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Seedy Saturday – a celebration of seeds and prairie gardeners

March 3, 2012 10:00am to 3:00 pm

Canadian Mennonite University, South Campus

Shaftesbury Blvd, WinnipegAt Winnipeg’s 12th annual Seedy Saturday, find inspiration for your garden, learn about local biodiversity and global conservation issues, and take part in the community seed exchange. Lots of seeds for sale too!

Volunteers from The Friends of Gardens Manitoba, the Winnipeg Community Garden Network and Seeds of Diversity Canada join forces to present our local version of this national phenomenon.

Our Seedy Saturday brings together gardeners, farmers, seed growers and seed savers, native plant enthusiasts, conservation groups, horticultural societies --- anyone ready to dream about spring in the company of friends --- for a day of great connections and new ideas.

At the heart of every Seedy Saturday is the seed swap. Bring your seeds, roots, plants and stories to share.

Admission is by donation.

Program:

10:00 am Doors open, seed swap begins

10:30 am Special Guest Speaker Lisa Mumm on OSGATA vs. Monsanto

Organic seed growers are seeking protection through the courts against Monsanto’s patent infringement lawsuits. The introduction of genetically modified (GMO) seed has drastically changed the way farmers save seed and grow our food. Lisa Mumm, a Saskatchewan farmer and seed grower, will give us an update on the issue and the recent court proceedings she attended in New York City.

11:00 am Patrick Elazar “The Benefits of Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening”Designing a garden with wide raised beds offers many advantages to both plants and gardeners. With a little history, a lot of pictures, and a wealth of personal experience, urban agriculture enthusiast Patrick Elazar will inspire you to try this method in your garden to increase your yields, improve your soil, and extend your harvest.Patrick Elazar has degrees in Agriculture & Middle-east studies. He has farmed, market-gardened & been a district agrologist before taking his current position as a marketing rep for the Canadian Wheat Board. Passionate about food and gardening, Patrick was affiliated for many years with the Lindsay Street community garden and is currently a member of Slowfood Manitoba.

12:00 noon Shirley Froehlich “Native Plants and the Web of Life”

Look beyond the beauty of your garden to its critical role in preserving local biodiversity, and choose plants to create a sustainable dynamic community in your backyard ecosystem. Growing native plants greatly expands the variety of life your garden can sustain, and they bring unique beauty to your landscape.

Shirley Froehlich owns Prairie Originals in East Selkirk, working with Manitoba gardeners to create beautiful, environmentally friendly gardens with prairie wildflowers and native plants.

1:00 pm Anna Weier “Growing Alternative Food Systems”

Manitoba has an abundance of visionary people and exciting ideas. Anna Weier of MAFRA will share the stories of recent projects they have supported in urban, rural and northern Manitoba aimed at increasing the local production of healthy food. These include establishing school gardens in Brochet and St Theresa Point, a Dauphin project connecting seniors and youth through canning and preserving workshops; the North Point Douglas community oven, and Fruit Share’s new guide to backyard fruit in Manitoba.

Manitoba Alternative Food Research Alliance is composed of universities and community organizations across Manitoba. They provide funding to people developing alternative food systems that provide local, fresh, healthy, culturally appropriate, fairly produced and affordable food. 2:00 pm Video “Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?” is a profound, alternative look at the global bee crisis from director Taggart Siegel. Taking us on a journey through the catastrophic disappearance of bees and the mysterious world of the beehive, this engaging and ultimately uplifting film weaves an unusual and dramatic story of the heartfelt struggle of beekeepers, scientists and philosophers from around the world including Michael Pollan, Gunther Hauk and Vandana Shiva. Together they reveal both the problems and the solutions in renewing a culture in balance with nature.