In 2020, almost half of Canada’s Seedy Saturday events had to cancel due to COVID-19, and many at the last moment. Seeds of Diversity saw what was occurring and decided to take action. In October 2020, 190 known Seedy Saturday organizers were contacted, and more than 100 of them responded accepting and welcoming additional support to navigate this unprecedented era of virtual gatherings.
Over the next five months, Seeds of Diversity held organizer idea sharing meetings over Zoom, put together a series of virtual webinars, worked on ways to safely exchange seeds, helped to promote local seed companies, and provided tech support to events. This was on top of the regular promotions and seed packet offerings that Seeds of Diversity has long been known for.
In 2021 more than 80 virtual events took place from coast to coast. The following year, 2022, with similar supports, more than 100 took place. Once 2023 rolled around, in-person gatherings were again gaining traction as restrictions were lifted, allowing these cherished events to return to their beloved face-to-face formats.