Optimising the conservation of remnants and regrowth requires us to also reconstruct linkages – but where will the seed come from?

Tickets can be purchased here.

Why we are getting together.

Whether you’re involved in planting 20 trees in a fragmented urban remnant or 2 million for a biodiversity offset, having access to a sufficient quantity of high-quality seed, from a broad range of species, is essential for restoring ecosystems that are healthy and resilient over the long-term.

Given development pressures, climate change and declining space for connectivity across the Greater Sydney Basin and beyond, there is an increasing need for restorationists, plant producers and landscape architects to collaborate on ensuring natives of the correct provenance and genetics are conserved as well as planted within urban spaces.

Who will be there.

The Seeds for the Future forum brings together people from the bush regeneration, revegetation, nursery and landscape architecture sectors to set the scene for future collaborations and introduces the insightful ‘Healthy Seeds’ project that is poised to offer practical solutions for all players.

What the day will hold.

The one-day forum will include in-depth discussion topics and a showcase of practical case studies that will provide background, identify issues and suggest solutions. The forum has been structured to ensure optimum delegate participation by including deliberation time at the end of each session, which will then inform an expert plenary panel to draw together the delegates concerns and create a roadmap to guide future strategies and investment across the Greater Sydney area.

If you can’t make it you can still experience it.

Money raised from ticket sales and donations to regenTV will enable the forum to be recorded and shared with those unable to attend on the day. Donations can be made here.

Here’s a one-page flier to print out.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased here.

The Program

The detailed print-friendly program is here

Session 1 – Setting the Scene

The keynote will be delivered by Ascelin Gordon – RMIT University  

‘Restoration in the context of Offsetting’  . Using examples from the restoration of Cumberland Plain Woodland, Ascelin will discuss the uncertainties involved in restoration, and what this could mean in terms of offsetting, multipliers, and the scale required to produce resilient offsetting outcomes.

The grey-matter will be further engaged during throughout the morning session where thought provoking discussions, led by experts in the fields of restoration, seed provenance, seed production and offset planning, will explore the issues of seed diversity and supply and how the planning sector impacts and interacts across the Greater Sydney basin and beyond.

The thought provokers are:

• Tein McDonald – Australian Association of Bush Regenerators
  Greater Sydney or Lesser Sydney? – Putting restoration principles and standards into practice. – Sydney can be celebrated for its bushland – but to keep it requires ongoing conservation management assisted by (not replaced by) restoration. Considering the National Restoration Standards, Tein asks do we have the wherewithal to plan and implement the necessary restoration?
• Martin Driver – Australian Network for Plant Conservation 
  Healthy Seeds – What’s needed? The current barriers and future opportunities – This presentation outlines the Healthy Seeds project,  confirms the relevance of the National Native Seed Survey findings  and will explore other issues that need to be addressed. From this and an extensive audit of the seed supply chain across NSW it is hoped to establish a Roadmap to assist in outlining how these issues can be addressed to improve the practice and supply of native seed in NSW.
• Paul Gibson-Roy – Healthy Seeds Reference Group 
  The National Seed Survey findings – aspirations v’s reality are the issues relevant to Sydney – Primary findings from the ANPC National Native Seed Survey will be launched at this Forum. Results from this sector-wide survey provide an current snap shot of sector practice as well as concerns and issues which act as barriers to effective and efficient native seed supply across the country.

Session 2 – Putting theory into practice – Western Sydney example

• Greg Steenbeeke – Dept Planning Infrastructure Environment
  Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan – DPIE is developing a Cumberland Plain Conservation Plan (thePlan) that aims to improve the functionality and connectedness of the fragmented Cumberland subregion ecosystems in Western Sydney in the context of urban and infrastructure development.  The Plan will seek to protect viable existing vegetation, and use ecological restoration in degraded habitats to improve viability and connectivity.  The restoration would require seed stock for ground cover, shrubs, and trees. DPIE is considering how best to ensure supply of seed and tube stock in suitable quantity and diversity to deliver project outcomes.
  
• Sam Craigie – Greening Australia
  Seed supply success and challenges – Experiences from the practical application of restoration by direct seeding on the Cumberland Plain. What makes it possible, what can be achieved and what are the challenges? There are a range of issues we need to address together to actively manage the threat of local biodiversity loss

Session 3 – Getting creative with seed supply

After lunch a series of short & snappy speed talks will provide food for thought on how local government, not-for-profits, Local Land Services and OEH have been addressing seed production and supply to ensure resilience in remnants and connectivity across the landscape

The on-ground gurus are 

• Maree Whelan – Greater Sydney Local Land Services
  Volunteering for growth – Landcare volunteers play an important role in the area of seed collection and propagation in patches of remnant bush throughout Greater Sydney.  This presentation will provide a snapshot of volunteers doing their bit in the space and will cover the key opportunities and challenges facing these groups.
• Katie Littlejohn – NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service
  Reaching for the sky at Schyeville – How a local project can dovetail into regional design for Greater Sydney – Many of the plant communities we manage are in varying stages of condition. For these to survive into the future will require sometimes significant intervention. What this restoration looks like needs some creative thinking and so far we have had some promising results and a few failures.
• Michael Kneipp – Northern Beaches Council
  Wildflowers Across the Northern Beaches– Northern Beaches Council’s ‘Wildflowers Across the Northern Beaches’ project is developing a seed production area within the community nursery at Curl Curl to supply seed and plants to produce high visual amenity wildflower hotspots. Bush and urban-care programs will also be the recipients of the seed and plants produced to increase native diversity throughout the municipality.
  
• John Blair – Faculty of Built Environment, UNSW
  Can ESBS be installed on green roofs? – With space for ecosystems limited in cities – is there potential for green roofs to be developed to supplement conservation? This potential research project will be trialing a number of species on a roof on University of NSW campus, obtaining genetic stock from Randwick Council’s community nursery.

The Expert panel & Plenary

Fully charged with information and ideas, the highlight of the forum will be the expert panel plenary discussion exploring the implications for practitioners, identifying the barriers and opportunities for achieving a reliable, genetically appropriate seed supply and assessing the costs and benefits of different interventions and developing a roadmap for the future

Panellists will be selected from the speakers and include industry representatives –

• Tim Berryman – Cumberland Plain Seeds
• Peter Cuneo – Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust

Tickets can be purchased here 

The Forum at a Glance

The detailed print-friendly program is here

This event is being co-hosted by the Australian Network for Plant Conservation  and the Australian Association for Bush Regenerators (AABR), assisted by the NSW Government through its Environmental Trust.

Tickets can be purchased here.