Surfing the wild seed safari

TWEED Landcare and Seed Tree Maps will join forces for an informative Seed Collecting Safari Bus Trip in Tweed and Byron Shires.

Citizen scientists will be able to actively contribute to the North Coast Regional Seedbank Project and help to create a vital, genetically diverse native seedbank for the entire region.

Sclerophyll plant species include a variety adapted to dry conditions, such as eucalypts, banksias and wattles. Learning about species identification and correct and ethical seed collection, the bus-run day tour is led by Michelle Chapman, a seed collector for Firewheel Rainforest Nursery.

Chapman founded the SeedTree Maps service to help collectors identify and map nature, collect seeds, and grow their own trees.

Co-author of Australian Rainforest Seeds: A guide to collecting, processing and propagation (2020), Chapman also facilitates seed collecting and processing workshops, and mentors Landcare groups on behalf of the North Coast Regional Seedbank.

Tweed Landcare Inc community officer, Isabelle Oude-Egberink, said community contributions would directly help increase the supply of genetically diverse native seed and bolster conservation efforts.

“We’re seeking to improve the capacity of key community and industry stakeholders to collect, store, exchange and supply provenanced native plant seed to support current and future land restoration programs,” Oude-Egberink said.

“It’s a great way to help support long-term future restoration outcomes in the Northern Rivers region.”

Participants are asked to bring a hat, a water bottle, lunch and a pair of secateurs if they have them.

The Wild Seed Collection Safari takes place on December 3 from 9am to 4.30pm. Bus pick-up details will be provided on registration.

For information and to register, visit trybooking.com/events/landing/1502367