In a world challenged by more frequent natural disasters, the need for collecting and saving native seeds grows more important every day. Collecting native seeds is important for restoring ecosystems, supporting local wildlife, creating resilient landscapes and promoting biodiversity. By using locally adapted or “ecotypic” plants, we ensure successful restoration, provide crucial food and habitat for native pollinators and animals and help mitigate environmental challenges like drought.

Hundreds of seeds are generated by plants within a natural system every year and are then dispersed by wind, water and animal activity. Some of those seeds grow in the next season and some get buried and lay dormant, waiting for their preferred growing conditions. In biology the natural storage of dormant seeds within the soil of an ecosystem is called the soil seed bank. These seeds can be anywhere from one to 100 years old, depending on the species and the conditions of the land. Within a preserved piece of land, all the seeds that the ecosystem would need to be restored are already there, should it need to. However, when land is cultivated, developed or faced with natural disasters, the soil seed bank is disrupted. Those native seeds that accumulated naturally over years and years are damaged or removed. Sometimes they are even replaced by the seeds of invasive species!

To try to solve the issue of soil seed bank disruption, many countries have begun creating facilities called seed banks or seed vaults. In them, seeds of all kinds are stored to preserve biodiversity. These facilities, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway or the Millennium Seed Bank in the UK, store seeds from around the world to protect them from extinction caused by factors like climate change, disease or natural disasters. They act as a crucial resource for future research and crop development, ensuring food security and biodiversity. The main seed vault in the U.S. is the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado. It houses an extensive collection for U.S. agricultural purposes and is sometimes referred to as a “doomsday vault”. There are also many other, smaller regional seed banks across the U.S., including tribal ones, dedicated to preserving local or native plant diversity.

Our native meadows and forests serve many purposes. They sequester carbon in their roots, they move water down through the soil and into aquifers so that we have clean water to drink and they provide habitat for wildlife. Without our native ecosystems we wouldn’t have our pollinators, and without pollinators we wouldn’t be able to grow food. Preserving seeds, not just fruits and vegetables, is essential for making sure we can have food and clean water today and in the future.

Increasing the native seed population is important for every community and we, at the Land Alliance, are trying to do our part.

This year over 6,000 plants were grown from seed at the Wawapek Greenhouse.

Those plants range from native wildflowers and grasses for habitat restorations on our preserves, to vegetables and herbs for the Roosevelt Community Garden.
22 species of wildflowers and native grasses were propagated this season. 14 of those species were collected from Land Alliance preserves. The remaining seven seed species were donated. Now that they have been grown and planted, they can be harvested for future growing seasons as well.

Here’s where our seeds were sown this year.
1200 vegetables and herb plants went to the Roosevelt Community Garden
1272 plugs went into the Humes Meadow where invasive mugwort was removed
150 plants were used in the refurbished pollinator gardens at Wawapek
350 plants were used for our headquarters at the Tavern House (so far)
75 were planted in the woodland garden at Humes
50 plants went to the John P. Humes Japanese Stroll Garden

We also donated plants to public libraries, newly established community gardens and a local elementary school. We will be happy to share with others as our production abilities grow.