The mission of the Social Ecology Education and Demonstration School (SEEDS - Tax ID#20-4740965) is to develop and offer educational experiences that enhance people’s abilities to knowledgeably and creatively address the interwoven social and ecological crisis of our time. Through an intensive and interdisciplinary study, students are assisted in gaining a rounded and critical understanding of current approaches to social and ecological reconstruction. Students are provided opportunities to test various reconstructive strategies by means of individually designed practicums.

The purpose of SEEDS programs is to prepare students for roles as agents for positive change in their home communities and as members of a global community. SEEDS is located on Vashon Island, Washington, USA. SEEDS is a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit organization and all contributions are tax deductible to the full extent the law allows.

Much of the wisdom guiding SEEDS formation came from members of The Institute for Social Ecology (ISE). For over 30 years, from the antinuclear and ecology movements to the current one against pervasive militarism and the bleak side of globalization, the ISE has inspired individuals involved in social change to work toward a humane, ecological, and liberatory society. More than 3,000 students from around the globe—from Liberia to the Philippines, Italy to Iran, Norway to Uruguay, Israel to Ethiopia, the United States to Japan, and many more—have attended the ISE in order to not only remake themselves but remake society as well.

Two of SEEDS founding board members, Bob Spivey and Beverly Naidus, have taught at the ISE for ten years, and four ISE faculty, co-founder Dan Chodorkoff, Chaia Heller, Brian Tokar, and Grace Gershuny, are assisting with the development of SEEDS and are potential faculty for SEEDS as well. SEEDS founding board members also include Patricia Birgen-Redwolf, Lisa Mathias, and Jeff Mathias.

Beginning July 2007, SEEDS faculty began offering residential courses in Social Ecology, Community Development, Healing the Health Care System, Labor and Globalization, Organic Agriculture and Food Security, Alternative Energy and Eco-technology, and Eco-feminism, as well as shorter workshops and presentations by faculty and guest speakers on Engaged Spirituality, Dismantling Institutional Racism, and Organizing Principles and Strategies.

The Social Ecology Education & Demonstration School is currently in the process of securing demonstration, education, and lodging space on 10 acres of ecologically diverse land with organic gardens and mixed forest.