Saving the nation’s trees: Kew celebrates banking 13 million seeds from UK native trees

Saving the nation’s trees: Kew celebrates banking 13 million seeds from UK native trees - Royal Botanic Gardens Kew

13 million seeds from over 10,000 native UK trees and shrubs stored in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB)
Milestone marks end of seven year project
400+ volunteers & staff helped to collect the seeds in a massive UK-wide conservation effort
Native ash, juniper, alder, birch, yew and willow among the species banked
UK woodland trees vital to woodland industry and economy as well as tourism & recreation

The project, which ended last month, was set up in response to the challenges facing UK woodlands including temperature changes, extreme weather events and increasing numbers of pests and diseases. Over the past seven years, with the support of more than 400 volunteers and staff from 30 partner organisations, the UK National Tree Seed Project has made an extensive and unique collection of the majority of the UK’s native trees and shrubs.

Ash bagged in south Wales Sep 2015. (image: Maya McCracken.)

Seeds have been collected from right across the UK, from Cornwall to the Outer Hebrides; from sea level up to 600 metres above sea level. The 13 million seeds are now safely stored in the sub-zero underground vaults of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank for long-term conservation. It is hoped these time traveller seeds will offer future possibilities for both research and conservation and can be used to regenerate woodlands or reintroduce new trees in years to come.
Native trees in the collection include popular favourites such as ash, juniper, alder, birch, yew and willow. All of these trees, whilst being a visual part of the British landscape, also underpin the country’s wider plant and animal diversity, as well as providing vital ecosystem services to the environment such as flood prevention and carbon capture. UK woodland trees are also vital to woodland industry and economy as well as tourism and recreation.
These seeds and the data collected alongside them provide a unique resource for science and conservation, potentially helping scientists to understand and respond to threats such as new pests and diseases, climate change, and woodland loss. As banked seeds may live for many decades they also provide a vital benchmark of current genetic diversity in our UK tree populations.