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Banking on seeds for bushfire recovery

Insuring against future loss

The Australian Seed Bank Partnership and its collaborators including the ANPC undertook this project to limit the decline of 25 Australian plant species from areas affected by the 2019-2020 bushfires. These species are in multiple states, with fire affected areas in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

The project ‘Banking on seeds for bushfire recovery’ included extensive activities in seed collection, propagation, reintroductions, germination trials and rapid flora assessments. There was a focus on ex situ conservation by banking seeds and improving genetic diversity in Australian seed bank collections.

Project activities

To communicate the findings of the project to a wide audience, the ANPC prepared various communication materials. These materials included a slideshow video, case study articles for the Spring and Summer 2021 Australasian Plant Conservation bulletins, social media posts and fact sheets on 6 species conserved through the project.

The fact sheets provide a 2-page overview of each species and detail the conservation measures undertaken by the partners through this project. The 6 species chosen for the fact sheets were:

  • Olearia flocktoniae (Dorrigo daisy bush)
  • Stylidium tepperianum (Kangaroo Island trigger plant)
  • Westringia lucida (Shining Westringia)
  • Callistemon forresterae (Forrester’s bottlebrush)
  • Darwinia squarrosa (Pink mountain bell)
  • Velleia perfoliata

You can download the fact sheets and learn more about the project here.

Watch the slideshow here.

Collaborators

This project was made possible by the commitment of our partner organisations:

The Australian Seed Bank Partnership

The Australian PlantBank, The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan, The Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust

National Seed Bank, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Australian Capital Territory

South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium, South Australia

The Victorian Conservation Seedbank, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

The Western Australian Seed Centre, Kensington, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

Funding

Funding for this project was received through a grant under Tranche 2 of the Australian Government’s Bushfire Recovery for Wildlife and Habitat Community Grants Program.