Leeds Seed Savers is a recently established community group, officially constituted in October 2024. The overall mission is to grow and share more seeds in Leeds.
Membership is open to anyone in the Leeds area who is interested in saving seeds. While the founding members live in West Leeds, the project serves the entire region. As a growing space and base for our work, we have have a half allotment plot in LS5 dedicated to growing crops for seed.
We aim to tackle the loss of vegetable diversity by focusing on the preservation and increase of locally adapted seeds, also intending to make a contribution to tackling the climate crisis by focusing on sustainable local food security. In 2025 we have grown seed from 15 different varieties of vegetable and are including growing specialized crops, such as a blight-resistant outdoor tomato, and are developing local diverse varieties (landraces) of several vegetables like kale, broad beans, and lettuce. The project seeks to build and share knowledge with the wider community, notably through the launch of a mobile seed library which will share seeds and encourage community engagement in growing and seed saving.
Leeds Seed Savers Mission and Objectives
Mission:
To grow and share seeds and seed growing skills in the Leeds area.
Objectives:
- Grow Seeds: To grow and freely share locally grown adapted seeds to help counteract the loss of vegetable diversity.
- Seed Library: To run a mobile seed library that can travel to events or be hosted temporarily at community locations to share seeds.
- Building Skills and Knowledge: To develop and share knowledge in the Leeds community about seed saving techniques and how to grow seeds through activities like workdays on our seed growing allotment plot.
- Developing Growing Infrastructure: To manage a polytunnel growing space on our plot, which is essential for isolating some seed crops so they don’t cross pollinate and properly drying seed.
- Enhancing Community Wellbeing: To increase community connection and help tackle social isolation by engaging people in the shared experience of growing and saving seeds.