Seed Circle Lochaber is a community-led research project that explores how a locally organised seed-saving network can strengthen food resilience, food cultures, biodiversity, and community wellbeing in Lochaber. It will involve food growers of every scale, from people who grow herbs and vegetables on a windowsill to crofters, small producers, and community food-growing projects.

The project will map the use of open-pollinated seed within the local food system, gather stories and traditional knowledge related to food growing in the region, and run a pilot Seed Circle that supports people in growing, saving, and sharing locally adapted food seeds. Using participatory research methods, the project will record the practical, cultural and environmental benefits of food seed saving, identify the barriers faced by new community food growers and assess how food seed diversity can be strengthened in Lochaber.

By working with Scottish seed initiatives and Seed Sovereignty Scotland, the project will generate new knowledge, practical resources and a tested model that can be expanded locally or adapted by other communities seeking to build resilient food systems.