Southeastern Efforts Developing Sustainable Spaces
The Triangle
Our Mission
Founded in 1994, SEEDS is a two-acre urban garden and kitchen classroom in the heart of Durham. SEEDS develops the capacity of young people to respect life, the earth, and each other through growing, cooking, and sharing food.
Developing the capacity of young people includes responsibility, teamwork, leadership, environmental management, equity, community, problem solving and experiential learning . SEEDS' whole-child educational programming incorporates growing, cooking and sharing food to help young people become resourceful and confident individuals with the capacity and commitment to be future leaders in their workplaces, their families, and their communities.
Our Values
The Capacity of Young People — SEEDS believes that young people are capable of being responsible leaders. They value and listen to the voices of youth and recognize them as innovators capable of making a lasting impact.
Equity — SEEDS actively practices an anti-racist and anti-oppressive approach and strives to make all programs culturally and economically accessible.
Community — SEEDS values the residents and leaders of surrounding communities and seeks opportunities to integrate community skills, perspectives, and desires with those of young participants.
Experiential Learning — SEEDS believes in learning by doing, designing developmentally appropriate programming that emphasizes problem solving, critical thinking, and experimentation.
Environmental Stewardship — SEEDS believes sustainable agriculture is essential to environmental sustainability and that access to healthy food is a basic human right.
Teamwork — SEEDS believes the best work comes from working together with a shared sense of ownership and transparent communication.
Responsibility — SEEDS holds itself and others to high standards and values learning and experimentation — the only failure is not to try.
Our Desired Impact
SEEDS grows the life and leadership skills of young people in Durham. The lessons of growing and cooking food from the garden prepare youth to be skilled, resourceful and confident individuals with the capacity and commitment to lead in their own lives and in their communities.
Working in the garden is the canvas for multiple lessons. Students begin with basic lessons in gardening and cooking, then learn how the food system, the environment and people interact and affect one another. As they move through the program and take on greater responsibility, they gain skills for their future workplaces, families and communities.
Our Story
Durham community leader Brenda Brodie had a vision of transforming neighborhoods and lives through gardening, and in 1994 she co-founded SEEDS with Annice Kenan. A two-acre plot in Northeast Central Durham — SEEDS' current home at Gilbert and Elizabeth Street — was rented for $1 per year. SEEDS first partnered with Phoenix House, a transitional program for unhoused men, to clear the barren plot and plant the first SEEDS garden.
Over the years, SEEDS diversified by establishing Community Harvest, a program to turn vacant lots into productive, community-controlled spaces, and supported the creation of what is now the Durham Farmers' Market. In early 2000, SEEDS created the DIG (Durham Interns in Gardening) program and in 2003 launched the SEEDlings After-School program. Throughout its decades-long history, a deep respect for life, the earth, and one another has remained at the heart of SEEDS .
Outcomes
Short-Term Engagement
Gardening — All participants learn scientific and ecological concepts and gain skills growing vegetables from seed to harvest.
Cooking — All participants learn to cook, developing basic skills to prepare meals from fresh ingredients.
Healthy and Equitable Food Choices — Participants learn how food and activity affect their bodies and minds and how the food system impacts personal choices, the environment, and community.
Long-Term Engagement
Creative Problem Solvers — SEEDS youth creatively approach challenges and have the ability to make lasting change in their own lives and communities.
Engaged Community Members — SEEDS youth have a strong sense of fellowship, inclusion, ownership, and equity.
Adept Team Leaders — SEEDS youth are empowered and confident leaders with skills in communication, collaboration, and compromise.
Programs
- Community Harvest
- Community Partnerships
- DIG (Durham Interns in Gardening)
seedsnc.org