Grow West has recently received corporate sponsorship from Computershare eTree to establish the Werribee Catchment eTree Seed Bank. In partnership with Seeding Victoria, the Seed Bank will provide an indigenous seed supply service for revegetation projects on both private and public land within the Werribee Catchment.
Landcare groups, landholders and large scale revegetation projects like Grow West will be able to purchase locally collected indigenous seed for their projects and know that it has been collected ethically, cleaned, tested and stored to strict guidelines set out by Seeding Victoria.
The Grow West project aims to rejuvenate 10,000 hectares of the upper Werribee Catchment over a 30 year period, which equates to over five million trees, shrubs and grassed being established through direct seeding or hand planting.
“Sourcing good quality indigenous seed has always been a real challenge for large scale revegetation projects such as ours”, says Tim Bloomfield, Grow West Coordinator.
“Having an indigenous seed supply for the next 3-4 years for direct seeding and propagation will assist us to plan projects well in advance, especially for direct seeding sites,“ says Tim.
Direct seeding of indigenous species can consume one kilogram of seed per hectare. Using this method can reduce site preparation works and associated costs by half, compared with the traditional method of planting tube stock. There are areas where a direct seeding machine can not access or it’s too steep or rocky, so traditional planting methods are used.
“The Werribee Catchment eTree Seed Bank will provide employment opportunity for professional seed collectors and hobbyist to collect indigenous seed and sell it to the Seed Bank.”
Opening the market to a large range of collectors will assist in obtaining a greater genetic diversity; where otherwise it may have been limited to accessing only a small number of remnants, year after year, which adds more pressure to those populations.
A coordinated approach to indigenous seed within the Werribee Catchment will ensure that the seed needs of individual groups and organizations are identified to ensure the Werribee Catchment eTree Seed Bank can fulfill their requirements. For further information about the Werribee Catchment eTree Seed Bank visit www.seedbank.com.au or call Seeding Victoria on ph: 5345 2200.
For further information about this article please contact Grow West Coordinator, Tim Bloomfield ph: 9218 5615
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