On the 24th of July, the HC team joined forces with the Lotterywest Native Seed and Technology (NASTI) hub to deliver a workshop on the production of native seed for ecological restoration. Organised by PhD student Hugh Coppell, the day saw eight presentations from people with experience in the field of native seed production followed by a small activity to capture the thoughts of attendees.
Proceedings were opened with the Welcome to Country, delivered by Heidi Mippy. Dr Simone Pedrini, leader of the NASTI hub, then presented on the role of seed production within the seed supply chain and the history of the European Native Seed Producers Association. A highlight of the day was the presentation by Dr Paul Gibson-Roy, who had come all the way from Sydney, to speak about his experiences with native seed production, both in the eastern states of Australia and the US. His talk was rich with information about every element of native seed production, including insights that could be translated to the WA context very neatly.
We also heard from Dave Collins, of Noongar Land Enterprise Group, about the state of seed availability in the Wheatbelt, given the context of ongoing land clearing. While sobering, his talk helped frame the importance of looking to native seed production to meet future demand from ecological restoration activities. Dr Dave Willyams then showed us the work he had undertaken during his career, with emphasis on the lessons he has learned along the way. His presentation included discussion of the ways in which he implemented seed production at a nursery bench scale, something which may be of interest to partner organisations looking to get involved.
Dr Todd Erickson, of HC partner Biologic Group, talked through his development of Triodia seed production with another HC partner, BHP. His willingness to share his learnings from this process was inspiring, as it was clear there were many pitfalls that had to be navigated on the path to development. After lunch, Dr Peter Golos of Kings Park Science, spoke of his surprise at the success of a very ex-situ seed production area as he grew grasses for the Kimberley for an ambitious restoration project. This facility sounds like it will certainly aid with developing our knowledge of the agronomic responses of these grasses.
The talks then briefly jumped online, as Dr Melinda Pickup of Greening Australia joined us virtually to talk about the question of managing genetics in a seed production context. Her recent publication on pollination in seed production areas is essential reading for anyone looking to get into the space. Finally, Hugh Coppell presented on his experiences participating in a field trip to explore seed production areas in Europe. It was clear that, while the scale of their seed market is larger, there is a lot that can be learned for the Australian context.
Thanks to the Curtin team at 137 St Georges Terrace for helping make this event so successful. It was clear that participants had a wonderful time, and we hope that many of these discussions will translate to action on the ground!
