We set out on an Overland Track expedition to help the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. We achieved the urgent goal of mapping and collecting seeds from the montane species of endemic, vulnerable and threatened native conifers.
About the Project
Our partnership with the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens will achieve the urgent goal of mapping and collecting the seeds of vulnerable and threatened species along Tasmania's Overland Track.
Behind the scenes at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens lies the Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre. Seed banking is a conservation measure that provides additional insurance against the extinction of many species in the wild. It was opened in 2005 as part of international Millennium Seed Bank Project.
The Issue
There are more than 400 threatened plant species in Tasmanian alone. With increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and threats by fire, seed mapping and collecting is now more than ever an important conservation strategy. Many of the species are in remote places, difficult to access and requiring significant resource to undertake collections.
The Solution
The Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens plays an important role in protecting these species through seed collections, ongoing germination testing and through growing them in the living collections. Our partnership with the R.T.B.G will ensure that Tasmania’s rare and threatened species are protected into the future.
In April 2020, James Woods of the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens and Justin Dyer of Tasmanian Walking Company set out on a conservation expedition to achieve the urgent goal of mapping and collecting genetically diverse seeds from the conifers most at risk in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.
The seeds of the pencil pine can live a thousand years, but the ancient tree bears its seed cones only sporadically. This rare event, known as "masting", last took place in 2015.
The Impact
- 300 hectares of land was covered. 8,000 viable seeds were collected from 46 stands of Montane Conifer trees.
- The Centre has collected 57% of Tasmania’s rare and threatened species.
Find out More
- Visit CNN Travel - On the hunt for rare seeds in the middle of a pandemic
- Visit ABC News - Two botanists went on a race against time
- Visit The Guardian - Seed of Hope
100% of your donations go directly to our projects. All administrative costs are paid for by the Tasmanian Walking Company and Australian Walking Company.
