Annual Appeal 2023: South Australian Seed Conservation Centre

When most people think about banks and saving for the future they think of finances. But to ensure our future is as ecologically rich as today, we need to broaden our horizons and consider 'saving' in a different light.

Seed banks do just that

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For 20 years, the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre at the Botanic Gardens and State Herbarium has protected the state's threatened plant species from extinction and restored threatened flora species across South Australia.

Part of an international seed bank partnership involving 80 countries - all dedicated to banking plant species which are at risk of extinction.

Globally, it is estimated that 40 per cent of plant species are vulnerable to extinction. South Australia's threatened plants are no exception, and many populations have shrunk by more than two-thirds in 20 years - a higher rate than for birds or mammals.

Many plant species are hurtling towards extinction, and we are potentially losing plants faster than we are discovering them.

Well-funded, well-maintained seed banks are critical to reducing the negative impact on our floral biodiversity. Approximately half the species in the state (about 2,000) and nearly 85 per cent of the state's threatened species are currently stored in the seed bank and form part of the living collection at Adelaide Botanic Garden.

Your support, no matter the size, will help us to reach 90 per cent of the state's threatened plant species in the seed bank by 2025.