With spring just around the corner, the Virtual Innisfil Seedy Saturday 2022 is a great opportunity for gardeners to learn about seed biodiversity and sustainable seed production.
The event, held mostly virtually, will take place on Saturday, March 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration is free.
The program kicks off with an in-person storytime session at the Lakeshore branch, hosted by Miss Kristina. The session will feature an interactive storytime about seeds, gardens, and the great outdoors. Singing, dancing, and the celebration of spring will take place throughout the session.
Attendees for this session will receive a craft kit with seeds provided by Stems Flower Farm. Located in Cookstown, Stems Flower is home to an acre of beautiful blooms that can be picked and arranged into bouquets.
Next in the lineup is a free live webinar that will highlight the importance of seed diversity to save endangered plant species. Through the session, the executive director of Seeds of Diversity, Bob Wildfong, will present sustainable practices incorporated into the food system by farmers and plant breeders.
The following session will feature a DIY mini seed library. With the kits provided in advance, participants will watch the assembly demo on the Innisfil ideaLAB & Library YouTube channel. The event includes the storage box-making process and tips on how to keep envelopes of seeds organized, dry and safe. Each kit costs $15 and is available for pick up at ideaSHOP before the event.
Ken Byrka of Revival Seeds will then host a free live webinar on seed germination. The session will discuss cold stratification and scarification techniques and provide tips for successful germination. Byrka and his family operate an organic seed farm in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia.
In the wrap-up session, participants will learn how to prepare Quebec-style Yellow Split Pea Soup and will watch a virtual screening of the award-winning documentary Modified.
The pea soup workshop will be hosted by Bridget Indelicato from the Innisfil Seed Library in the cook-along video What’s Cooking, Innisfil?: Quebec-style Yellow Split Pea Soup.
The video will be uploaded on the Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre’s YouTube channel on Saturday, March 26th at 1 p.m.
Boxes with all the ingredients required to make the soup will be available to free pick up at Rizzardo Health & Wellness Centre on Friday, March 25 from 2-5 p.m.
The cook-along video is a semi-introduction to Modified, as the documentary features the pea soup recipe. The film was produced by filmmaker Aube Giroux about GMOs.
Upon registering for the event, participants will receive instructions on how to gain access to the film. Streaming access to the film, whose costs have been sponsored by Seeds of Diversity Canada, is valid at any time on Saturday, March 26.
As for the in-person opening session at the Innisfil Public Lakeshore Library Branch, it is currently sold out. But a link to an online waitlist is available on the Innisfil Seed Library website.
The Innisfil Seed Library is a volunteer-run seed lending and gardening education program in partnership with the Innisfil ideaLAB & Library.
