Building a seed bank for the capital

More than 70 per cent of Australia's 'bush' capital was blackened by bushfires in 2003. This natural disaster created a desire in the Canberra community to recover the Territory's flora and fauna through a 'seed bank' for native plants.

The conservation quest is to restore the bare, ashen ground and provide food and habitat for native birds, animals and insects. The ultimate aim is to increase the availability and diversity of local native seed for the ACT region's future needs.

Already, 4,000 plants have been planted using the seed bank and 50 kilograms of seed collected.

Project manager Ben Cavuoto of Greening Australia predicts that over the next 15 to 20 years, the seed bank will help retain a minimum of 30 per cent of the pre-European extent of each ACT vegetation community. The bank will also ensure that threatened and endangered flora such as the Button Wrinkle Wort and the Blue Devil is protected in the future.

Funding

More than 130 Canberrans have invested in this bank, donning gardening gloves for Greening Australia's Seeds for Survival project, funded with $635,000 from the Australian Government's Natural Heritage Trust and in-kind contribution from the ACT Government.

Activities

"All of the action focuses on seed collection, mapping, testing, storing and eventually propagating seeds and planting the seedlings," Ben said. "We already have a niche nursery through the local Billabong Aboriginal Corporation in Holt.

To date, 100 vegetation sites have been located for seed collecting, including the Murrumbidgee River Corridor and Canberra Nature Park. A further 20 hectares of new seed production area has been identified and Yarralumla Nursery has entered into the partnership, offering to help plant understorey shrubs. The Australian National Botanic Gardens has also donated about 80 per cent of its nursery space for use by the project.

Achievements

Ben said about 100 different species are represented in the seed collected so far. Fifty rural landowners have allowed access to their properties and are also helping to collect seed. The seed collection process also is being supported by the National Botanic Gardens and CSIRO.

While native seed "orchards" will take some time to develop, demand for local native seed is increasing. Regular orders are coming from nurseries, Landcare groups and revegetation companies. Reflecting the impact of the drought, orders for many species currently outstrip supply and include many requests for harder to collect provenance species (local to the area).

More information

1. Ben Cavuoto, Greening Australia (Capital Region): (02) 6253 3035 or bcavuoto@act.greeningaustralia.org.au

Australian Government NRM Team
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601 Australia
1800 552 008 (toll-free)

DEWHA  | DAFF  | Australian Government  | NAP  | NHT 
NRM, NHT and NAP are jointly administered by the Australian Government departments of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts