Australia

New South Wales

Launched in 2003 as “SEEDQUEST NSW”, the seed collection program for New South Wales has enabled a dramatic acceleration of the State’s seed collection programme based from the NSW Seedbank in the Mt. Annan Botanic Gardens, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney and Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew have enjoyed historic links in botanical and horticultural research since Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney was established in 1816. More recently, these have included:

• the posting at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew of many Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney botanists as Australian Botanical Liaison Officers;
• joint work on the development of the “Common Policy Guidelines” for international exchange of genetic material and benefit-sharing in accordance with the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (“CBD”);
• the receipt by Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew of the first seed and living plant material of the Wollemi Pine outside New South Wales (NSW);
• many successful collaborations between individual scientists at the two institutions.

Members of the "SEEDQUEST NSW" TEAM in the Blue Mountains, March 2006

With the establishment of the New South Wales Seed Bank (“NSW Seed Bank”) at their Mount Annan Botanic Garden in 1987, RBG & DT, Sydney began to undertake seed collection and conservation activities.  The NSW Seed Bank provides the capacity for the collection and long-term storage of seed, with a special focus on species listed under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995.

The Project addresses both the ex-situ and the in-situ conservation of NSW species and ecological communities. There are three key aims for the delivery of the project:
 

Wollemia nobilis female cone

• An increase in the number of long term seed collections of priority NSW species held and available;
• Capacity building within Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, including a review of current methods of ex-situ seed conservation and the adoption of improved methods, where necessary;
• The strengthening of recovery planning for threatened species and ecological communities.

Fruit and Seed Morphology Workshop, Mt Annan Botanic Gardens, March 2006

Of the 5,982 vascular plant species recorded for the state, 770 are listed as being under threat of extinction. There are 1,196 endemic species listed in the NSW flora. The SeedQuest NSW will collect 1280 species new to the Millennium Seed Bank over the six year life of the partnership.

The NSW seedbank has a strong research team which complements the seed collections with novel information on how to germinate seeds for growing the conserved plants on in the wild.