Seed Orchards
By growing a nationwide network of native plant seed producers, we can help close a critical shortfall by supplying more plants to restore Canada’s degraded ecosystems.
© Jesse Wyatt, compliments of SpruceLab Inc.
Strategically growing the native plant supply
Seed orchards are the solution to a problem many people aren’t aware we have — a serious shortage of native plants in Canada. Major ecosystem restoration work is underway across the country, but all of it is dependent on having a big enough supply of plants that are local to the restoration sites.
These plants not only form the foundation of healthy landscapes and provide food and shelter for a host of creatures, they’re also resilient and beautiful, and they sequester carbon from the atmosphere, too.
But to achieve our goal of creating the conditions to restore one million hectares of habitat, we need millions, even billions, more native plants than are currently available.
Seed orchards address this issue. After harvesting a limited number of wild seeds, to not disrupt wild populations and habitats, we then grow them with the goal of producing more seeds. No two seed orchards look the same or operate at the same scale, but each is established and managed using the best available science and traditional knowledge.
© Ryan Godfrey
What WWF-Canada is doing
Since 2020, WWF-Canada has provided more than $1 million in seed orchard grants to more than 25 native plant nurseries, First Nations, and conservation NGOs to help them grow, harvest and distribute seeds. These grants also support training and internships for the next generation of seed collectors.
With our support, partners have planted new seed orchards across 7.5 hectares, harvested more than 75 kilograms of seeds from 225 native plant species, and created 18 new seed collector jobs.
WWF-Canada also provides technical and scientific expertise to regional and national seed shortage working groups, including the Southern Ontario Seed Strategy, Ontario Native Plant Growers Association and Native Seed Producers of Canada.
We’re also empowering individuals to be part of the solution by growing their own seed gardens that can acts as micro seed orchards for their neighbourhood. Free resources are available through our re:grow program to learn how to grow native plants and harvest and share their seeds to increase your local area’s native plant supply. Since 2023, more than 800 people have received locally grown native plant seed thanks to re:grow participants.
WWF-Canada’s seed orchard program is supported by The Barrett Family Foundation.
