Holly Silvester

Fellow’s Profile

Holly Silvester

Fellow’s Profile

Holly Silvester

Bringing resilience back to our food system through diversity

Fellowship

Themes

Focus

Exploring collaborative & dynamic approaches to seed production that build resilience and diversity

Countries

Fellowship year

2023

Biography

I'm a commercial organic vegetable and seed grower, and Regional Coordinator for The Gaia Foundation Seed Sovereignty Programme. After working in formal horticulture for several years, I followed my passion for all things soil and seed and made the leap into market gardening.

There is an urgent need for us to grow much more of our own seed in the UK. The purpose of my Fellowship is to explore farmer-led, collaborative and dynamic approaches to seed production to facilitate the creation of a resilient diverse food system.

Participatory plant breeding empowers farmers, breeders and customers to come together to improve crops specifically adapted to local areas, soils and local markets Ð regaining seed sovereignty. It is a partnership that focuses on resilience and adaptation and allows natural diversity to thrive. I plan to learn these techniques and practices from pioneering growers in the USA and Canada who are experimenting with diverse plant populations, building resilience and quality.

By implementing these practices and sharing my research with my own farming community and beyond, I hope to reconnect people to a more sustainable way of producing food, cultivate curiosity and inspire.

Activity

Disclaimer

All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.

Activity

Disclaimer

All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.

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