Seedy Saturday at St. Marks United Church
On February 5th and 12th Green Venture hosted Hamilton’s Seedy Saturday virtual presentations to hear from garden experts about garden planning, connecting with the land, creating pockets of nature, restoring Canada’s ecosystems, individual actions, and so much more. On February 19th and 26th, Hamilton gardeners from all over the city joined us for our ‘curbside’ seed swaps to exchange seeds and stories, safely. Taking “local food” one step further!
We are thankful to our community and all involved for their continued support of this great event. 800+ participants registered for virtual presentations and over 1,000 seeds were distributed via our seed swaps held at St.Mark’s United Church and at Green Venture’s EcoHouse. This means that our friends, family and neighbours get to reap the benefits of gardening – growing food, purchasing heirloom and increasing crop diversity, and sharing the bounty. There is no substitute for fresh, nutritious food that you grow yourself, and it is even more fun when you grow it alongside your family, friends, and neighbors! Together we are building a more resilient community.
Watch Hamilton Seedy Saturday Virtual Events here
Behind the scenes
This event would not have been possible without the help of our volunteers. Behind the scenes a dedicated team of volunteers helped with seed sorting, zoom facilitating, and helping on the day of with set up and tear down, the welcome table, and much more. Among the volunteers are Halton Master Gardeners, Hamilton Wentworth District School Board Students
Volunteers embracing the breeze for the seeds!
and community members.
Hamilton Seedy Saturday is a free community event but we do have costs! With the support of Ward 8 Cllr John-Paul Danko, the Ward 1 Cllr Maureen Willson’s office team, Hamilton Public Library, and the Mohawk Sustainability office we are able to continue to run this great event!
Photo caption: Volunteers embracing the breeze for the seeds!
Gardener Dedication
Winter Sowing Workshop Participants braving the minus 10 degree cold and winds gusting at 50kph.
On Day 3 and Day 4 of Seedy Saturday Seed Swap Hamilton faced extreme weather notifications and we were unsure if the community would be able to make it out to the event. Nonetheless, gardeners all over Hamilton joined us to share seeds, stories and participate in a winter sowing workshop led by Halton Master Gardener Bev Wagar. We are so inspired by the patience, willingness, and eagerness of the community to keep dreaming of warmer days even in the middle of winter.
Taking “local food” one step further!
While our Seedy Saturday events have ended, the growing season has just begun. We invite you to explore all the ways you can continue to share seeds, bounty and help build a more sustainable food system, and reduce environmental impacts.
Here’s how:
Volunteer: The Hamilton Seedy Library is a free public resource for all to borrow seeds from year round at no cost. The Hamilton Seed Library depends on seed donations and volunteers giving their time to sort and organize seeds. Learn more here .
Grow A Row: Grow A Row Program aims to support more urban growing and facilitate the sharing of locally grown food, and gardening knowledge. By joining as a Grower, you are commiting to growing an additional row for donation to Neighbour to Neighbour Food Centre or to Hamilton’s Community Fridges. Sign up here
Take Local Action: ‘Bee a Pollinator Pal”: As a pal you commit to starting native plant seeds and sharing any extra seedlings back to us next season – so we can keep sharing the love for native plants and pollinators. Sign up to ‘bee a pollinator pal’ HERE.
Become a community scientist at Green Venture’s EcoHouse with INaturalist: Discover, record and track ALL species of plants and animals on Green Venture’s EcoHouse site. Turn on your location, check you are in the Green Venture’s EcoHouse project, take a picture and upload to aid identification. Get onboard with our biodiversity challenge!
Thank you everyone for once again making this event an amazing welcome to Spring!
For any questions in regards to Green Venture’s Garden Programs email garden@greenventure.ca
