An heirloom seed is seed treasured by people who love the names, history, flavour, fragrance and feel of what plants share with them. Saved seeds often become best friends, part of the family.

The Heirloom Seed Sanctuary has received national recognition for its contribution to the environment. For more details please click HERE

Purpose: to preserve open-pollinated seed so that it may be saved; to grow, harvest, sort and store seed as organically as possible at Heathfield.

Location: part of the Heathfield property of the Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul in the centre of Kingston, Ontario.

Facilities: a glass greenhouse to propagate seedlings, gardens, and part of a barn beautifully refurbished for seed sorting, storage and activities.

Activities: the Heirloom Seed Savers meet once a month; there are also Weed Walks, Botanical Latin classes, celebrations of seasonal change (Equinoxes, Solstices), workshops and networking with various community groups concerned with sustainability.

People Involved: Carol and Robert Mouck began working to establish the Heirloom Seed Sanctuary with the Sisters in 1999. They work with about 400 varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs they had grown and saved from Foxfire Farm in Napanee, Ontario since 1974. Carol and Robert now serve as independent researchers and seed savers. Organic gardener and seed saver Cate Henderson was hired in 2008.