Mobile Seed Cleaning Tour 2025: Northern Tour

The Northern seed cleaning tour began with early visits along the Skeena River on Tsimshian territory in Northwest BC. First stop was the Skeena Valley Farmers’ Market. The market was an opportunity to introduce equipment to the community and connect with potential seed savers among the market crowds. The Terrace attendees did not disappoint; seed savers came out of the woodwork, relating stories of their buckets of seeds waiting for processing and potential for future seed cleaning events in the region. The long history of agriculture in the area is clear at any food-related event in Terrace.

The following day at Thimbleberry farm, attendees of our No-till farm tour & plant-based culinary showcase were excited to thresh and winnow some oats, while learning about no-till vegetable production and sampling plant-based cheese.

We were very grateful to be part of the Harvest Day celebrations at Witset Community Garden. The day included moose stew, potato harvests, and cleaning sunflower seeds and tobacco seeds. It was a beautiful celebration of harvests and community.

In early October, Northern Seed Security Coordinator Jolene hit the road again, making a beeline to the shore of Stuart Lake on Nak-azdii Whut’en territory, and part of the traditional lands of the Tl’azt’en, Yekooche, and Binche Whut’en First Nations. The community of Fort St. James – also known for its historic fur trading post established in 1806 – hosted us at the Pope Mountain Arts Centre. We gathered with the Fort St. James Gardeners and visitors from nearby communities, including the Nechako Valley Food Network.

There was no shortage of seed to clean, including many unique northern-grown and locally bred varieties, no small feat in this zone 3 climate! Lettuce, brassicas, orach, and maybe other fun varieties made their way through a variety of screens, sieves, and threshing devices.

Our next stop was Three Seeds Farm and Cold Front Cidery in Prince George. A dozen vendors gathered for an on-farm market, and we were excited to meet all the folks who came out to support local vegetables, seeds and artisan wares. A highlight was cleaning seeds with a participant from the FFCF Seed Mentorship program. We cleaned several wildflower species, such as fireweed and aster, and were shocked and excited by how much tiny seed was revealed in all the fireweed floof!

Dunster is home to Pete Amyoony, tomato seed saver extraordinaire, stewarding over 100 varieties of tomato seeds. The Dunster Community Association hosted the seed cleaning workshop at the community hall, welcoming some familiar faces from the agriculture community along with their seeds and tools. Dry peas were shelled using every method imaginable – from hands and feet to car tires. Short work was made of many other seed crops brought in for cleaning. Black Kabouli garbanzo beans and Utrecht blue wheat were a highlight.

The trailer made an appearance at the Northern Food Hub Seed & Grain Farm tour as well. Many small and large hands and feet helped thresh, winnow and sort.

We would like to thank all the farmers and community seed stewards who visited us at one of our many Northern trailer tour stops in 2025. We are so honoured to be able to bring seed cleaning resources to your communities, and we deeply appreciate all the stewardship work you do. From seed companies to seed libraries to backyard growers, every effort contributes to a more sustainable seed future.

We would also like to thank our funders for making this tour possible.

Funding for the Knowledge and Technology Transfer program is provided by the governments of Canada and British Columbia through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

This project was made possible with funding from the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction and facilitation from the Public Health Association of British Columbia and Food Banks BC.

Learn more: phabc.org/cfsd