A pioneering figure in Decorah-area seed preservation has received a national sustainability honor. Diane Ott Whealy, co-founder of Seed Savers Exchange, accepted the 2026 GardenComm Green Medal Sustainability Award on Saturday, August 29, during GardenComm’s annual awards and honors ceremony in Portland, Oregon.
The award recognizes individuals and organizations committed to the “wise and respectful care of the Earth” and to sustainable and regenerative practices. Whealy was honored for more than 50 years of leadership protecting endangered garden varieties, preserving the stories connected to those seeds and building a community focused on agricultural biodiversity.
A legacy rooted in family seeds
Seed Savers Exchange began with two varieties passed down through Whealy’s family: the ‘German Pink’ tomato and ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ morning glory. Her grandfather, Baptist John Ott, entrusted the seeds to Diane and Kent Whealy. Their parents had brought the varieties to Iowa from Bavaria in 1884.
Whealy and Kent founded Seed Savers Exchange in 1975 after recognizing that seeds—and the family histories attached to them—could disappear without active preservation and sharing. The organization’s first exchange list connected 29 gardeners interested in trading heirloom varieties.
Today, Seed Savers Exchange stewards more than 20,000 varieties at its Heritage Farm headquarters near Decorah. The site is home to the nation’s largest nongovernmental seed bank of its kind. Through The Exchange, the organization also connects hundreds of seed stewards who offer thousands of varieties through its gardener-to-gardener sharing network.
Whealy remains active at Heritage Farm
Although Whealy retired from Seed Savers Exchange in 2015, she remains involved as a member of the organization’s board of directors. Each year, she also plans, plants and tends Diane’s Garden at Heritage Farm, where visitors can see the beauty, history and diversity preserved through heirloom seeds.
The two varieties that inspired the organization’s founding continue to grow at Heritage Farm more than five decades later. Seed Savers Exchange describes the ‘German Pink’ tomato and ‘Grandpa Ott’s’ morning glory as living symbols of Whealy’s belief that seeds connect generations and depend on people willing to grow and share them.
“The evening was a powerful reminder that Diane’s legacy extends far beyond Seed Savers Exchange,” said Mike Bollinger, executive director of Seed Savers Exchange. He said people approached Whealy after the ceremony to share how she had influenced their lives and work, adding that conserving seed diversity depends on relationships and community.
Seed Savers Exchange is a nonprofit organization based in Decorah, Iowa. Since 1975, it has worked with gardeners and seed stewards to preserve, share and celebrate culturally diverse but endangered garden and food crop heritage for future generations. More information about Whealy and the organization is available at seedsavers.org.