Australia

Victoria

The Millennium Seed Bank Project has two collaborating partners in the State of Victoria. The National Herbarium of Victoria is part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and is home to the newly established Victorian Conservation Seedbank.

Here, the seed conservation team work closely with their counterpart field teams from the Department of Sustainability and Environment.

This close collaboration ensures that seed collections and improved seed management protocols are readily available to support the various species and habitat management plans underway in the State.

The Project addresses both the ex-situ and in-situ conservation of Victorian species and ecological communities.  The Project Purpose will be addressed through the delivery of the following three Project outputs:

Jeff Jeanes in the field at Anglsea, July2006 (Photo: N. Walsh)

1. Establishment of a facility to maintain a secure, vouchered, long-term seed collection of Victorian threatened and otherwise significant plant species that is available and utilised for recovery activities,
2. Increased knowledge and capacity to collect and conserve seed within staff of Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne and Department Sustainability and Environment,
3. Bringing about an understanding within government and the broader community of the critical role of seed collections in an integrated approach to species and community conservation and restoration.

Neville Walsh collecting Kelleria laxa fruit with Dustbuster: Bogong High Plains, April 2006 (Photo: Jeff Jeanes)

The Victorian Conservation Seedbank has a particular focus on the State threatened flora.  In Australian terms, Victoria has a modest flora with some 3200 vascular plants listed for the State. Nevertheless, some 700 are listed as being under threat of extinction. The Victorian Conservation Seedbank will collect 450 species new to the Millennium Seed Bank over the four year life of the partnership and make a valuable contribution to the conservation targets for the State.