Conférence ACORN 2008

Jack Lazor (Butterworks Farm) presents at the 2014 ACORN Conference. 

Includes articles on the following:

• Conference Speakers Q & A with Stacey Brenner & John Bliss, Michelle Summer Fike, Jack Lazor, Dr. Bob Bors, Chris Blanchard, and Harry Stoddart
• Quebec’s Innovative Strawberry Production Methods! by Theresa Richards, with contribution from Gerard Thébeau
• Reflections on the 3rd Beginner Farmer Symposium by David Fishman of Les Jardins Anicha
• Atlantic Canada’s (first!) Regional Seed Bank! by Steph Hughes
• Project & Provincial Updates
• Seasonal Food Fix by Roberto Gueli and Anke Kungl of Conscious Catering

Presented by Will Bonsall at the 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

Presented by Will Bonsall at the 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

Presented by Kim Delaney at the 2015 ACORN Conference PEI

View slideshow presentation here

The Newfoundland Organic Opportunities Conference took place January 13-14, 2016 in St. John's Newfoundland. The event was jointly hosted by ACORN and the Newfoundland Federation of Agriculture, and attended by over 50 people, including stakeholders in government, academia, and the non profit centre. Conference participant Dan Rubin, of Pouch Cove, kindly took notes and shared them with ACORN for distribution. 

This panel from the 2013 ACORN conference in Moncton explores - from the perspective of a seed grower, a small seed company entrepreneur, and a medium-sized local seed company - the opportunities and challenges for the seed industry in Atlantic Canada and beyond.  Panelists discuss how the seed sector has changed over the course of their careers, the quality issues that can pose barriers to new entrants, and how some of these challenges might be addressed.

Authored in 2016 by Research Assistant Kathleen Glasgow, paper looks at different types of seed collections, their form, function, and membership. Also explores integration between seed collections and future intentions and aspirations of leaders of community seed collections.

This report was completed by Research Assistant Shelby Jamieson in 2016. A joint project of ACORN and Carleton University, this report provides a scan of current seed security work, an overview of some potential partnership opportunities, and seed challenges and issues in Newfoundland. This report will be the basis of further consultation in the region, and helps lay the foundation for a program that will help address some identified issues.

Morning plenary presented by Laurie McKenzie, Fred Wiseman, and Daniel Brisebois at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

Patrice Fortier and Greg Wingate present at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Patrice Fortier & Frank Cochrane present at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentations for Kale here and Onions here.

Daniel Brisebois presents at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Fred Wiseman presents at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Laurie McKenzie presents at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Laurie McKenzie and Michael Mazourek present at the 2016 Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Michael Mazourek presents at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

Michael Mazourek presents at the 2016 ACORN Conference.

View the accompanying slideshow presentation here.

This case study - prepared by Norma Jean Worden-Rogers in 2015 - explores the relationships that are necessary to create a vibrant seed saving community in the Atlantic Canadian provinces. Due to the small population size of the region, relationships are in crucial for the knowledge transfer, support, and resources required to increase food security.  This work was made possible through generous funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Thank you to the participants for taking part in the study, and for continuing the talks of food security in the Atlantic Canadian region. Thanks go to Su Morin and Irena Knezevic for their continuous support, as well as to all of the seed savers who are making our region a more resilient place. You’re brightening the future of the food system. 

This newsletter was developed in March 2016 after a conference call attended by seed library organizers and other interested people. It shares their progress, insights, challenges, and solutions that seed collections right across the region can benefit from, as well as helpful resources.

Part 2 of 2, this newsletter presents additional resources for seed library and seed collection organizers, as well as tips on sourcing seed and fundraising.  

Mel Sylvestre talks about the BC Seed Trails program that tests for quality seed at the 2017 ACORN Conference.

At the 2017 ACORN Conference, Mel Sylvestre talks about how to test for vegetable seed quality.

At the 2017 ACORN Conference, Mel Sylvestre gives an overview of what it is like being a vegetable seed producer in Canada and the process a producer needs to follow.

This PowerPoint presentation was designed to give seed library organizers and volunteers a great tool to teach about their seed library, explain its purpose, how it works, and the importance of seed diversity. You can download it and customize it for your next presentation!

Une présentation PowerPoint pour permettre aux organisateurs et bénévoles des bibliothèques de semences d'informer les gens sur les bibliothèques de semences, leurs buts, leurs fonctionnement et l'importance de la diversité dans nos semences. Vous pouvez télécharger la présentation et la modifier selon vos besoins!

Voyez en un clein d'oeil ce qu'est une bibliothèque de semence! Cette affche peut être téléchargé pour la partager ou l'afficher à votre bibliothèque de semences! L'affiche est aussi disponible en grand format avec encore plus de détails au sujet des biobliothèques de semences, leurs fonctionnements et ce qui les rends différentes des banques de semences ou des banques de gènes. Pour commander une affiche grand format en couleur s.v.p. contactez seed@acornorganic.org.

Voyez en un clein d'oeil ce qu'est une bibliothèque de semence et télécharger ce document avec les membres de votres bibliothèque de semences! Il est aussi possible de commander des cartes postales, ACORN vous fournira des copies imprimer en couleurs et haute résolution, contactez seed@acornorganic.org pour plus de détails.

