By Lucienne Walstra
On February 18 2025, the Environmental Humanities Center and VU Green Office hosted Voedselpark Amsterdam’s Zonnebloemprotest and Reclaim the Seeds for a seed-sorting session at the VU’s main entrance. Stationed at a large table covered with flyers and banners about local food justice movements, lessons on sunflower seed sorting were learned and shared with the goal to gather the attention of the many students and visitors passing by and to engage them in a conversation about food justice, seed sovereignty, and protection of the Lutkemeerpolder.
Reclaim the Seeds x Zonnebloemprotest x Environmental Humanities (Center)
Reclaim the Seeds is an annual seed and information exchange event, combined with political discussions and practical workshops on seed sovereignty and food autonomy. The aim is to get more people involved in the fight for agricultural biodiversity and robust, sustainable food production. Each year, visitors leave the event with seeds they have exchanged and can plant at home, connections with new faces and organizations, and a reinvigorated passion for the fight for climate justice and their ongoing connection with nature.
This year, Reclaim the Seeds is partnering with Zonnebloemprotest to draw attention to the local Amsterdam movement fighting for food autonomy and urban biodiversity. Zonnebloemprotest is currently saving thousands of seeds from sunflowers grown on the threatened land of Lutkemeerpolder to be planted throughout Amsterdam. With the help of Amsterdam’s passionate gardeners, the city will see hundreds of sunflowers bloom by the end of Summer. Together, Reclaim the Seeds and Zonnebloemprotest shed light on the power of a seed to inspire change.
At the heart of the environmental humanities is the students’ commitment to bettering their community by forging and identifying pathways to a better, more just future. The collaboration between organizations fighting for food autonomy and biodiversity and environmental humanities students, proves the potential of the field to look beyond theoretical lines of inquiry to actionable modes of change.
These active relationships, between and within organizations and universities, contributes to a more just society by addressing systemic inequalities by empowering local communities to fight for their autonomy. Attending Reclaim the Seeds is an opportunity for Amsterdammers to understand more about their food, heritage, and future. Please join us on March 15th and 16th 2025 for the seed exchange, market, inspiring, informative programme, the music, the food, and the amazing community! We are excited to see you there!
Want to learn more?
Reclaim the Seeds Amsterdam Website
Zonnebloemprotest Website
Get in touch
Reclaim the Seeds: info@reclaimtheseeds-amsterdam.nl
Zonnebloemprotest: activiteiten@voedselparkamsterdam.nl
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