Seed Savers Exchange

Seed Savers Exchange, or SSE, is a non-profit based in Decorah, Iowa, that preserves heirloom plant varieties through regeneration, distribution and seed exchange. The mission of SSE is to preserve the world’s diverse but endangered garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, and educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity. Since 1975, Seed Savers has produced an annual yearbook of members’ seed offerings, as well as multiple editions of "The Garden Seed Inventory", and "The Fruit, Nut and Berry Inventory". SSE also publishes "Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners".

SSE protects crop diversity, which is the biological basis of agriculture. Each year, 1%-2% of crop diversity is lost and more than 75% of genetically diverse crops present at the beginning of the 20th century are now gone. [ Fowler, Cary P. and P.R. Mooney. Shattering: Food, Politics, and the Loss of Genetic Diversity. University of Arizona Press, 1990.] , [ Shand, Hope. Biological Meltdown: The Loss of Agricultural Biodiversity, Rural Advancement Foundation International, 2000.] Plant breeders need heirloom varieties to confer resistance to evolving diseases and pests and to help plants better adapt to global climate change.

Achievements

Founded by Kent Whealy and his then wife Diane Ott Whealy, SSE has preserved many lines of seeds. The organization has gained 7,500 members worldwide, passing on more than one million seed samples and distributing over 20,000 varieties of endangered seeds.

Headquartered in Decorah, Iowa, Seed Savers' Heritage Farm, an 890-acre certified organic farm, is called the “most diverse farm in the world” by ethnobotanist Gary Paul Nabhan. At Heritage Farm, more than 25,000 rare fruit, vegetable, and plant varieties are regenerated, refrigerated and preserved in a central collection. A herd of Ancient White Park Cattle is also maintained on the farm. SSE offers educational programs and exhibits through the Lillian Goldman Visitors Center and houses the Robert Becker Memorial Library. The farm is open to visitors from April through December. The annual conference, held the third weekend of July, is open to members and the public.

In December 2007, Seed Savers Exchange made an inaugural deposit of nearly 500 varieties to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault that opened on February 26, 2008 in Svalbard, Norway. [ Iowa Seeds Stockpiled Deep Inside Mountain; Des Moines Register, March 2, 2008. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080302/BUSINESS01/803020324/1030 ] The only citizen-led group in the United States to contribute to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for opening day, SSE intends to send 9,000 seed varieties to the vault by 2012 for safety duplication as part of a global effort to preserve the world’s biodiversity from man-made and natural disasters. [ Preserving Precious Seeds, In Norway and Your Way; The Washington Post, March 6, 2008. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/05/AR2008030501119.html ] The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is under the leadership of Cary Fowler, Executive Director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and board member of Seed Savers Exchange.

Notable Advisors and Members

*Amy P. Goldman
*Cary Fowler
*Suzanne Ashworth
*Glenn Drowns
*Will Bonsall
*Craig LeHouillier
*John Swenson

References

External links

* [http://www.seedsavers.org Official site]
* [http://www.croptrust.org Global Crop Diversity Trust]
* [http://www.nctomatoman.topcities.com/nctomatomanWebPage.htm Craig LeHoullier’s Gardening Information]