Community seed swaps & events

Seed swaps and community events are simple ways to bring people together around growing, food and local knowledge. They can start small, build confidence and create practical ways to share seeds, plants, skills and ideas.

You can find practical information for running community seed swaps, seed libraries and local food events.

What is a community seed swap?

A community seed swap is a social event where people get together to swap seeds, learn about seed saving and share experiences. It can be as small or as big as you see fit. It might be a few allotment buddies working collectively to save a variety of seeds over a season and then coming together to swap varieties, or a group of activists keen to highlight the importance of seed swapping as a means of protecting local biodiversity. Over the past decade, community seed swaps across the UK have mushroomed.

They offer communities a practical way to take positive action to protect biodiversity and to protest against the increasing control of the seed supply by a handful of large companies. Saving and swapping seeds sounds like a small thing to do to combat this huge problem, but it is vitally important.

Why save and swap seeds?

  • To support biodiversity

  • To save money

  • To build relationships with fellow gardeners

  • To build local resilience by having more seeds that are suited to local growing conditions

  • To reduce our reliance on corporate/state-controlled seed production - Saving and swapping seeds sounds like a small thing to do to combat this huge problem, but it is vitally important.

Organising an effective event

Having a clear purpose, a suitable venue, people-power and good publicity are all part of putting on a successful community food event. Here is an overview of these elements and what to consider. The Soil Association have produced a short guide to organising local food events.

  • Choose an accessible venue with enough table space and clear signs.

  • Start at a manageable scale, then build it into an annual event if it works.

  • Ask local growers, gardening groups, schools, libraries and community organisations to help.

  • Offer practical activities, talks, refreshments or stalls to encourage people to stay.

  • Promote the event through local noticeboards, newsletters, local press, social media and word of mouth.

  • Plan how seeds will be labelled, sorted and displayed.

  • Provide advice / information on saving your own seed, or signpost people to resources e.g. 

  • Add your event to the Heritage Seed Library listings and visit their website for more seed saving information.

  • Ask for donations if people don’t have seeds to swap. Providing refreshments and asking for donations can also raise funds.

  • Invite people to sign up for email updates about future events.

  • Before your seed swap, put a date in the diary for a follow up seedling & plant swap.

There is plenty of information available from Seedy Sunday in Brighton on how it works. Another guide can be found here: How to organise a seed swap (Mother Earth News).

Community Seed Libraries

Some communities are setting up a seed library in a community space, where locally-grown and saved seed can be stored and exchanged, e.g. in libraries. This creates a local repository which can be easily and regularly accessed, and can be a good way to encourage people to start growing. 

Regular Seed swaps and seed libraries in Somerset

Online seed swapping

Some communities have online seed and plant sharing forums, typically on Facebook:

Run a seed swap or seed library in Somerset? Get in touch to suggest a listing or update.

Other community event ideas

Harvest shows

Harvest shows are annual celebrations of the harvest that have taken place in communities all over the country for generations. They can be very diverse, some more competitive than the Olympics and others more silly and less serious.

To organise a harvest show, food festival or fayre, it is worth following the same steps used to organise any event effectively. If you are new to organising events, it may be worth volunteering with one of the community groups that make events happen in Somerset, so you can see the planning that goes on behind the scenes. Check out Glastonbury Harvest Show which ran for 13 years to highlight the importance of local food & community, and celebrate the joy & benefits of growing your own produce.

Food festivals and markets

Local food festivals and fayres bring together local producers, helping the public find out about local food and meet people locally. They are celebrations, but can also create markets for small producers and build public support around local food.

Eat Festivals

Somerset Food Trail

Wells Food Festival

Film nights and public meetings

Film nights can bring people together, inspire and motivate, and make sometimes abstract issues feel real. Public meetings offer an opportunity for people who care about similar things to meet and be inspired to act. Showing films at seed swaps can be a useful way of introducing the necessity of political action around seeds and how seed sovereignty affects everyone - North & South.

Many venues will let you use their space for free if people attending are buying drinks, for example. Community organisations may also have projectors and screens to hire.

Some films require a licence fee, so check the legalities. We recommend getting a hard copy of any DVD you are showing in case of internet problems.

Film ideas

Last reviewed: August 2026

Local listings, social-media pages and event details can change. Please check directly with organisers before travelling or promoting an event.