Our Grass Roots Giving Project has now concluded, and what a success it has been! Thanks to your support and the generosity of our funders and partners, we’ve made real progress in securing the future of the Critically Endangered Midland Greenhood Orchid (Pterostylis commutata).
Over the course of the project, surveys uncovered three new sub-populations, boosting the known population from just 50 plants to 183 individuals across the Tasmanian Midlands. At Kingston Farm, orchids were caged to protect them from grazing and hand-pollinated to maximise seed production. This effort paid off, with over 180,000 seeds collected and safely banked at the Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre. Meanwhile, scientists successfully isolated six strains of symbiotic fungi and achieved the first germination trials for the species, a vital step toward its recovery.
Discover more about the project here: Grass Roots Giving Project
This incredible outcome was only possible thanks to:
- Tasmanian Orchid Conservation and Research Program
- Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens
- Landscape Recovery Foundation
- Wild Country Environmental Fund
- Council of Heads of Botanic Gardens
- Kingston Farm
- M.J. Bale
- Midlands Conservation Partnership
- Australian Orchid Foundation
- The Australian Government’s Saving Native Species Program