves within the project.
Grower - someone who has a passion for seed saving who is willing to spend the time and/or donate land on which seed will be grown-out. Growers will be the owners of the seed they produce. Growers can with time become advisors if they wish.
Advisor - someone with seed saving experience who is willing to act as a knowledgeable support for Growers. Advisors will be asked to answer questions of growers and visit a growing site at least once in a season if required.
Volunteers - someone who wants to be involved with the project but either doesn't have the interest or time to grow seed themselves. Volunteers can take on many roles from helping with seed-cleaning in the fall, to organizing and advertising meetings/events or even doing record keepings. Growing seed can be complicated and there's no shortage of non-growing work to be done!
What does the 2011 year in the Seeds of Transition project look like?
January - start advertising for a mid February seed growers meeting.
February (??) - A 2nd Growers meeting where growers choose their varieties and commit to growing for this season. Advisors are assigned. Further details discussed.
March - Seed saving workshop. Content as yet to be decided, input from February meeting necessary.
April - July Growing and advising. Grow, grow grow!
August - October Seed cleaning workbees. A great time for volunteers!
December - germination testing and inventory.
January 2012 - Seed Swap Party. Hooray! We've succeeded and are a step closer to a resilient, well-fed and vibrant community!
February (??) - A 2nd Growers meeting where growers choose their varieties and commit to growing for this season. Advisors are assigned. Further details discussed.
March - Seed saving workshop. Content as yet to be decided, input from February meeting necessary.
April - July Growing and advising. Grow, grow grow!
August - October Seed cleaning workbees. A great time for volunteers!
December - germination testing and inventory.
January 2012 - Seed Swap Party. Hooray! We've succeeded and are a step closer to a resilient, well-fed and vibrant community!
What are we going to be growing?
At this point we are focusing on vegetable crops that are known to do well in our climate and region. If there is a particular variety you KNOW you want to grow or see grown in quantity by others then please let Leslie know (moskovitsleslie@hotmail.com). If you would like to be told or choose from a small list of crops you will have an opportunity to do so at the second meeting on February the 21 (details at the end).
Miscellaneous points that were noted throughout the meeting:
-Are we re-creating something already existing? No, this project unlike other seed saving initiatives (ie. Seeds of Diversity) is focusing on food crops but with an emphasis on revitalizing local knowledge and the practice of seed saving. With the resulting seed going to primarily local people for consumption. We are concerned about genetic diversity and heritage genetics but at this early stage we have to start from almost scratch in the skills department. Getting folks 're-skilled' and thinking about the where, how and why of seeds is the first step to creating a resilient and robust seed-saving culture in Grey/Bruce!
-We require seed growers to utilize organic practices. One important reason for this stipulation is that plants grown out to the seed stage who have survived through chemical intervention will not necessarily pass on the resilient, rigorous and self-sufficient genes we are looking for. Part of the project is rooted in the notion that we may not always have access to cheap oil-based agricultural chemicals (including fertilizer) so it behooves us to direct the seed genetics to be as non-chemical dependent as possible. Support will be given to those who wish to be part of the project but who do not know the many alternative techniques available in organic production.
-Seed grown will be the property of the person who grew it not Seeds of Transition itself. In this way the movement of seed is self-regulated. It's most likely that prices will be set (by individual owners) for seed based on current market values if that is required to facilitate swapping.
-This is the beginning stages of a potentially long running and repeatable project. We're starting small but there is room for your grand vision!
Thank-you
It was wonderful to see so many new faces there (as well as some familiar ones!) and I sincerely hope we were able to pique your interest and perhaps even to inspire you! Hopefully we'll have an even bigger turn-out for the next meeting. If you haven't yet please check out the Local Motive website - http://localmotiveproject.com - where open discussion of this initiative will be available soon. You will have to sign-up and login but there's no cost and I haven't been spammed after using the site for well over a year. If you are interested in creating a stronger more resilient community with more than just seeds the Local Motive site is a great place to get involved and connect with other like minded folks in the area.
Monday, February 21 Meeting Details
As discussed we will be meeting on Monday February 21 at 7:00 at the (gracious) Mennonite Church just off of 7th ave in Hanover: Good Maps link.
Please think about how much space you might have or be willing to (realistically) use to grow out seed out this summer.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pass this on to as many people as you know who may be interested. We (the initial four) will be getting advertisement out there through various channels but there's nothing better than friends getting other friends involved in saving seed for our future! If you have contacts in the local media please let us know! As I like to say: "Seed, not just a metaphor!"
See you in February.
Tags: Seeds, Transition, of
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© 2012 Created by Shane Jolley.
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