Seed Bank Pilot Project

Seeds of the baapaagimaak (black ash), a species used in traditional basket weaving

The Climate Change Program is undertaking a pilot project to investigate the possibility of establishing a seed bank to preserve seeds of traditionally harvested plant species.

During the 2017 season, staff scouted several seed tree gathering locations for paper birch and ash based on observations of tribal elders and harvesters. Paper birch seeds typically can be collected from late July through early September with black ash seeds collected later in the season.

Seeds collected as part of the pilot project will be stored at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Fort Collins, Colorado, with whom GLIFWC has executed a Material Transfer Agreement. As the effort is a pilot project, GLIFWC is only collecting seeds from trees close to the GLIFWC office but hope to possibly expand seed collection efforts to other areas in future years.