Seeds of Scotland undertook two successful pieces of work during 2025, as a result of funding support from The Pebble Trust.
Seeds of Scotland is the result of vision and hard work of founders Haley and Finlay who are:
‘Growing vegetable, herb and flower seeds in Scotland using organic farming practices. We are particularly interested in growing Scottish heritage varieties as well as varieties that will grow well in the Scottish climate. We strive to pay respect to the historical and cultural significance of each seed we sow and the stories they tell.’
This is an approach that fits very comfortably with The Pebble Trust vision for ‘a more sustainable, fair, and low-carbon society, where constraints on fossil fuels lead to a more localised economy with stronger, more resilient communities.’
Shea harvesting marigold seeds with a vacuum cleaner
The Pebble Trust was therefore pleased to be able to support their application for funding towards hosting an intern, and that the recruitment of Shea Bonilla-Allard worked out well for both Shea and Seeds of Scotland. You can see Shea’s report on the intern section of this website.
As a result of feedback from funding this post the Pebble Trust now takes applications for intern funding support throughout the year, so that staff can be in place when the work needs to be done.
Seeds of Scotland submitted a further wizard idea to The Pebble Trust, in this case to enable them to purchase plans for a Winnow Wizard, and pay for expert Adam Veitch to adapt and improve the plans and add a UK parts list. Adam and Finlay have now built a prototype, which was taken to a
Seed Sovereignty Seed Gathering in Wales where it attracted much interest.
The winnow has already been put to use fine-cleaning some of this year’s seed crops and Haley and Finlay are looking forward to making fuller use of the machine in the coming year, when the Winnow Wizard will also travel to the Scottish Seed Sovereignty Seed Gathering.
Plans to build your own Winnow Wizard are now published, and with enquiries already coming in, it looks as though they will be popular. Follow this link to download a copy.
Winnow Wizard Set up at Seeds of Scotland
Adam and the nearly completed Winnow Wizard