Native Seed/SEARCH

Native Seed/SEARCH
Name	Native Seed/SEARCH
Founded	1983
Founders	Larry Fisher; Carol Deppe
Headquarters	Tucson, Arizona
Mission	Conserve and promote agricultural biodiversity of the Southwest and northwest Mexico
Services	Seed banking; research; education; community seed distribution

Native Seed/SEARCH is a nonprofit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, focused on conserving, researching, and distributing traditional crop varieties adapted to the arid Southwest and northwestern Mexico. Founded in 1983, the organization maintains seed collections, conducts plant breeding and ethnobotanical research, and engages with Indigenous communities, farmers, and gardeners to support regional food security and cultural heritage. Its efforts intersect with conservation networks, academic institutions, tribal governments, and nonprofit funders across North America.

History

Native Seed/SEARCH was established in 1983 during a period of increasing interest in heirloom varieties and seed saving inspired by movements associated with Seed Savers Exchange, Slow Food, The Land Institute, and the broader heirloom preservation trends of the 1970s and 1980s. Early collaborations connected the founders with researchers at the University of Arizona, Smithsonian Institution, and tribal agricultural programs such as the Tohono O'odham Nation outreach initiatives. Over time the organization developed relationships with regional actors including Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, Tucson Botanical Gardens, and international partners like Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agrícolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP) in Mexico. Encounters with conservationists from Conservation International, World Wildlife Fund, and The Nature Conservancy helped position the group within global biodiversity networks, while contacts with seed policy advocates at Food and Agriculture Organization and researchers from Harvard University and University of California, Davis informed strategies for ex situ seed banking.

Mission and Programs

The core mission emphasizes preservation of traditional crop diversity and support for Indigenous agricultural knowledge, echoing conservation themes found in organizations such as National Park Service cultural stewardship programs and Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History ethnobotany exhibits. Programs include seed distribution modeled on seed exchange practices like those of Seed Savers Exchange and community seed projects similar to efforts by Rodale Institute and Heifer International. Native Seed/SEARCH also runs volunteer and internship programs comparable to those at American Conservation Experience and collaborates with tribal colleges such as Diné College and Tucson’s Pima Community College for workforce development.

Seed Conservation and Vaults

Seed conservation operates through an active seed bank and cold storage vaults paralleling facilities like the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Millennium Seed Bank Partnership, and university repositories at Iowa State University and University of California, Berkeley. Collections emphasize landraces of Zea mays (maize), Phaseolus vulgaris (beans), Cucurbita argyrosperma (squash), and chiles, coordinated with germplasm holdings at USDA National Plant Germplasm System and exchanges with Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (CIMMYT). The vaults follow protocols influenced by standards from Global Crop Diversity Trust and seed health guidelines from World Health Organization plant pathogen frameworks. Emergency backups and duplicated accessions reflect practices used by NordGen and regional genebanks in Mexico City.

Research and Partnerships

Research spans agronomy, ethnobotany, and climate resilience, engaging partners such as University of Arizona Cooperative Extension, Arizona State University, University of New Mexico, and labs at Stanford University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology that study drought adaptation and genomics. Collaborations include tribal research agreements with the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and community-based projects with organizations like Native American Rights Fund for intellectual property and seed sovereignty issues. Grant partners and funders have included foundations similar to Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and federal programs at the National Science Foundation and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Educational Outreach and Community Engagement

Educational efforts incorporate workshops, seed-saving courses, and cultural events held with museums and cultural centers such as Arizona Historical Society and Heard Museum. Outreach targets gardeners, farmers, and youth through school programs with Tucson Unified School District and partnerships with food security initiatives like Feeding America affiliates and local food systems networks including Slow Food Tucson. Community seed libraries and exchange events echo models from Biblioteca de Semillas initiatives and urban agriculture projects in cities like Phoenix, Albuquerque, Los Angeles, and San Diego.

Organizational Structure and Funding

The nonprofit operates with a board of directors, staff scientists, seed technicians, and volunteers similar in governance structure to Natural Resources Defense Council affiliates. Funding sources combine memberships, donations, foundation grants, and earned income from seed sales and workshops, resembling revenue models used by The Nature Conservancy chapters and botanical organizations like Missouri Botanical Garden. Financial oversight follows nonprofit reporting practices aligned with guidance from Independent Sector and compliance comparable to Internal Revenue Service 501(c)(3) regulations.

Impact and Recognition

Impact includes preservation of dozens of regional landraces, influence on seed sovereignty conversations within Indigenous advocacy spaces such as First Nations Development Institute and recognition by conservation networks like Botanic Gardens Conservation International. The organization’s work has informed academic publications, policy dialogues referencing Convention on Biological Diversity and inspired exhibitions at institutions including Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and American Museum of Natural History. Awards and acknowledgments have paralleled honors given by entities like National Endowment for the Humanities and regional conservation prizes.

Category:Seed banks Category:Non-profit organizations based in Arizona