“Seed Swap,” produced by Dr. Brian Campbell, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Central Arkansas, will air on the Arkansas Educational Television Network (AETN) on Monday, May 7 at 9 p.m.
“Seed Swap” follows Campbell as he helps to organize a seed swap in the Ozarks. The film documents the program’s growth from its beginning in Mountain View, Ark. in March 2008 to seven communities over a four-year period. “Seed Swap” showcases the utility of applied anthropology to get the public involved in more localized food systems, presents a wide range of open-pollinated, heirloom seeds of the Ozarks, and teaches the steps necessary to establish a community seed bank and host seed swaps, according the film’s website.
“The director, Zachariah McCannon, and I are pleased that the years of hard work, persistence and creativity put into the film and seed-saving efforts are being recognized by AETN,” Campbell said. “We are elated that Arkansas’s public television network will screen our film, which serves as a tribute to the Arkansas farmers and gardeners of the past and today who have contributed to the state’s agricultural legacy, in the form of heirloom seeds. With increased viewership, we’re hoping the gardening and seed saving traditions that provided sustenance and independence to our predecessors can be resuscitated, that new generations will be inspired and learn to plant Victory Gardens that provide them with healthy inexpensive food.”
The University of Central Arkansas’s Conserving Arkansas’s Agricultural Heritage (CAAH!) project hosts Seed Swaps around the state throughout the spring. Participants bring open-pollinated (heirloom) seeds, bulbs, plants and stories to swap with other seed savers at any of the swaps.
The event is co-sponsored by the Arkansas Sustainability Network, churches, garden coalitions, libraries, the Ozark Folk Center State Park, the Southern Seed Legacy, farmers and gardeners.
To learn more about “Seed Swap,” visit www.seedswapdocumentary.com.
