The Saltspring Ecovillage Education and Development Society (SEEDS) is raising awareness about sustainable living and community cooperation on our Island and beyond. The Society is organizing events and workshops that facilitate sustainable community development.

Members of the SEEDS are currently helping to organize people and raise funds to purchase land for an Ecovillages. The first Ecovillage would be the location for our Society Community Center and sustainable living technology demonstration center. Read SEEDS News for other Society updates.

The underlying principle of an ecovillage is a
deep commitment to the sacredness
of our relationships to the whole web of life.

A cooperative is being created to raise money to purchase land on Salt Spring Island. As transportation costs rise and climate change limits global food production, it has become necessary to grow more food locally. This extraordinary and ambitious project seeks community support. Opportunities are available right now to join in creating this model for a truly sustainable future. If you would like to get involved, please call Irja at 250 653 0012.
 
EVENTS AND MEETINGS

Tuesday April 4, 2006 at 6 pm at Lions Hall in Ganges
SEEDS Monthly General Meeting
Meeting Agenda

Sunday April 2, 2006 at 10 am to 2 pm at Saltspring Spa - North End Road
Permaculture Study Group Workshop: Soil Preparation
 The focus will be soil preparation, and it will be a great opportunity to help Shaughn get some garden beds started. Please bring shovels, a bag lunch and your enthusiasm! If you have questions or need directions,
please contact Shaughn at 537-4111.

I'd like to encourage anybody who has ideas for projects to initiate a work-party. These Permaculture workshops and work-parties are such a great way for us to work side by side and get our hands dirty together. Sometimes big garden projects can be a bit hard to tackle on your own...so if you need help...just ask your friends and fellow SEEDS members.

Time and Location to be determined.
Land Acquisition Committee Meetings.
We are discussing how best to facilitate the creation of the legal instruments needed to facilitate the acquisition of land to create an Ecovillage on Salt Spring Island. A cooperative is being formed to purchase and steward the land.


PAST EVENTS

Saturday March 18, 2006 at 10 am to 4 pm at 397 Stewart Rd (top of the hill)
Permaculture Study Group Workshop: Mushroom Cultivation
The focus will be mushroom cultivation and we will inoculate alder logs with Shitake mushroom plugs...among other things. If you have a cordless drill & bits, please bring them, as we will need to drill many holes to fit the mushroom plugs into.  Adam & Rebecca will be hosting this workshop on their farm at 316 Stewart Rd. (Look for the prayer flags).

Sunday February 19, 2006
SEEDS Permaculture Study Group: Biomass and Building
 We will meet at the Blue Raven Farm where Brandon will facilitate a workshop focusing on biomass and burn building for future gardens. Brandon is a very experienced permaculture practitioner and we will surely learn a lot by spending the day working along side him. The day starts at 10:30 and we will wind down at around 4pm. So bring lunch...”You can’t work on an empty stomach”! Please bring shovels, pitchforks and your favorite garden tools.

Sunday February 5, 2006 at 2 pm at ArtSpring in Ganges
SEEDS Society Annual General Meeting
This is an important gathering where we elect new directors and stewards. We will also discuss the Ecovillage Cooperative and the prospects of buying land.

Saturday, February 4 @ 6-9 pm at OUR ECOVILLAGE in Shawnigan Lake
Live/Work Hybrid Landshare research project
The BCCA (British Columbia Co-op Association) is suggesting that there is a co-ordination of ecovillage projects in this province and that they work with Marty Frost of DevCo to do the educational development of issues relating to the co-op development work between all ecovillages. Please RSVP to this invitation to Lynn Curtis adventurecd@shaw.ca who is now the Co-ordinator for the FOG research. We really need to hear back from you either way in order to plan for this event consistently (and feed back the process to the BCCA).

Sunday, September 25
Local Organic Harvest Feast at Beaverpoint Hall
Over 100 people enjoyed the true taste of Saltspring at this year's Feast. There was music, a fire, a silent auction and dinner made by S.E.E.D.S. members and made with organically grown food grown on our own island. We thank all those who shared, prepared, cooked and served. Your financial support to SEEDS fundraiser will help us acquire land to build and ecovillage where we can have local organic feasts every night! Thanks to contributors and buyers at our all evening Silent Auction of local art. Thanks to the entertainers for a thoughtful and magical evening of entertainment. Thanks to Morningside Bakery & Cafe and Saltspring Books in Ganges for selling tickets to this sold out event. Special thanks to Irja and family for directing the event. See the event poster

Friday, August 5 through Friday August 12
Cob Sculpting & Plastering Workshop with Hobbit Homes
A week long intensive on the basics of cob building, plastering & sculpting cob, site/cob design. Contact Adam Perry at 250-338-0711 or visit http://www.hobbithomes.ca for details.

Saturday and Sunday, August 13 and 14, 2005
B.C. Intentional Community Network - First Gathering!
"The BCIC Network"  - Networking and Focus Group Event at O.U.R. Ecovillage in Shawnigan Lake.  Contact Shannon 604-822-2941 binns@interchange.ubc.ca to join.

Ecovillage visioning, community gathering, land sharing, permaculture design, organic farming, cob building and animal stewarding.
There are communities forming, opportunities for cooperative farming, permaculture design and the plastering & sculpting of cob buildings on our Island and on those nearby. Email seeds@aum.ca for if you have an opportunity, need help or want to work with an existing or forming intentional community in BC


ABOUT SEEDS

The society was formed in 2003 by Islanders who wanted to live and work together on an Ecovillage. The society was created to catalyze learning about Ecovillages and to pool our resources to acquire land. Now is time for sustainable living. As we face the worldwide destruction and irreversible consumption of our natural resources, and the rapid erosion of traditional cultures and the globalization of our economies, communities that stand together and empower people to live sustainably are crucial. They are the foundation stones for our children and a meaningful future. Today we are working to educate, raise capital and pool knowledge and tools to start Ecovillages on Saltspring Island and beyond.
 

SEEDS' GOALS

HELP SEEDS GROW

Your input into SEEDS will make a difference in our community. Salt Spring Island needs land where we can live sustainably and work together in harmony with the earth.  Email your visions, ideas, news, events, songs, words and pictures to seeds@aum.ca

You can mail ideas and contributions to P.O. Box 805, SaltSpring Island BC V8K 2W3 or come to a SEEDS meeting.  Once our society establishes a base at an Ecovillage on Salt Spring Island, we will host workshops and gatherings on a lunar cycle. To participate over the Internet, join our Wiki Communications Network

Contribute to SEEDS

Help the creation of Ecovillages and help sponsor sustainable living and development.

SEEDS will provide scholarships and grants for Ecovillage Education and Development. SEEDS will help groups purchase land and obtain development approvals.

Contribute any amount to the Society - thanks for your support.

Join SEEDS


 

 Membership dues of CDN$5 can be paid at any Society meeting, fundraiser or pay online. Yearly Membership dues can now be renewed online.

Invest in Sustainable Living

We need business minded people to help raise seed capital for Ecovillage land acquisition and infrastructure development.

Contribute any amount to the SEEDS Land Acquisition project. Investments will fuel Ecovillage Development: landscaping, energy creation, agriculture, buildings, compost, farming, sewage infrastructure, energy and animal care.

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