Arian // President

Arian is the founder of Canberra Seed Savers, starting her seed saving journey in 2016 with a box of seeds donated by a local gardener, and a copy of the Seed Savers Handbook. Arian first started seed saving to save money after she almost went broke buying fancy varieties of tomatoes and beans from seed catalogues but her passion for seed saving really developed through learning more about corporate and capitalist threats to community seed sovereignty and the loss of biodiversity from the industrialisation of our food – and seed – systems. Arian has been President of Canberra Seed Savers since 2019 and loves trying to infect everyone she meets with seed mania. 

Cathy/Rad // Secretary

Hey I’m Cathy but most people call me Rad. I take after my grandpa who was a farmer, and have always grown my own food. I joined Canberra Seed Savers about 5 or 6 years ago, and have been on the board as Secretary since 2024. I love all the wonderful seedy people I have met! My favourite things to do are market stalls and events, where we get to teach and learn about saving, propagation and growing food for the people in our region. I look forward to meeting you lovely people at future events. If you see the CSS stall with our logo, come on over and say gidday.

Thea // Board Member

Thea loves growing vegetables and natives in her suburban Macquarie backyard with her young family. She has been an active member of Canberra Seed Savers for 8 years and a board member for 5 years. Thea LOVES tomatoes, growing and saving seed from over 20 varieties a year – some of her favourites include Donkey Balls, Cherokee Purple, Yellow Pear and many types of dwarf tomatoes. She also is co-coordinator of the Dwarf Tomato Program and Native Seed Group. 

Minde // Board Member

Minde grew up in the USA, but Canberra has been her home for almost twenty years. She’s been gardening for the past five years, and has been with the CSS for just as long (first as a member, then volunteer, and now board member since 2025). Her role on the board is a bit of everything, with a focus on organising bespoke seed saving workshops for local Canberra communities. She’s only been able to successfully grow an eggplant once, and has been chasing the feeling ever since.

Joh // Board Member

Joh joined CSS in 2022, and the board not long after. Joh is totally addicted to seed saving! Her fav activities are the Dwarf Tomato Project and the Community Seedling Program. Joh co-leads the Living Seed Bank Team, has an interest in making gardening accessible for everyone and is a self-confessed seed nerd who has an interest in admin and collecting seedy data. Just ask her about her spreadsheets!

Belinda // Treasurer

Belinda is a plant-lover and bookkeeper specialising in environmental non-profit organisations in Canberra and surrounds. Belinda joined the CSS board as Treasurer in 2023, and keeps all the numbers in order. She loves growing things from seed and the interesting variety of food you can grow yourself that’s not available to buy! When she’s not crunching numbers, Belinda enjoys the mindfulness of gardening and being outside, connected to nature.