On a devious route to the Little Desert Lodge members of the WCMN paid a visit to the Ballarat Region Seed Band at Creswick, now named Seeding Victoria. Upon arrival we were invited in for a cuppa and a general chat about the valuable work that goes on at this facility. We were informed of the business’ fifteen years of experience in the seed industry and its consistently demonstrated ability to deliver appropriately sourced indigenous seed for revegetation work throughout most of Victoria. Selecting seed with respect to the appropriate provenance (place of origin), genetic variability and viability of germination is a vital part of the success of the facility and the projects that rely on their seeds. Once finished with the general chat we were then shown along to that part of the facility that deals with testing the seeds for viability of germination and storage of the final product. We spent a good half hour observing the process and obtaining answers to the many questions asked by members. A short visit to the cold room revealed the thousands of seeds being stored there ready for use at suitable times of the year – there were even wattle seeds from Wychitella, just around the corner from Wedderburn. The revegetation projects run by WCMN have made extensive use of seed from Seeding Victoria and will continue to do so.
Article by Michael Moore
No comments:
Post a Comment