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If you manage, steward, or maintain a seed library, or want to create one in your community, please join us!
Calling all aspiring and current seed librarians!
If you manage, steward, or maintain a seed library, or want to create one in your community, please join us! This is your chance to meet your fellow seed librarians in person and share your successes, challenges, and ideas! We will have round-table discussions about the following topics:
Led by Ben Cohen, founder of the Michigan Seed Library and founder of nearly 70 seed library programs, and Melissa DeSa of Working Food - your friendly local SeedEO! Autographed copies of Ben's book will be for sale.
If you also have surplus seeds, please bring them along. You can swap with your fellow seed librarians or share with a library that is still getting off the ground. Working Food's Southern Heritage Seed Collective will bring seeds to donate as well. Lunch will be provided!
About Ben Cohen
Ben Cohen is an author, herbalist, gardener, seed saver, and educator. He's the owner of Small House Farm and the founder of Michigan Seed Library, a community seed-sharing initiative that has worked to establish nearly 70 seed library programs. Ben offers workshops and lectures across the country on the benefits of living closer to the land through seeds, herbs, and locally grown food, and he has published numerous works on these topics (including his most recent book, Saving Our Seeds).
He serves on the Boards of the International Herb Association, the Slow Food Ark of Taste Seed Bank, and the advisory council for the Community Seed Network (a multinational education and networking platform). learn more about Cohen's work on his website: www.smallhousefarm.com.
About Melissa DeSa
Melissa is a co-founder of Working Food, a non-profit organization based in Gainesville, Florida. She is a University of Florida graduate, with a Masters degree in Interdisciplinary Ecology. Her background and passion for wildlife and wild places, has brought depth of knowledge and understanding to her current non-profit work tackling food systems. She has 10 years of experience in non-profit start up and management, community organizing, food systems, seed stewardship, gardening, farming, education and outreach.
Her work focuses on making seed stewardship and youth education accessible and community-oriented. Her efforts to promote agricultural biodiversity through seed stewardship and outreach focus primarily on working with family farmers, under-privileged youth, and adults with disabilities. She has built Working Food's Southern Heritage Seed Collective organically over 10 years, growing it from a small seed library to a thriving community program providing classes, workshops, trainings, regional seed varieties, and collaborative work on seed systems projects with regional and national partners.
She currently serves on the advisory board for both Southern SARE, the Southeast Slow Food Ark of Taste, and Grow Hub.
Brought to the library through a cooperation between...
AGE GROUP: | Adults (19 and up) |
EVENT TYPE: | Job Skills & Education | Cooking & Gardening | Animals & Nature |
The Headquarters Library provides access to resources and services in the City of Gainesville and surrounding areas. It also serves as the headquarters of Alachua County Library District.