TORONTO,- This spring, WWF-Canada is scaling up an initiative to help restore ecosystems across Canada by increasing the native plant seed supply. The organization awarded grants to 13 First Nations, organizations and businesses in five provinces to support the establishment and expansion of seed orchards — native plant growing operations that produce the locally-sourced seed needed for habitat restoration projects.
Restoring healthy ecosystems across hundreds of thousands of hectares in Canada is necessary to protect wildlife species and fight climate change, but there aren't enough native plants available to do so on the scale that's needed (millions or even billions of plants). Seed orchards increase supply by producing seed from native plants grown for that purpose, replacing the need to harvest seeds from plants out in nature, which can negatively impact those wild plant populations and their local ecosystems.