📍 Mawonga Station, New South Wales

Botanic Gardens of Sydney will work with Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation, Wangaaypuwan Local Aboriginal Land Council and Western Local Land Services to deliver a two-day seed banking workshop on Country at Mawonga Station Indigenous Protected Area. Traditional Owners, Rangers, Elders and seed conservation practitioners will share knowledge while building practical skills in seed collecting and banking. Ranger priorities will guide collections, with discussions also covering cultural protocols, Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property. Seed collecting kits will help Rangers continue this work beyond the workshop, while strengthening relationships and creating opportunities for future collaboration.

📍South-west Western Australia

The Western Australian Seed Centre, Kensington, will work with four Ranger groups to build practical seed skills and strengthen relationships for future conservation work. Training on Country will cover collection planning, sustainable harvesting, seed handling, documentation, storage and the role of seed banks in conserving culturally significant and threatened plants. Just as importantly, participating Rangers will have space to share their own priorities and aspirations for plant conservation. Cultural knowledge will remain the intellectual and cultural property of Traditional Owners, while the project will help identify opportunities for future Indigenous-led seed banking and conservation activities.

📍 Gunditjmara Country, Victoria

The Victorian Conservation Seedbank at Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria will build on its existing partnership with Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. The project follows successful collaborative work conserving Manna Gum seed on Gunditjmara Country and will deepen this relationship through reciprocal visits. Gunditjmara Traditional Owners, Rangers and staff will visit the Seedbank, while seedbank staff will spend time on Country listening to community priorities and aspirations. Yarning and shared learning will explore culturally significant plants, preferred ways of working and future conservation opportunities, with Gunditjmara cultural authority and decision-making at the centre of the partnership.

📍 Yuin Country, New South Wales

Seeds of Our Country will support an existing PhD project led by Deb Segal, supervised through the Australian National University and National Seed Bank, exploring climate resilience, seed banking and culturally safe plant conservation. Working with Murramarang people on Yuin Country, primarily through the Ulladulla Local Aboriginal Land Council, the project aims to support community participation, training and seed collecting on Country. Seed ecology experiments will be co-designed with community to investigate how native plants may respond to changing fire frequency and intensity. The work also aims to build relationships, secure seed for long-term conservation and help improve National Seed Bank protocols for culturally safe scientific practice.

📍 Western Victoria

Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria will strengthen its relationship with Dalki Garringa Native Nursery, operated by Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, to explore how First Nations-led nurseries and conservation seed banks can better work together. Seed bank and nursery staff will spend time together on Country, sharing knowledge and discussing Dalki Garringa’s priorities, aspirations and challenges in native plant and threatened species conservation. A reciprocal visit to the Victorian Conservation Seedbank may also support learning about seed storage and ex situ conservation. By investing in listening and relationship building now, the partners aim to identify shared priorities and create stronger foundations for future conservation work.