Seeds in the Commons: Growing Community Climate Resilience

Presenter Information

Presentation Type

Short presentation 10-15 minutes

In Person or Zoom Presentation

In-Person

Campus

Daytona Beach

Location

Student Union Event Center

Start Date

16-11-2026 11:15 AM

End Date

16-11-2026 11:30 AM

Presentation Description/Abstract

As climate change brings increasing heat, drought, flooding, pests, and shifting growing seasons, communities need access not only to food but also to the seeds, plants, and knowledge that make local adaptation possible. This presentation explores how the open-source seed movement and seed libraries can support community climate resilience by keeping seeds available for saving, sharing, adapting, and breeding. It will briefly introduce how commercial control can shape seed access, then focus on seed libraries as community infrastructure: places where people can identify plants that perform well under local conditions, preserve and exchange locally adapted varieties, and share knowledge about what grows successfully in a particular place. The presentation will also consider how open seed systems support biodiversity, cultural continuity, participatory plant breeding, and the right to grow. It will highlight how libraries can preserve and circulate the knowledge that makes these systems possible, helping communities respond collectively to environmental change and build more resilient local food systems.

Share

COinS
 
Nov 16th, 11:15 AM Nov 16th, 11:30 AM

Seeds in the Commons: Growing Community Climate Resilience

Student Union Event Center

As climate change brings increasing heat, drought, flooding, pests, and shifting growing seasons, communities need access not only to food but also to the seeds, plants, and knowledge that make local adaptation possible. This presentation explores how the open-source seed movement and seed libraries can support community climate resilience by keeping seeds available for saving, sharing, adapting, and breeding. It will briefly introduce how commercial control can shape seed access, then focus on seed libraries as community infrastructure: places where people can identify plants that perform well under local conditions, preserve and exchange locally adapted varieties, and share knowledge about what grows successfully in a particular place. The presentation will also consider how open seed systems support biodiversity, cultural continuity, participatory plant breeding, and the right to grow. It will highlight how libraries can preserve and circulate the knowledge that makes these systems possible, helping communities respond collectively to environmental change and build more resilient local food systems.