UK Native Seed Hub facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The UK Native Seed Hub
The UKNSH production beds, with the Millennium Seed Bank building behind
Location	Sussex, England

The UK Native Seed Hub (UKNSH) is a special project by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It works with the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership to grow and share seeds of plants that naturally grow in the UK. This project helps make sure that the UK's natural areas stay strong and healthy.

The UKNSH provides high-quality seeds from the Millennium Seed Bank. Some of these seeds are for plants you can't easily buy anywhere else. Others are special local types of plants that are already available. The UKNSH is a nonprofit organization. This means they only charge enough to cover their costs. They make sure the seeds are used for projects that help protect nature in the UK.

They also offer training and advice. This helps people learn how to collect, store, and use native seeds correctly. This support helps improve how native seeds are used across the UK.

How the UK Native Seed Hub Started

In 2011, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation gave £750,000 to Kew Gardens. This money helped set up the UKNSH. The project was planned to run for four years with this funding.

Growing seeds began at the Wakehurst Place nursery in 2011. By 2012, the seed production moved to new beds. These beds are now open for the public to see at Wakehurst Place. They started by growing seeds for grassland plants. Examples include Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) and Genista tinctoria (dyer's greenweed). These seeds came from the Millennium Seed Bank's collections.

In May 2014, the UKNSH made a list of available seeds online. This made it possible for nature projects to ask for seeds from their collections.

The Seed Hub Site

The Seed Hub itself is located at Wakehurst Place. It has 28 growing beds on about one hectare of land. This area is close to the Millennium Seed Bank building. Visitors can see it on the Wakehurst map.

Construction of the site began in 2011. Kew's gardening experts take care of it. They focus on growing plants whose seeds are hard to get. This might be because they are difficult to harvest or grow.

Often, they grow many seeds from a specific area in the UK. For example, they might grow Primula veris (cowslip) from the South Downs. The site is also a great place to see and photograph plant pollinators like bees and butterflies.

The Seed List and How it Works

The UKNSH helps UK nature projects by providing high-quality seeds. These seeds are from the UK and come from the Millennium Seed Bank. Some seeds come from the growing beds at Wakehurst Place. Others come directly from the seed bank itself.

Seeds are only given out if there are enough in the collection. If there aren't enough, they might grow more on the production beds. All the seeds they provide are "F1" generation. This means they are the first offspring of plants grown from seeds collected directly from the wild. The seed list works so that the seed bank's collection is never completely used up.

Support and Training

The UKNSH also offers training for people who collect, grow, and use seeds. This training helps them understand why it's important to use high-quality UK native seeds. It also teaches them the skills needed to use the seeds properly.

The support helps make sure the right plants are used for each project's location and habitat. The training covers everything about seeds. This includes harvesting, processing, testing, storing, and sowing them. The goal is to improve how native seeds are used in the UK. The UKNSH also gives advice and services to help the project continue.

Images for kids

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  The UKNSH production beds, with the Millennium Seed Bank building behind