BC Seed Bank for Rare and Culturally Significant Plants

What is the BC Seed Bank?

The BC Seed Bank protects the unique genetic and species diversity of BC’s native plants by collecting seeds and preserving them in off-site cold storage
Conserving rare and culturally important native species is critical for:
- Preventing species extinctions
- Restoring degraded landscapes
- Proving a seed source for restoration of degraded landscapes
- Maintaining the food and medicinal diversity of Indigenous harvest areas
- Sustaining biodiversity in the face of catastrophic events
The BC Seed Bank will provide storage facilities and supports capacity building for more than 50 community-based organizations that form the seed bank network
The BC Seed Bank is an initiative by Nupqu Native Plant Nursery, CDFCP, UBC Botanical Garden, and Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship

Photo credit: Satinflower Nurseries

KEXMIN, Lomatium nudicaule, a culturally significant plant species that was collected for the seed bank in 2025.

Why do we need a seed bank in BC?

BC is home to 55 federally Endangered, 13 federally Threatened, and 349 provincially rare-listed vascular plants. These species face multiple threats.
Indigenous Peoples are concerned that important food and medicinal plants have disappeared in their territories. Local plant extinctions could impact food sovereignty, cultural practice, and language richness
Having a seed bank ensures that rate and unique genetics persist and can be restored in the wild

Our Vision

The vision for the BC Seed Bank is to:

Develop a seed bank network through training, capacity building and seed storage.
Serve as a safety net to prevent irreversible loss of species and genetic variation.
Create a repository of seed that can be used for restoration and the reintroduction of plant species.
Create a data management system that is consistent with indigenous data sovereignty concerns.
Provide opportunities for research on the germination and propagation of poorly understood species.
Strengthen collaborations between traditional knowledge holders and western science.
Support Indigenous Peoples’ objectives to restore land and cultural practices.
Complement work currently done by the BC Tree Seed Centre and National Tree Seed Centre which focus on tree species but do not store seed of forbs or grasses.

Project Timeline

2026 Seed Bank Gathering

Summary of Gathering Discussion

We had 72 participants from 54 organizations attend our gathering on March 11, 2026. The purpose of the gathering:

to provide project and funding updates
to connect with the BC Seed Network on various topics:
- priority species lists
- data sovereignty
- road mapping the future

Participant input was collected and synthesized into key takeaways which are outlines in our Summary Report. A more comprehensive summary of feedback from the gathering can be found in the appendix.