Eco
Sourcing
Plants.
Nature’s own ecosystem is the most sustainable process that exists. So, restoring our environment means listening to what every piece of land needs - because it knows what works best.
Eco-sourced plants are those which are grown from seeds collected from naturally-occurring vegetation in a locality close to where they are replanted as part of a native planting project.
Collecting seeds and spores from naturally-occurring vegetation close to where they are to be planted is an important part of a restoration project. It means the plants will be suited to local conditions and more likely to survive. By using eco-sourced native plants you will also help maintain the area's unique local characteristics. Eco-sourcing will avoid the risk of planting species which are not native to the local area and which could become invasive.
Growing from seed rather than cuttings ensures wider genetic diversity as cuttings can be all exactly the same as the plant the cutting was taken from. This genetic diversity is especially important with longer-lived trees.
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Sourcing
Seed is ready to collect when it is ripe. This varies from plant to plant, but seed will either fall or change colour. The time it takes for seed to ripen depends on the plant, locality and the year. For any given species of plant, seed ripeness can vary by one or two months from year to year, so we often need to check plants several times over the period when seed fall is expected.
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Locations
All our seed collectors avoid collecting from areas that have been planted or where there is likely to be possible cross-pollination from nearby garden plants. We collect a lot of seed from along forest margins where more flowers and seed are produced, or along roadsides, tracks and stream edges.
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Collection
We collect a little seed off a lot of plants of the same species – this ensures a broader range of genetic material. Our seed collectors do not collect all the seed from a single plant – some seed is always left on the plant for natural regeneration. Our seed collectors only pick seed from sound, healthy species.
