Saving Seeds As The Climate Changes
Food biodiversity is one of the key strategies for adapting to climate change, but what happens when the changing climate makes it hard to save seeds?
Our hearts go out to the farmers and gardeners who are trying to grow this year's food and next year's seeds in places where extreme weather has damaged and destroyed crops, and in some cases much more than that.
More than ever, we all need to preserve the seed varieties that we still have, because even seed collections aren't safe from the rapidly changing climate. Seed savers know that they have to help each other, and everyone can help seed savers by supporting local collections.
Seed Grow-outs in Jeopardy, and a Whole Seed Collection is Lost
Every year we send a few hundred samples of rare seeds from our Seed Library to our member seed growers, who re-grow the seeds so that we all can have more of them. We never send our very last seeds, because lots of things can happen in a garden, and we expect that unexpected losses will happen.
But this summer has been like no other. Many of our most dedicated and skilled seed growers are in B.C. and the prairies, dealing with extreme heat and drought that they have never experienced before. Although many of our seed growouts are still safe in their hands, there are some that are irrecoverably damaged by heat stress in the early season, and others that might survive but not bear seeds.
Tragically, we know of at least two members who were saving seeds in Lytton, BC, the town which was virtually destroyed by wildfire last month in the hottest heat wave ever recorded in Canada. As far as we know, their gardens and their seeds are gone.
Don't Miss This Free Seed Webinar Series!
The 2021 webinar series from the Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security will explore how farmers and plant breeders are working to save and improve important Canadian crop varieties, as well as the regional seed systems that make those varieties available for the benefit of all Canadians. Join us for this national conversation about seeds in Canada! All webinars are free!
Youth Taking Climate Action with School Food Gardens
You’ve heard it all before: global warming is happening, the Earth is in trouble, we must take action now before it’s too late… You may even remember the hundreds and thousands of protesters joining the climate strikes back in September 2019.
But Climate Change is a Serious Issue for Youth!
The disastrous effects of climate change are obvious in Canadian urban and rural communities in the form of floods, forest fires, droughts and heat waves.
In this issue
Seed Grow-outs in Jeopardy, and a Whole Seed Collection is Lost
Don't Miss This Free Seed Webinar Series!
Youth Taking Climate Action with School Food Gardens
Not yet a member?
An annual membership to Seeds of Diversity gives you access to our seed exchange, seed grow-out programs, and our online news.
We depend on donations to do our work.
Thank you for your support!
Stay in Touch!
