Seeds Of Hope

What Are Seeds Of Hope?

Seeds Of Hope is about starting small — sometimes with something as small as a single seed.

We are beginning our Seeds Of Hope Open Chat events as an opportunity to learn together, ask questions, share experiences, and explore simple ways that growing plants can become part of nutrition, health, wellness and practical everyday living.

You do not need a large garden. You do not need expensive equipment. You do not need to know everything before you begin.

You can start with one plant.

I already have my own supply of seeds for all 16 plants in my Plant Profiles included in Seeds Of Hope. However, for three of the plants we are beginning with — dandelion, mullein and plantain — I have also personally harvested fresh seeds this season from plants growing around my community of Oshawa.

There is a reason I am using these particular seeds rather than simply taking seeds from the supply I already have.

I want people to be able to follow the entire journey in real time.

These are seeds harvested this season. We will start some of them now and follow their progress through germination, growth and eventual harvest. When the plants are ready, we can harvest from them and, where appropriate, collect seeds for the next planting.

Seeds harvested this season → planting → germination → growth → harvest → seed collection → next planting.

Instead of simply explaining what someone could do, we can follow the process together as it actually happens.

Growing With What We Already Have

Some of these seeds will be planted in my own custom-designed growing containers made using recycled materials.

That is another important part of Seeds Of Hope.

Growing does not always have to begin with purchasing expensive pots, growing systems or specialized equipment. We can look at materials that are free, inexpensive, easily found or normally thrown away and ask:

Can we turn this into something useful?

That becomes especially important for people living in apartments, people with very limited growing space, and people who cannot afford to invest in gardening equipment.

Seeds Of Hope is about exploring practical ways to reduce those barriers.

Plant Once — Then Learn How to Continue

One of the most important things I want these events to demonstrate is what can happen after that first seed.

The seeds I harvested this season from dandelion, mullein and plantain provide our starting point.

We can plant them, watch them germinate, follow their growth, learn about them, harvest what they provide and, where appropriate, collect seeds for another planting.

Someone does not necessarily have to keep purchasing seeds every time they want to grow something.

Learn how to grow it. Learn how to harvest it. Learn how to save seeds when possible. Then learn what else the plant can provide.

That last part is becoming increasingly important to Seeds Of Hope.

From Growing Plants to Making Useful Things

Our Open Chats will not end when a plant is harvested.

We will also talk about what we can make and learn from the plants we grow.

That can include food and nutrition, teas and other simple preparations, but it can also extend into practical health, wellness and everyday products.

I have already learned how to make my own lip balm, and I continue experimenting and learning about how plants and simple ingredients can be used to create useful products.

I am currently learning how to make basic baskets using grasses, plant stems and other natural materials.

I am still learning. My first attempts do not need to be perfect. That is part of what I want these events to show.

We can learn together.

Over time, there will be more.

As I learn how to make something, test a growing method, find another use for a plant or develop another practical skill, it can become something we talk about and potentially demonstrate through Seeds Of Hope.

It changes the question from simply:

"Can I grow this plant?"

to:

"What can I learn to do with what I grow?"

Learning As We Grow

The practical growing side is only one part of Seeds Of Hope.

I am also developing Plant Profiles and Wellness Profiles for the plants we are working with. About half of the Plant Profiles are already much further developed, while the others continue to grow as I research and learn.

The Wellness Profiles explore the vitamins, minerals and naturally occurring plant compounds associated with these plants, with individual articles that go further into each subject.

There are already more than 120 linked articles, and that number continues to grow.

This will take months of continued work, and in many ways that is exactly the point.

I am learning as I grow, and sharing as I learn.

The information does not need to sit behind a paywall waiting until everything is perfect. What I learn can become another freely available resource for someone else who wants to explore it.

A good starting point is Wellness Profiles: Understanding the Bigger Picture.

Why Open Chat Events?

These events are meant to be simple.

Pick a plant and start a conversation.

We can talk about where it grows, how seeds can be collected responsibly where permitted, how we start those seeds, what happens when they germinate, and how I grow many of these plants year-round inside my apartment.

