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Call for Seed Savers: Participate in Seedy Research

Nick Wees

Are you a seed-saver? Would you be willing to tell me about why you save seeds and what seed-saving means to you? I do hope so, because I am working on a research project that will help further our understanding of what it means to save seed, and am looking for seed-savers who are willing to contribute to this project by sharing their experiences.

My name is Nick Wees. I am a gardener and seed-saver, and am completing a B.A. in Cultural and Social Anthropology at the University of Victoria. I am also currently serving on the board of directors of Seeds of Diversity Canada. I am excited to be bringing together my interest in seed saving with my current undergraduate research, and am hoping that you can help me. Whether you are a novice seed-saver or have years of experience, or even have your own small seed company, your input is invaluable, and very much appreciated.

Participation is simple: You just need to fill out a short questionnaire – this should take anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, depending on how much detail you choose to share. All data that is collected will be fully anonymous. Full details are included in the questionnaire. All you have to do is download the questionnaire at http://web.uvic.ca/~nwees/Seed-SavingQuestionnaire.doc, fill it out, and email it to me as an attachment. And if you know other seed savers who you think may be interested in this project, I would be very grateful if you could share this call for participants with them.

Here’s the fine print: I want to emphasize that this research project is not directly connected to Seeds of Diversity in any way, nor do you need to be a member of Seeds of Diversity to participate. It is open to all seed-savers, with any level of experience. If you are a Seeds of Diversity member, your acceptance or refusal to participate in this research will in no way be relevant to your relationship with the organization – the fact that I am currently on the Board of Directors has absolutely no bearing on this project or your potential participation in it. As a member of the board of directors, I have absolutely no power over other members of the organization. Neither the identities of participants nor the raw data gathered from this research project will be shared with Seeds of Diversity in any way. In addition, any relationship you may already have with me, whether through Seeds of Diversity or otherwise, should not in any way make you feel obligated to participate.

Your participation in this research project will help further our understanding of what it means to save seeds for those who are seed-savers. The results of the research will be available to the public, and I hope to publish them, possibly in the Seeds of Diversity member magazine. I am very grateful for the time that you take to answer the questionnaire.

If you have any questions, I can be reached at nwees@uvic.ca. There is more contact information to reach me in the questionnaire.

Nick Wees is a student at the University of Victoria, and sits on the board of Seeds of Diversity Canada. 

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