Irish Seed Savers Association

Irish Seed Savers Association

Company type	Foundation
Founded	1991
Headquarters	Scarriff
Area served	Ireland
Website	www.irishseedsavers.ie

Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) is an Irish non-governmental organisation founded in 1991 and based in Scarriff, County Clare, Ireland. ISSA operates a living seed bank and heritage orchard, preserving over 800 varieties of heritage, open-pollinated vegetables, and more than 140 types of Irish apple tree. ^{[1] [2]} The organization also conducts outreach, education, and community-based conservation programmes to promote agricultural biodiversity and food security.

Aims and Tasks

The Irish Seed Savers Association aims to: ^[3]

• Protect, conserve and utilise Irish plant genetic resources including rare heritage seeds, grains, vegetables and fruit
• Promote agricultural biodiversity for food security
• Educate the public on agricultural biodiversity and food security through information and workshops
• Research seed, grain, vegetable and fruit varieties suited to Ireland's temperate maritime climate

With its projects, the Irish Seed Savers Association found and saved over 140 different types of Irish apple tree and 25 native Irish grains. ^[4] The Irish Seed Savers Association has a ten-acre site with purpose-built facilities, native woodland and an apple orchard / nursery. ^[5]

Affiliations

Irish Seed Savers Association is a network partner of the European SAVE Foundation. ^[6] Irish Seed Savers are also a member of the Irish Environmental Network.

See also

• SAVE Foundation (Safeguard for Agricultural Varieties in Europe)
• Semperviva
• ProSpecieRara
• Arca-Net

References

1. "Conservation". Irish Seed Savers Association. Retrieved 29 August 2025.
2. "About Irish Seed Savers - Irish Native Grain, Trees, Plants and Apples". irishseedsavers.ie. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2011.^{[ title missing ]}
3. Irish Seedsavers Association Website Launch Archived 22 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine . Heritage Council. Retrieved on 5 July 2011.
4. Irish Seed Saver Association Archived 11 April 2013 at the Wayback Machine . Irish Environmental Network. Retrieved on 5 July 2011.
5. Stor Siolta Archived 7 December 2017 at the Wayback Machine . Arca-Net. Retrieved on 5 July 2011.
6. Our partners… Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine SAVE Foundation. Retrieved on 5 July 2011.

External links

• Irish Seed Savers Association