International Seed Library Forum
Tuscon, Arizona, USA
May 3-6, 2015
Come join us for four days of conversation around seed access, growing community and seed libraries. Register here.

Overview
The goal of the four-day event is to bring together experts from public libraries, nonprofits, universities, and food banks across the United States and in other countries to further improve access and management of local seed resources. The forum highlights the increasingly important role that seed libraries play in creating best practices for seed saving and seed
sharing at the community level. Panel discussions will cover a wide range of topics including: increasing the quality, and diversity of community seed resources, establishing seed library protocols, documenting the seed library movement, increasing access for low income households, and nurturing the next generation of seed savers in school gardens. The forum also addresses recent regulatory challenges to seed library operations in five states.

The event kicks off with a field trip to the Mission Garden, a living agricultural museum of Sonoran Desert-adapted heritage fruit trees, local heirloom crops, and edible native plants. Other events include a community seed swap and a screening of the documentary, “Seeds of Time,” followed by a Q & A session with agricultural policy expert and inspiration of the Svalbard ("Doomsday") Seed Vault in Norway, Cary Fowler. The closing event features a celebration to benefit the Jardin Botanico de Oaxaca and the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace with tamales, local music, and the pre-release of the May/June 2015 issue of Edible Baja Arizona magazine. Coming soon: full schedule will be posted at the Pima County Public Library website.


Registration & Fees
The forum is free, and the online pre-registration deadline is April 17. Registration is limited to 120 participants, and some events will be open to the public.

• Seed Swap, May 3 (Free)
• “Seeds of Time” Screening, May 3  (Free for registered participants and General Admission price for the public)
• Celebration of Seeds Literary Reading, May 4 (Free and open to the public)
• Closing Event Celebration, May 5 ($25 for registered participants and the public)

Speakers
Confirmed speakers include: Gary P. Nabhan (Author of Enduring Seeds, W.K. Kellogg Sustainable Food Systems Endowed Chair, Southwest Center at the University of Arizona); Scott Chaskey (Author, Seedtime: On the History, Husbandry, Politics and Promise of Seeds); Cindy Conner (Author, Seed Libraries and Other Means of
Keeping Seeds in the Hands of the People); Cary Fowler (Author of Shattering, Agriculture
Policy Expert/Senior Advisor, Global Crop Diversity Trust); Ken Greene (Founder, Hudson Valley
Seed Library, NY); Justine Hernandez (Seed Librarian, Pima County Public Library, AZ); Rebecca Newburn (Richmond Grows Seed Lending Library); and John Torgrimson (Executive Director, Seed Savers Exchange).