Learn about the history, work and latest projects of Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) from co-founder Diane Ott Whealy. SSE was founded in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, with the mission to save and share the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage. Their collection started when Diane’s terminally-ill grandfather gave them the seeds of two garden plants, which his parents had brought from Bavaria when they immigrated to St. Lucas, Iowa in the 1870s. Today that mission is carried forward by our members, who have distributed hundreds of thousands of heirloom garden seeds. In Decorah, Iowa and around the world, seed savers engage in courageous acts of preservation to pass on the legacy of genetic and cultural diversity to future generations.