As the plants grow, our conversations can grow with them.

Did the seeds germinate?

How long did they take?

What worked and what didn't?

What does the plant need next?

What nutrients and plant compounds does it contain?

What can we harvest?

What practical uses can we explore?

Can part of the plant become something useful rather than being discarded?

Can we collect seeds and begin again?

These are Open Chats, not lectures. People can ask questions, share their experiences, learn something new, bring their own ideas or simply follow along.

Why I Started Growing These Plants

The Wellness Profiles were never originally intended to become a large public resource.

They began as my own personal notes.

After a major stroke, I spent 29 days in hospital. I went from being active and running community support efforts to being unable to communicate properly and having to relearn basic parts of everyday life.

I had to relearn how to walk and talk. During those first weeks, there were times when I could not even remember my wife's name.

Things that once required no thought suddenly became major accomplishments. Getting from the bed to the couch could leave me needing to rest. Going to the bathroom required help. After leaving the hospital, I needed a walker and supplemental oxygen.

Recovery became part of every day.

A little more than a year after my stroke, I underwent open-heart surgery. That gave me another opportunity to begin rebuilding much of what I had lost.

Nutrition, movement, learning and understanding my own health became increasingly important throughout that process.

That is where much of this began.

When "Eat Better" Isn't a Simple Answer

We regularly hear:

Eat healthier. Eat more whole foods. Reduce highly processed foods.

But what happens when someone cannot afford those choices?

What happens when they don't have transportation?

What happens when they live in an apartment without a garden?

What happens when the healthier option simply costs more than they have available?

During my recovery, nutrition was not an abstract subject. It became part of rebuilding my health.

That led me to ask different questions.

What can I grow myself?

What can be grown in a small apartment?

What can be grown throughout the year?

What can be grown using recycled containers?

Can I harvest seeds and grow them again?

What useful things can I learn to make from what I grow?

Can we use more of the plant and waste less?

And can what I learn be freely shared so someone else doesn't have to start from zero?

Those questions helped lead to Seeds Of Hope.

From This Season's Seeds to the Next Harvest — And Beyond

Seeds Of Hope is not about claiming that growing a few plants will solve every challenge involving food affordability, nutrition or health.

It won't.

It provides another option and another starting point.

I already have seeds. I don't need to harvest these particular seeds simply to keep my own plants growing.

I harvested them so we can follow their journey.

They came from plants growing in our community this season.

Now some will go into recycled growing containers.

We will watch what happens.

We will document the successes and failures.

We will learn about the plants as they grow.

We will follow them toward harvest.

Then we can explore what can be done with what we harvest — from nutrition and wellness uses to practical projects and natural materials.

And when the cycle allows, we will collect seeds for what comes next.

Seed → Plant → Harvest → Learn → Create → Save Seeds → Grow Again.

That is the bigger journey I want Seeds Of Hope to demonstrate.

I am now rebuilding community support efforts that I first began more than 15 years ago, but I am rebuilding them with knowledge and lived experience I did not have before my stroke and heart surgery.

Seeds Of Hope is one part of that rebuilding.

It brings together growing, learning, nutrition, health, wellness, creativity, reuse and accessibility, while keeping the information freely available for anyone who wants to explore it.

You don't have to grow all 16 plants.

You don't have to know how to make lip balm.

You don't have to know how to weave a basket.

Neither did I until I started learning.

Pick one plant.

Plant a seed.

Follow its journey.

Learn what it can provide.

Learn what you can create.

Harvest seeds for what comes next.

Then start again.

That is Seeds Of Hope — and there is much more to come.

This is the start.

If you would like to learn more about what I am building, message me and we can meet for coffee or tea. Come on your own, bring a friend, or meet with me as a small group. I am happy to sit down, have a conversation, answer questions, and share more about where these efforts are going.

What matters to me is getting this next stage moving forward. I am beginning several other efforts and new programs designed to create benefits within our community of Oshawa.

Every conversation can be a starting point. If you are interested in learning more, getting involved, sharing ideas, or simply understanding what I am working toward, reach out and let's have a conversation.