For Immediate Release
Contact: Belle Starr, belle@seedstrust.com
928.649.3315, 928.300.7989
May 10, 2010
GOING TO SEED Summer Revival Tour The Ojai Valley Green Coalition presents legendary seedsman Bill McDorman, President of Seeds Trust at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Ojai on Friday, May 28th from 7 – 9 pm. In this unique presentation, Bill will inspire his audience to reconnect with the ancient ritual of seed saving. Being on the cutting edge of sustainability and local food security is moot if a community is not saving seeds adapted to its region.
(Click
here for the Going to Seed pdf flyer.)
In 1989, Bill traveled behind the Iron Curtain on a horticulture and botanical garden tour. At the time, Seeds Trust was incorporated as High Altitude Gardens. With the globalization of the seed market and virtually no area left untouched by hybrid American seeds, Bill’s hope was to find some remarkable open-pollinated, cold-tolerant varieties in Russia and he did.
The stories from Siberia are rich and engaging. Bill was personally handed the seeds to many treasures. It went way beyond his expectations and dreams. Some gardeners graciously provided him seeds under severe penalty. All who gifted him with these heirloom beauties accompanied their offerings with words of peace. It was a profound experience and provided the world with tomatoes never before seen or tasted. This year marks the 20-year anniversary.
Since that time, Bill has been singing the praises of the Russian people, their glorious seeds and the seed saving rituals that accompanied them. The seeds themselves have gone on to become famous. In the 90’s Bill received an ad from a paper in Tanzania, advertising the world’s best tomato for $5 a seed! It was Sasha’s Altai, personally carried back to the states by Bill in 1989.
On Friday, May 28th at 7 pm at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Bill will passionately share his experience from Siberia with amazing slides (powerpoint) and stories. He will also recount the early days of his non-profit in Missoula, Montana when it became clear someone needed to save the heirloom seeds rapidly disappearing. That became the genesis for the companies Bill went on to develop.
The lecture is a spin you on your heels expose’ on the need, really the necessity to begin to address diversity, regional adaptability, and food security by saving seeds. It is also a compendium on basic seed saving techniques.
Gardeners will learn how to take back their food supply from the agri-giants one seed at a time. Other topics include: the terminator gene, hybrids, and the need for diversity not only organic. This should engender an exciting repartee between Bill and attendees.
Bill is one of the most knowledgeable people in the field. He has a degree in philosophy and weaves historical and philosophical perspectives into his lectures.
In the end, Bill and others would argue food grown from seeds selected, saved and planted locally just tastes better!
“One of the greats of the seed-saving, seed-selling world.”
Mike McGrath; host of Public Radio’s You Bet Your Garden
Editor in Chief of Organic Gardening magazine 1991-1997
PO Box 596, Cornville, AZ 86325 • Ph: 928.649.3315 • Fax: 877.686.7524
bm@seedsave.org • www.seedstrust.com
