Community Seed Banks: Saving Local Provenance Genetics
Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc is supporting community seed banks to collect, store, and share locally sourced seed for revegetation projects. This approach helps landholders and community groups restore native vegetation using seed adapted to local conditions, improving survival rates and strengthening long-term landscape resilience.
Capacity building - LEP23_036_RASO10_3
The issue
Many revegetation projects rely on seed sourced from outside the region, which can reduce plant survival and weaken local biodiversity outcomes. In dry and variable conditions, there is also a need to secure seed supply for future planting programs. Community knowledge and local genetic diversity can be lost when seed is not collected and stored systematically.
The solution
Murrumbidgee Landcare Inc is helping build a community seed bank approach that brings together volunteers, landholders, and local nurseries to collect seed from region-specific native plants. Seed is cleaned, stored, and shared for priority planting sites, ensuring provenance is matched to each project. This creates a practical local supply chain for restoration work.
The impact
The seed banks support better-adapted plantings, stronger germination, and more reliable revegetation outcomes. It also builds local skills in seed collection and storage, increases community participation, and helps protect native genetics for future recovery work. Over time, this strengthens biodiversity, resilience, and the capacity to respond to drought and disturbance.
Key facts
- • Local provenance seed improves suitability for site conditions.
- • Seed banks support nurseries and revegetation programs.
- • Volunteer collection builds community ownership.
- • Stored seed provides a future resource for restoration and recovery.