Projects
The Thousand Year Experiment
Exeter Seed Bank and volunteers at the Wild Roof Garden at Exeter Library, have sown its first seeds. Marking the beginning for the newly formed community garden, and part of a much bigger experiment in the future of food, seed diversity and local resilience.
In September 2026, a one-square-metre patch of organic heritage wheat, a populate crop or ‘land race’ was planted on the roof. Over the coming months, we hope to watch it grow through the winter and into the summer of 2027, when the wheat can be harvested and its seeds saved.
Broad Bean Meet-up
Thank you to everyone who joined us at Theatre Alibi for our annual Exeter Broad Bean meet-up. We’re now 40+ people strong, with new and returning growers. A big thank you to Dan Fox from Two Arce Farm, whose visit was supported by the Gaia Foundation’s Seed Sovereignty Programme, for sharing his knowledge and guiding our discussions.
The Exeter Seed Bank Allotment
In January 2026, Exeter Seed Bank was offered a new allotment site, a slightly larger and sunnier location where we could scale up our growing and seed-saving activities for sharing with the community and we accepted.
Exeter Wild Roof Garden
Exeter Wild Roof Garden is a new and evolving project that is bringing together a community of people to shape, create and imagine a new community garden on the rooftop of Exeter Central Library.
Blog: The Kale Crowd is thriving
At the University of Exeter, head grower Neil netted the kale seedlings while they were very small to protect them from rabbits, but now they are out in the sunshine for all to see. A far cry from the uniformity of monoculture cropping, just look at the diversity of colours, heights and leaf shapes – a thing of beauty!
Blog: New Kale Crowd Breeding Project
Hello! My name is Kat White, I'm a Food Studies MA student at the University of Exeter, and also work for the Sharpham Trust. I'm interning with Exeter Seed Bank to establish the first 'generation' of the mixed kale crop. As a beginner to growing and seed saving, I'm really keen to learn about this climate-conscious way of building biodiversity into local food systems!
The Touring Storied Seed Library from Exeter Seed Bank
The Touring Storied Seed Library from Exeter Seed Bank is a unique collection of seeds with a rich history and a living purpose. On loan to Libraries Unlimited, the Touring Storied Seed Library will be exhibited in libraries throughout Devon.
Exeter Seed Swap 2026: Celebrate Seeds, Soil & Community
Join us for the Exeter Seed Swap Weekender! On Saturday 28 February 4-530.pm, we welcome the Soil Ecology Lab and the Soil Smiths, Daniel Tyrkiel and Jonny Furze, for an talk about nurturing life at the smallest scale can heal soils and transform the way we grow. Booking here.
On Sunday 1 March 1-4pm, don’t miss the much-loved annual Exeter Seed Swap — a celebration of strength in diversity, bringing together growers, gardeners and curious newcomers to share seeds, knowledge and inspiration. Check out the programme here
ESB at Oxford Real Farming Conference 2026
We had an amazing time at our first Oxford Real Farming Conference 2026, connecting with hundreds of like-minded people committed to changing the way we live on the land sustain ourselves in balance with nature.
We came away enriched from sessions exploring the frontiers of soil science, food access, international solidarity work, and a pesticide-free environment for the more-than-human world. We reaffirmed our belief that seeds are central to the future of food and farming.
We also contributed a session to ORFC in collaboration with the Land Stories Collective based in Bristol. Our session titled "Growing Solidarity: Za’atar and the Seeds of Palestine" was an opportunity to share our work in raising awareness of Palestinian rights to seed and food sovereignty. Since 2024, Exeter Seed Bank is twinned with the Palestine Local Seed Bank through a project initiated by the Land Workers Alliance. For our session we focused on Za’atar, the herb and spice mix that runs deep in the culture of Palestinian daily life.
Soil Testing Kits
In 2025, Exeter Seed Bank received support from University of Exeter’s FUTURES Festival – SPARKS funding programme, to develop a community soil testing kit. This new resource helps growers begin their journey of discovery into what makes a soil healthy for growing plants. It encourages a paradigm shift from soil seen simply as an inert growing medium to one that is a dynamic, living ecosystem, working in close relationship with plants.
The Exeter Broad Bean
Exeter Seed Bank has initiated a project to develop the ‘Exeter Broad Bean’ which will be adapted to our soils and more resilient to the effects of our changing climate. Holders of over 30 allotments around Exeter have come forward to participate in the project.
They are growing a mix of broad bean varieties which will open-pollinate, and the seeds they bear will be more genetically diverse and resistant to disease and pests. The initial crop is known as a ‘flock’ and over the next several growing years we hope these beans will mix and mix again with each year to become a ‘landrace’ - a new variety of bean.