In 2024, Seed Savers Exchange’s annual conference will take place over the course of four days in four different months. Join us virtually for inspiring keynote speakers, informational workshops, and a chance to connect with the larger seed community. By registering you will have access to all four days of programming, and recordings of any sessions you may have missed. There is no need to register for individual days. The June 10 roster is described below. To register, visit www.seedsavers.org.
The Foodways day begins with a keynote panel with Bonetta Adeeb, Ira Wallace, Hanna Garth, and Vivien Sansour at 11 am Eastern. Then, Anita Thompson will speak on Tracing the Trail of the Scarlet Runner Bean. Scarlet runner beans have graced gardens and fields around the world and are especially well loved in the Southwestern United States for their history, cultural relevance, ease of growth, and colorful seeds and flowers. This session will trace their path from native habitat to current gardens, highlighting their geographic and cultural significance.
At 1 pm, Nikki Rose will lecture on Protecting Heirloom Seeds in Crete, Greece via Education and Outreach. Since 1997, Crete’s Culinary Sanctuaries has spread the word about the necessity of preserving our heirloom seeds and supporting organic farmers, which also helps to preserve safe and delicious local food sources. In this session, the organization’s founder will highlight stories of people in Crete, Greece, striving to protect their cultural, natural, and agricultural heritage, which is all at risk. It will include clips of their documentary, Heritage Protectors, that spotlight heirloom seed savers.
Everyone will enjoy Julia Skinner’s Our Fermented Lives: The Global History of Fermentation, at 2 pm. Fermentation has influenced our lives and diets in many different ways throughout history. This session by the author of the award-winning book Our Fermented Lives explores fermented foods and their intersection with preserving, health, flavor, and community.
Gabriel Bravo follows with a talk on Costa Rican Heirlooms. Costa Rica is well known for its national parks and rich biodiversity. Yet it’s also one of the most heavy pesticide users in the world, with a big agroindustrial influence and worrying genetic erosion. This session will explore the context and important historic, cultural, and culinary aspects of several Costa Rican heirloom varieties; it will also address how a lack of a significant seed-saving culture has made it even more imperative for home gardeners and farmers to rescue and promote these varieties.
The Land is My Relative is presented by Teresa Peterson. Join Dakota gardener, writer, and relative, Teresa Peterson on a seasonal journey of gardening, foraging, storing the harvest, and preparing foods. In this session, she’ll explore how this way of life heals both person and place, provides inspiration calling us to to care for and be a good relative to the land that sustains us, and, if time allows, share a story, poem, or recipe from her new book, Perennial Ceremony: Lessons and Gifts from a Dakota Garden.
More programming for this date will be announced soon.
