Executive Director Lee Buttala recently traveled to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to deliver our annual deposit of rare varieties and to participate in commemorating the Seed Vault’s 10th anniversary. Lee says the importance of working together became even more clear to him on this trip, as did the unique role that Seed Savers Exchange plays in the international consortium of depositors into this otherworldly storage facility north of the Arctic Circle.

The entrance to Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which tunnels 500 feet into a mountain in Spitsbergen, part of Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, is a mere 800 miles from the North Pole.

The final leg on an international journey, seeds from all over the world are screened at the Svalbard airport and transported by NordGen (Nordic Genetic Resource Centre), a Nordic institute dedicated to the safeguarding and sustainable use of plants, farm animals and forest genetic resources. The Centre is responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of Svalbard.

Pallets of seed boxes are ushered through Svalbard’s entrance.

The boxes will be placed in long-term storage at temperatures of -17 degrees Celsius. This beyond chilling temperature ensures the seeds—and their unique germplasm—are adequately protected for the future.

Over the last 10 years, over one million accessions have been deposited at Svalbard. Each accession contains unique genetic material and is a vital part of the biodiversity of our food system.

SSE Executive Director Lee Buttala pours a sample of seeds into a glass cylinder during the Foundation Stone Ceremony, part of the Svalbard’s 10th anniversary celebration. The cylinder will be display inside the entrance to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault to symbolize the collective work of countries from every inhabited continent working together to ensure the safety of our food supply.

Representatives from countries across the world attended the ceremony and celebration.

Photos: Courtesy of NordGen

While the depository has been referred to by the media as the “Doomsday Vault,” Lee said his time there— sitting side by side with representatives from Brazil and Italy, Morocco and Australia—showed him what a misnomer this term was. No one was planning for the apocalypse; they were doing what sensible people have done throughout time—saving seeds and caring for them in the best manner possible. The vault is not there for the end of the world, but rather as a backup for the hard work that these seed bank managers, farmers, and scientists from around the globe have been doing for years.

The long-term stewardship of the varieties that we all cherish is at the center of Seed Savers Exchange’s mission.

Sharing seeds with gardeners and farmers is one of the ways SSE of keeps these adaptable seeds in the world. Storing them in our seed bank and growing them out to regenerate them at our Heritage Farm headquarters in Iowa is another. The deposits made at Svalbard, however, provide an added layer of insurance that these varieties are there for the future

All three of these facets have moved our work forward, work made possible thanks to charitable donations from people like you who care about heirloom seeds