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Southern Seed Legacy (SSL) Project was initiated in 1996 as a project dedicated to reversing the erosion of genetic diversity and cultural knowledge in the American South by encouraging and supporting local seed saving and exchange networks and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. The project was supported for two years by a USDA Sustainable Agricultural Research and Education in Concert with the Environment (SARE/ACE) grant under the directorship of Dr. Robert Rhoades and Dr. Virginia Nazarea. In recent years SSL has evolved into a member supported organization. We are based at the Agrarian Connections Farm and the Ethnoecology/Biodiversity Laboratory (EBL) in the University of Georgia 's Department of Anthropology.

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Southern Seed Legacy strives to reverse the plant erosion of genetic diversity and cultural knowledge in the American South by encouraging and supporting local seed saving exchange networks and in situ conservation of plant genetic resources. We also house a small seed collection that serves as a backup for crop varieties that are in particular danger of going extinct and a memory bank that documents the cultural history of many southern heirloom varieties.

• Identify local seed saving and exchange networks, and locate these exchanges in terms of agro-ecological regions and ethnic distribution in the South. These form the nodes of the "Southern Seed Legacy" which are made up of diverse grassroots organizations and individuals dedicated to enhancing the biodiversity and sustainability of Southern agriculture.

• Identify, for each major agroecological region, crops that are "at risk" in terms of genetic and cultural erosion and concentrate efforts in the collection, documentation, and conservation of these "at risk" crops.

• Complement existing accessions in germplasm banks with farmer knowledge and at the same time enhance the capacity of farmers themselves to preserve, access, and exchange both the genetic material and relevant cultural information.

• Use the case of heirloom and landrace plants in the South to reinforce the linkage between cultural diversity, biodiversity, and sustainable farming in a comprehensive range of educational outreach programs.

   

The overall approach undertaken by SSL is to identify and locate local seed exchanges within the major agroecoregions of the South. Each region shares common agroecological factors and distinctive production regimes. Each is also characterized by a particular ethnic distribution--thus providing a "window" into the cultural correlates of the existing biodiversity. The investigation proceeds by identifying "at risk" crop or crop families that are important to sustainable agriculture in each agroecoregion. The preservation of both "at risk" genetic resources and associated farmer knowledge is promoted via informal, local seed exchange networks that are linked together through the Southern Seed Legacy project. The general approach is carried out by a combination of strategies that are unique to the project.

Building on informal pathways of seed exchange that already exist, the Southern Seed Legacy is a decentralized network wherein different organizations and individuals across the South ideally select a manageable group of crops in each agroecoregion as their focus. Different groups and individuals contribute their varied expertise and resources to enhance the network.

Located on the Agrarian Connection Farm, the Southern Seed Legacy Garden is planted and tended each year to reproduce heirloom seed stock and to provide locally-grown, chemical free vegetables and herbs to friends and members. Each year we grow out at the main garden between 30-40 distinct varieties as a means to rejuvenate seeds. Sections of the garden are dedicated to native herbs, old-timey strawberries, and heritage fruit trees. A small flock of landrace chickens are kept in an adjacent pen and coup for farm-fresh eggs. We also cultivate small parcels around the farm (to maintain distance between crossers) as well as in the Southern Seed Legacy Heritage Orchard. SSL membership fees support needed inputs while volunteers maintain the garden.

 

The Southern Seed Legacy maintains a collection of over 440 named varieties of southern heirloom seeds. These seeds are donated entirely by members and friends of the SSL. We maintain them in a climate controlled facility at the University of Georgia. Although we are not an ex situ seed “bank” our collection functions as a way station between southern gardeners and farmers. We receive materials and try to distribute them as soon as possible on to other interested members who will grow them out. Any registered member of the SSL (link to membership) can receive free seed under our Pass Along Southern Seeds (PASS). Our objective is to keep southern agrobiodiversity alive, not in gene banks, but in the fields and gardens of people. . . Find out more

Southern Seed Legacy
Department of Anthropology, 250A Baldwin Hall
University of Georgia
Athens, GA 30602
email: ebl@uga.edu
phone: (706) 542-1430
website: http://www.uga.edu/ebl/ssl/