Shuswap Seed Savers 24th Annual Seed Swap and Natural Living Fair

SHUSWAP SEED SAVERS 24th ANNUAL SEED SWAP AND NATURAL LIVING FAIR Spring really is just a few short weeks away so come join us at our 24th annual Shuswap Seed Swap and Natural Living Fair and check out this years selection of seeds and plants. The Seed Swap runs Saturday, March 3rd, 2018 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the Splatsin Community Centre, 5767 Old Vernon Rd., Enderby. With a wide variety of local seeds and plants available for purchase you will find someone available to answer your gardening questions. You can attend our information seminars and share your gardening experiences with others in the community. The Shuswap Seed Savers was started by Gabriele & Wolf Wesle and June Griswold who hosted the first Seed Swap 24 years ago at Green Croft Gardens in Grindrod. The Shuswap Seed Savers are a group of people passionate about saving seeds and preserving our areas heirloom and endangered varieties and we are happy to share our passion with the many people that attend this event. Interest in gardening and seed saving is growing in our community and so is our commitment to educating the public in “saving the seed to plant the food of tomorrow”. The Seed Swap is a great place for consumers to learn new tips and skills which will empower them to grow their own healthy foods and help in cutting down the cost of feeding their family. An annual attraction at the Seed Swap are our community seed swap tables. Here local gardeners and seed vendors have the opportunity to share their excess seeds with others for free. This sharing of seeds is a way to preserve crops for generations. This year we will be changing how we handle the free tables and ask for our visitors patience as we accept, label and repackage seeds between 10 am – 12 pm and then open the tables to the public from 12 pm – 4 pm. We feel this will speed up our customers ability to find the type of seeds they are interested in and allow us to share the seeds with more people. We will also have experienced gardeners on hand to answer questions about your selections. In addition to bringing your seeds on Saturday morning you can also drop them off in advance at the Enderby Farmer’s Market held at the Splatsin Centre (Green Croft Gardens booth), on Fridays between 10 a.m – 2 p.m or during regular business hours at the Enderby Library. Please be sure to label your seeds with your name, description of the seed, variety, year collected and any other useful information available. We will repackage the seeds for distribution at the Seed Swap. If possible, please bring your own containers (envelopes) for seeds you will be picking up at the Seed Swap. We will also have some additional packaging/envelopes available on the seed swap tables. Remember, if you haven’t already done so, there is still time to check your seeds for germination rates! This year we are excited to partner with the Okanagan Regional Library and will be unveiling our new Enderby Seed Library which will be housed at the Enderby Library. A wide variety of seeds will be available for the public to grow out and in exchange we hope that participants, at the end of the growing season, will save some seeds for themselves, return some to the seed library and share some with their friends and family. With over 90 vendors there is something for everyone. In addition to seed and plant vendors there are food vendors and other vendors offering local produce, eggs, honey, meat products, bat & bee boxes, natural health products, crafts and more. Local non-profit community groups will also have informational displays related to enhancing our food security. Parking is free. Be sure to check out the silent auction tables where you will find a wide assortment of unique items. We will be offering workshops hosted by local experts. This years workshop schedule includes: 10:30 Seed Saving: Root Vegetables and Biennials with Sarah Bradshaw (Wise Woman Seeds) 11:15 One Hundred Mile Medicine with Barb Dutot (Wild Roots Herbal Learning Centre) 12:00 Garden Planning for Saving Seed with Sarah Bradshaw (Wise Woman Seeds) 12:45 Seed Saving: Annuals like squash, peas, beans & lettuce with Gabriele Wesle (Green Croft Gardens) 1:30 Why “Everything Shuswap”, an author’s talk with Jim Cooperman 2:30 Energy From the Sun, New and Exciting Developments with Dr. Warren Bell The doors open at 10 a.m., admission is $2.00 and children under 12 are free. Proceeds from the Seed Swap enable the Shuswap Seed Savers to fund post secondary scholarships (the June & Harry Griswold Scholarship is presented yearly to a student from AL Fortune Secondary), sponsor speakers and present films on seed saving, sustainable living and environmental education. We participate in local fall fairs, support Seeds of Diversity and CBAN and advocate for everyones right to save and trade their own seeds. We provide seeds to MV Beattie’s school garden and have helped out wildfire ravaged communities the past couple of years. We actively support our communities efforts to educate individuals, promote seed saving and enjoy healthy living in a sustainable manner. After 24 years we continue to be amazed and humbled by the number of people who have questions and concerns about their gardening techniques. Forget about the snow and let’s start planning our gardens. Whether you are a beginner, novice or seasoned gardener don’t miss out on this exciting event. You can pick up tips and learn about gardening and seed saving; buy your seeds; connect with local growers and community groups; get expert advice from Master Gardeners and join us as we celebrate the beginning of a new and exciting gardening season! Be sure to follow us on Facebook where we regularly provide updates and links to information of interest to the gardening community (www.Facebook.com/shuswapseedysaturday) and check out our website (https://shuswapseedsavers.ca) for additional information . See you March 3rd!!!!! For more information contact Brenda Firth (250-308-1126) or Gabriele Wesle (250-306-6582).