When the winter seems like it may just go on forever and the ground is still crusted with ice and snow, it is time to plan for spring at the annual Seedy Saturday events around the region. One of the major Seedy Saturday events is held downtown at the Kitchener Public Library, organized by a local horticultural society Garden Kitchener. As with pre-COVID years, this February event was overflowing with energy from enthusiastic food and flower growers and those itching to test their green thumbs.
Our board members, Emma and Josalyn, both attended and shared a table with our partner, the Waterloo Region Community Garden Network. Together we launched this new Roundtable website and spoke with dozens of people interested in our food system and staying connected with the Roundtable. We hope to begin sending regular updates to our mailing list soon: email us to get connected!
We asked some of the participants to share with us what food means to them. People spoke and wrote about nutrition, connection to nature, energy, love, culture, and more! a heartfelt thank-you to everyone who joined in!
It was an absolute pleasure to meet our neighbours interested in food and we hope to meet so many more as the Roundtable grows. In fact, just about a week later, another one of our Roundtable board members, Fig, attended another local Seedy Saturday at RARE!
Reflections from Josalyn:
“Seedy Saturday feels like home to me, as someone who absolutely loves the little miracles of plants and food every year. Coming to the event as a representative of the Roundtable just felt natural. It was a joy meeting so many people. This year I brought home seeds for tri-colour popping corn, peppers, and cucumbers and seed-swapped some of my scarlet runner beans for some marigolds and pansies.”
Reflections from Emma:
“I was excited for my first time attending the Seedy Saturday event at Kitchener Public Library! The day had a great energy and I enjoyed connecting with the many attendees who were excited to talk about their passion for growing their own food. I always love attending events in downtown Kitchener (where I live) and learning about the great work being done by local community partners. I especially enjoyed connecting with staff at the Reep Green Solutions (https://reepgreen.ca) and Seeds of Diversity (https://seeds.ca) booths. I picked up a variety of different flower seeds and am looking forward to planting and enjoying the gorgeous blooms come summer!”