Dear Friends and Members,

Thanks to your generous and continuing support, Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) is finishing another year full of remarkable accomplishments. SSE now has collected, and permanently maintains, over 24,000 varieties of seed at Heritage Farm. Newly-added activities to the 27 th Annual Convention expanded it into a veritable weekend extravaganza. Over 400 varieties of seeds are being prepared to be sent to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway for safety duplication for its February 2008 opening. We are pleased to announce that, through your benevolence, the $2 million capital campaign to purchase the 716-acre Twin Valleys farm was completed in July. Of course, we can’t rest on our laurels. There are many projects yet to be tackled.

Recent attention to global warming, conservation of all kinds, and “going green” fits SSE’s ecologically-based mission. SSE had the foresight more than 30 years ago to begin collecting, saving and distributing non-hybrid seed – long before heirloom seeds came back into fashion. SSE is a repository of heirloom varieties of vegetables, fruits, flowers and herbs that are in danger of extinction. We document their histories, conduct research, develop educational programs, and use our networking ability to fulfill our mission of conservation, preservation, and education.

Over the years SSE has become a leader in the heirloom seed movement. Today specialty growers for restaurants, farmers’ markets, CSAs and even other seed companies rely on SSE’s collection. During the last six years SSE seed has been planted in 45,000 gardens across the country. We have changed the way Americans garden, and the way Americans eat. Through dedication and participation, SSE has been successful and made a difference in our lives.

Much has been done, but there is much left to do. We cannot do it alone. We need your sustaining patronage. Your year-end tax-deductible contribution will help fund SSE programs with objectives such as the following:

• Sharing ongoing research and seed saving education, including more educational workshops at Heritage Farm such as an Heirloom Apple Grafting Seminar;

• Expanding our efforts in regenerating the seed collection in 2008. Over 2,500 varieties are grown annually, including over 300 labor-intensive biennials;

• Maintaining SSE’s functional living museums of preservation gardens and historic orchard. Over 4,000 total varieties of plants will be maintained in 2008, including vegetables, apples, grapes, flowers and herbs;

• Collaborating with scientific institutions and seed saving organizations in other countries with similar missions, including cooperation with the Svalbard Global Seed Vault for secure backup storage of SSE seeds;

• Developing a network of isolation gardens to maintain, evaluate, and grow out larger populations of selected varieties, free of contamination by genetically modified organisms, and reducing the need for hand-pollination techniques;

• Compiling and publishing the Fourth Edition of Fruit, Berry and Nut Inventory, an inventory of non-hybrid fruits, berries, and nuts still available from mail-order catalogs that can be used as a preservation tool by gardeners, orchardists, and conservation organizations;

• Maintaining and completing over six miles of trails at Heritage Farm which allow visitors to walk along the stream and through the woods past numerous isolation gardens along the entire length of the South valley of Twin Valleys.

SSE has built a strong foundation of seeds and land. We are ever grateful for all you have done to take SSE to where it is today. You are an integral part of the SSE family. Thank you! But our mission is on-going and requires champions, like you, to constantly sustain it. SSE is poised to accomplish even more in this next year and we hope you will fortify us with your contributions.

Thank you in advance for your loyalty and generosity.

From all of us at Seed Savers Exchange

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Make a donation today »
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Vision Statement:
Seed Savers Exchange saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, living chains passed down through generations. When people grow and save seeds, they join an ancient tradition as stewards, nurturing our diverse, fragile, genetic and cultural heritage.

Mission Statement:
Seed Savers Exchange is saving the world’s diverse, but endangered garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.