EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The seed collections system in Nova Scotia includes people from a wide variety of backgrounds and skill-sets working toward a similar goal – seed conservation as an important element of seed security. Data from nine interviews with individuals prominently involved with the seed network in Nova Scotia provide insights into the roles of various seed organizations including seed libraries, seed banks, gene banks, and seed companies. The project explores various aspects of their form and function, including their audiences, purposes, and their interactions, and barriers to interactions with each other. The current local seed movement is attributed to growing interest in and availability of local food, and is explored here as both a result of, and a new driving force behind the local food and food security movements. Interaction between various seed organizations is limited but mutually supportive. Project findings also provide insights about future directions of seed initiatives in the province, indicating that a greater number of geographically dispersed small seed libraries is highly desirable.

This research was made possible by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council through the Food: Locally Embedded, Globally Engaged partnership, with additional support from the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network and The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security. The findings presented here do not necessarily reflect those of the Atlantic Canadian Organic Regional Network or The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security.

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