English students learn how to save seeds

Ms. Perkins's 10th grade English class is reading The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson as part of their ongoing study of indigenous peoples in American Literature. The publisher's note states, "Weaving together the voices of four indelible women, The Seed Keeper is a beautifully told story of reawakening, of remembering our original relationship to the seeds and, through them, to our ancestors."

On October 2, Abbie Castriotta invited Sylvia Davatz to speak with the students in the library. Abbie stated, "Sylvia is an expert seed keeper, co-founder of Solstice Seeds, and specializes in growing heritage and rare varieties of grains that are hardy to our New England climate." During her talk, Sylvia encouraged students to "...listen to the things they [plants] are telling you about the conditions they are growing in." She also shared stories of exchanging seeds with people from around the world and she displayed some of the seeds she has collected. In addition to reading The Seed Keeper and attending this talk, students visited the greenhouse with Abbie to learn the basics of seed saving.

Libby, Annasophia, Ruth and Sylvia with some of her plants and see