Sharing seed stories and sorting seeds, to help us remember to tend what matters...
Come listen to several Seed Stories which, through their placement in critical moments of history, bring significant lessons for our present day challenges, both local and global.
These impactful stories of seeds, their people and their cultural histories, tend to light a fire in the bellies of those who hear them - illuminating what really matters in these times of climate chaos and great change. Making space to listen to their teachings can also help us remember WHY it is so important that we choose to steward seeds through such times.
*note: while I usually welcome children, due to the content discussed in the Seed Stories, the recommended age of attendance for this event is 15+. Babies are welcome to attend.
From practicing the art of listening to stories, the second half of our session will transition to a more dynamic space for discussion and knowledge sharing.
While interacting with seeds - sorting, holding and being in their presence, this will be a time for discussing the hands-on HOW of seed saving and stewardship. It will also give us time to reflect on the seed stories shared as well as question the systems that have disconnected us from this vital practice which connects us with our food cycles and earth.
The hope is that you will leave our time together with a few seeds in your pockets, an archive of seed stories to draw strength from in hard times and an activated inspiration to collectively steward seeds forth into better worlds.
Your event host, Keitha Thuy Young is a Seed Steward Ambassador for Nature Festival 2026.
Keitha is a mother, farmer, seedkeeper, folk herbalist and food sovereignty organiser whose work explores the deep connections between seeds, culture and healing. Keitha sees plants and their seeds as living archives, and her practice includes telling their stories of survival, migration and adaptation, as well as the stories of the people who have tended them for generations.
Drawing on her mixed Vietnamese and Scottish heritage, Keitha's practice is rooted in the belief that healthy food systems depend on healthy relationships: between people and plants, culture and Country, memory and place.
Through seed saving, agroecology and folk herbalism, she works to preserve biodiversity while sharing the cultural knowledge held within the plants that nourish us. She believes in just, equitable access to land and food, supporting this vision by presently helping to build a national land trust that will bring agricultural land back into the commons.
See more: https://afsa.org.au/our-work/agroecology-land-trust/
As a Nature Festival Seed Steward, Keitha reminds us that seeds are storied vessels of cultural significance, carrying the flavours, medicines and traditions that connect us to the land and our ancestors which, when collectively tended, can offer hope for more diverse and resilient futures.
Keitha @thepeacefulseed gratefully stewards @seedmedicinegarden on unceded Kaurna Country.