Understand Atlantic Canada's seed libraries at-a-glance, and download the document to share with members of your seed library! The postcards may also be ordered from ACORN, printed in high res colour. Contact seed@acornorganic.org for more details. 

Canada’s ecological seed growers are often looking for tools and equipment to suit a “medium” scale of production. Bigger than home-scale, but smaller than industrial-scale. This document—written and compiled by Rebecca Ivanoff in 2017 for The Bauta Family Iniative on Canadian Seed Security —provides links to seed production equipment sources, from harvesting through to storage and seed testing. 

Seed producers, organic growers and groups like The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security who are committed to advancing organic and ecological seed production in Canada face a severe lack of information on the market for this seed. In 2013, The Bauta Family Initiative embarked on a project in partnership with the Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA) to assess the market for organic vegetable and field crop seed in Canada. This groundbreaking study was completed in 2014. It highlights current and potential markets, provides crop- and region-specific information for stakeholders interested in expanding the market, takes a detailed look at derogation requests for organic seed, and makes recommendations to grow and track the market on an ongoing basis.

Judy Newman of Seeds of Diversity Canada introduces you to the wonderful Canadian tradition of Seedy Saturdays, explaining how this movement is spreading across Canada. There are many different ways you can contribute to the seed movement, read on to find out more!

Les producteurs de semences, les agriculteurs biologiques et les groupes comme l’Initiative de la famille Bauta sur la sécurité des semences au Canada qui s’engagent à faire avancer la production de semences écologiques au pays sont confrontés à un important manque d’information au sujet du marché de ce type de semences. En 2013, nous nous sommes lancés dans un projet avec l’Association pour le commerce des produits biologiques (COTA) dans le but d’évaluer le marché canadien des semences de légumes et de grandes cultures biologiques. Cette recherche novatrice s’est terminée en 2014 et l’étude qui en découle présente le marché actuel et le marché potentiel, fournit des données propres aux régions et aux cultures aux intervenants intéressés à accroitre le marché, examine en détail le processus de demandes de dérogations liées aux semences biologiques et fait des recommandations visant à développer et surveiller le marché de manière continue.

Extension bulletins cover a wide range of topics, many from projects in the Maritimes

The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security created a search engine to help you locate suppliers of biodiverse seed from coast to coast. Choose a crop species and select your region to find which seed suppliers are located near you. Local seed companies often sell the varieties that are best suited for your region. Local food grows better from local seeds!
 

Get involved in this online forum for seed savers offering homegrown seeds for sale and swap. Search among hundreds of choices offered by gardeners, farmers, seed collectors, bee keepers, homesteaders and woodworkers. You must register and be a validated SeedLiving member in order to sell and swap. Registration and validation are free.

Whether you're looking for a training program on seed saving (available at a cost of $20) or a list of trainers to help you with an event, this site has the info you're looking for!
 

The webinars, started in 2014, are a project of The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. The series, entitled "Growing for Seed: The fundamentals" covers a range of topics from garden planning and seed marketing, to best practices from season's start to finish. Check out the website for exact details of upcoming webinars, and recordings of past webinars.
 

Published by The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security, the Policy Discussion Paper examines key pieces of Canadian legislation as they pertain to seeds. 
 

How to cultivate and process sunflowers and other oilseeds

Developed by Seeds of Diversity, this manual is the gold standards of best practices for anyone loooking to set up a community seed bank, or other seed collection focused on conservation of high quality seeds. 

Whether attempting seed saving for the first time, starting a seed collection in the hopes of supporting other seed savers, or simply continuing down a path of lifelong learning about seed production, this bibliography has something for everyone. 

Seedy Saturdays are a remarkable phenomenon. They are not one event, but a series of separate events, which have sprung up across the country, each individually and uniquely organized to encourage the use of open-pollinated and heritage seeds, and educate the public about seed saving and environmentally responsible gardening practices. 

The CSN’s mission is to support community-led seed stewardship by offering a platform to connect people to projects, projects to each other, and everyone to seed! Through great conversations and the sharing of resources, we hope to make this work visible locally, regionally, and internationally, empowering community seed leaders as trailblazers and movement builders. Create a profile, explore the interactive map, download resources and - most importantly - connect with your fellow seed savers!

La mission du RSC est simple : appuyer l’intendance communautaire dans le domaine des semences. Pour ce faire, il fournit une plateforme qui permet de créer des liens entre les gens et les projets, entre les différents projets et entre les gens et les semences. Grâce à des conversations intéressantes et à la mise en commun de ressources, nous espérons rendre les travaux du domaine des semences communautaires visibles à l’échelle locale, régionale et internationale, permettant ainsi aux leaders de ce domaine d’ouvrir la voie et de bâtir un mouvement.

2015 ACORN Conference & Trade Show, PEI - Speaker Will Bonsall discusses the distances that plants require to decrease cross pollination, and gives tips on how these vegetables can be grown successfully for seed saving. Harvesting the best and most desirable seed and the subsequent storage.

2015 ACORN Conference & Trade Show, PEI.

Kim Delaney gives an overview of the harvest to cleaning process for seeds from the small grower operation to the larger size growers. Special treatment for wet seed threshing. Then a short summary of cleaning by size and weight.