It's just under a month till the first ever New Westminster Seedy Saturday! I spent most of my day creating a few fun seed related games for kids/adults and ordering some supplies. Tomorrow I'll be heading around town with my friend and volunteer Lizz to put up some posters. It was a beautiful morning so of course I spend the sunny early hours planting pruning and planting a flowering currant bush - fingers crossed it blooms this Spring.
My hope is for the New Westminster Seedy Saturday to become a regular community building event. I will still be eligible to receive youth funding for one more year and after that I'll have to find a funding alternative. Speaking of which, I'd like to acknowledge the Youth Neighborhood Small Grants program and funding from the Vancouver Foundation and the Association of Neighborhood Houses BC for making this event possible.
The past few years have really shown a light on how fragile our food systems are, between the flooding in the Fraser Valley that caused major road closures and the ongoing supply chain issues from the covid-19 pandemic, now more than ever we need to strengthen our local food and seed systems. The seed, the small genetic bank, often goes forgotten in the food security conversation. We visit a grocery store, purchase seed packets then leave them in the garage for years till they no longer grow, a lost opportunity, precious history lost. Folks have started to consider where their food comes from and we see this manifest in the growing popularity of the New Westminster Farmers market. This is a great start, however, we need to loop seed into the food security conversation. I encourage everyone, whether you are attending the New Westminster Seedy Saturday or not, to consider supporting a local seed farmer this season. We have a plethora of dedicated farmers that are passionate about promoting open pollinated and heirloom varieties. Check out FarmFolk CityFolks BC Seed Suppliers directory here to find a seed grower to support this season.
Happy planting,
Siri
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