Seed Savers Exchange secures funds for orchard development on Indigenous farms

Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) was recently awarded over $45,000 through the 2023 North Central Partnership Grant program by the North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NCR-SARE) for the project, “Rematriation Partnership: Orchard Establishment and Care.” 

The grant program fosters cooperation between agriculture professionals and small groups of farmers and ranchers to catalyze on-farm research, demonstration and education activities related to sustainable agriculture. 

“We are thrilled to continue our rematriation work connecting varieties identified in our care at Seed Savers Exchange with Indigenous farmers — this partnership grant will help establish apple orchards at three regional farms,” said SSE Executive Director Mike Bollinger.

The Seed Savers Exchange preservation team cares for more than 1,000 varieties of heritage apples in two orchards at the 890-acre organic Heritage Farm located near Decorah, Iowa. 

“We are excited to work with our rematriation partners to not only source varieties of interest from our collection but also help uncover the complex history and intersections of apples and the history displacement and migration of the native communities connected with our farm partners,” noted Michael Washburn, SSE preservation director. 

Farm partners for the project are Jessika Greendeer at Dream of Wild Health in Minneapolis, Minn., as well as Dr. Rebecca Webster of the Ukwakhwa farmstead and Jennifer Falck of the Kahulahele farmstead, both located on the Oneida Reservation near Green Bay, Wis.

“We are looking forward to reestablishing our relationship with apple trees on our farmstead here at Ukwakhwa,” said Webster. “These apples might not be indigenous to the Americas, but countless generations of our people have cared for them—the trees will help us teach about that history, and the apples will help feed our guests.”

Both Falck and Greendeer are looking forward to the partnership work as well. “Kahulahele is very excited about this opportunity to learn from SSE and to reconnect with apple varieties that will work best on our farm,” shared Falck. 

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