SeedsCo was started in 2005 by Tanis Gieselman, as she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology at Okanagan University College (OUC). She had gained a new appreciation for how important and endangered Okanagan ecosystems are, and was inspired by a poster hanging near the Biology lab to study seed-saving technologies to help reduce the loss of biodiversity in Okanagan grasslands.

Tanis went on to complete a Master of Science at UBC in Vancouver, investigating how different types of human development impact the remaining Okanagan grassland plant communities along their edges. This work was published in the journal Biological Conservation in 2013. Five years after she first saw this poster, she was fortunate to receive a BRITE Internship through the Beaty Biodiversity Research Centre to study seed archiving techniques from the international leaders in seed research at the Millennium Seed Bank in England (featured on the poster).  With this solid foundation of knowledge, Tanis finally began piloting her conservation initiative with local developers in 2013, salvaging native seed from over 1,000 acres of developing land each season, and studying how to cultivate native grassland plants for restoration. In 2021, the focus expanded from salvaging seeds and plants from developing areas, to growing collections out for conservation and restoration projects. She looks forward to working with local partners to improve community access to native plants and seeds, and prevent the loss of local biodiversity.