Kay Baxter realised something a few decades ago that others were overlooking.

The major industrialisation of our agricultural systems meant that we were losing the diversity of our vegetables, fruits and flowers.

Many varieties were discarded and what remained was mostly hybridised.

Rather than sit back and watch it all be lost, Kay consciously did something about it. That journey has now become legendary.

Once Kay began taking cuttings from heirloom trees and saving vegetable and flower seeds, and when she began talking about what she was doing, gardeners from all over New Zealand began bringing and sending seed to her.

Seed of course, is not like money. You can't just put it in a bank. Seeds have to be grown out and saved again and again. From Koanga Gardens, Kay set up a network of people who would continue to save the seeds. With the support of many New Zealand gardeners, hundreds of heirloom seeds have been saved.

We owe so much to Kay for her vision, tenacity and determination.

Kay has moved away from the Kohatu Toa Eco Village in Kaiwaka (on the land up behind the Koanga Gardens shop), but she remains as Director of the Koanga Institute and she is in close touch with us, still guiding and advising us.

She returns to Koanga Gardens to run workshops several times each year.

Kays valuable work continues. She and her family now live in the Eastern Bay of Plenty where she continues to focus on gardening and writing, as well as running workshops and also overseeing the growing of seed for the Koanga Institute.