Great Seed Swap event has grown from small beginnings
A SIMPLE request to swap some seeds turned into the Great Guernsey Seed Swap, an event taking place on Friday.
London actress Lizzie Roper returned to Guernsey to live during the pandemic to be closer to family who live here.
Several months later, after throwing herself into gardening to grow vegetables, she solidified her love affair with Guernsey.
‘It really came about from just wanting to have that option to provide for my family, growing food for them from scratch, and from there it grew into a passion,’ she said.
‘Last year there was a scramble to get hold of seeds and I was literally raiding the pantry, where I found borlotti beans. Soon though I’d quickly collected a mass of seeds from opened packets and started selling them off and sending them to charity.
‘It led me to think that perhaps there were people out there who wanted to share and exchange seeds and help each other along the way.’
She said once she had posted the idea on social media, it snowballed and within a week it had become an event.
One group that wanted to help was Edible Guernsey, which contacted her to assist in setting up the Great Guernsey Seed Swap at its St Peter’s premises.
The charity, which aims to encourage the local community to grow, was eager to get involved.
‘The event sprung up really out of the simple idea of swapping seeds,’ said Edible Guernsey vice-chairman Sarah Breton.
‘There’s lots of like-minded people out there, so many wanted to get involved and it felt like a great idea for us to provide the space and see lots of new faces visit where we are and see what we’re doing.
‘It’d be great to build up a seed bank on the back of it too.’
Islanders are encouraged to come along with seeds, seedlings and plants to swap.
People with nothing to swap can still come along and pick up what they like and make a donation.
Ms Roper added that she hoped people would come along and enjoy the atmosphere, with tea, cake and fellow gardeners on hand to share advice.
. The Great Guernsey Seed Swap takes place on Good Friday, from 2-5pm, at Edible Guernsey, Rue des Heches, St Peter’s.
