Seeds of Knowledge Workshop

Gain hands-on experience with seed saving, learn strategies for habitat restoration, and explore the life cycle of select native plants during this workshop at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. We will take time to sit with plants and make field sketches of our observations in the garden and learn how to winnow seeds (separating seed from chaff). Each participant will print a silkscreen image on a seed-collecting bandanna that shows the life cycle of a native plant, as well as go home with a collection of seeds to start a garden.

This workshop will take place outside, please dress accordingly with layers for warmth and sun protection. In the case of inclement weather, we may choose to move the workshop inside.

About the Workshop Leaders:

Melody Overstreet is a local artist, poet, California naturalist, and educator who has a passion for all that composes and sustains us. She has exhibited her work locally as well as internationally, with her most recent series landing at the Rui Cunha Foundation in collaboration with the Yun Yi Arts and Cultural Communications Association in Macau, China. Her work has been featured in publications inclusive of Seed Broadcast, Inverness Almanac, and Chinquapin. She was instrumental in initiating Santa Monica College’s Organic Learning Garden, a space for cross-curricular engagement, the hands-on growing of food, seed saving, and community building. She offers nature-craft centered workshops through Cabrillo College Extension, the UCSC Arboretum, and Kids in Nature. Her educational approach emphasizes the importance of connection to our origins through place, community, and seeds.

Vincent Waring is a maker of sorts based out of Santa Cruz, CA. He is interested in the ecology of wild and intentional spaces, which he often explores through imagery reflecting parts of the whole. He utilizes a variety of mediums, including printmaking, painting, and drawing. Born and raised in the Central Valley, he moved to Santa Cruz to attend the University of California where he received a BA in Studio Art. In the midst of making art, he also spends his days working with textiles, wood, and plants.