OUR MISSION

The Grey Bruce Native Seed Bank is a nonprofit social enterprise that exists to provide a large seed bank composed of local, sustainably collected source-identified and truly-wild adapted seed from Grey and Bruce Counties. Producing large quantities of seed from within 150 km will serve to fulfill supply and demand for large restoration projects in this area.

 

The seed bank may be used by conservation authorities, municipalities, and ecosystem restoration consulting companies to name a few. The large seed holding will be capable of restoring large restoration areas, (i.e. roadsides, gravel pits, conservation authority and private landowner restoration sites of many acres).

 

Botanical knowledge of the Grey and Bruce areas combined with scientific practices will serve to raise credibility as a ‘truly wild adapted’ seed mix. The species raised will be of known provenance, from archived populations. The seed is to be collected from wild stock, grown up from seed orchards, hand collected or with agricultural equipment as is best practice, species dependent. The Seed Bank will contain several mixes of seed for different Grey Bruce ecotypes (wet, dry, pollinator specific, forage, alvar, specialist mixes, as well as short grass prairie mixes). The project will maintain local adaptation and genetic diversity using scaling up techniques with a goal of continuing to improve seed strategy practices in Southern Ontario.

 

We are working and living in Grey-Bruce on the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee, Ojibway/Chippewa and Anishnabek and as such are interested in partnerships and initiatives that may assist with the goals of truth and reconciliation in this territory.