Regional initiative expands capacity to produce, process, and store locally adapted seed needed for ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, and climate resilience.
WAYLAND, MA — As climate change fuels increasingly severe storms, flooding, drought, wildfire, and habitat loss across the United States, demand for native plants and seed for ecological restoration has reached unprecedented levels. To help address a critical shortage of locally adapted, locally grown native seed throughout the Northeast, Native Plant Trust has launched the Restoration Accelerator™, a regional initiative designed to expand the production, processing, and storage of native seed for habitat
restoration, conservation, and horticultural use.
“Restoring ecosystems at scale begins with seed,” Native Plant Trust CEO Tim Johnson said. “By investing in the infrastructure, partnerships, and scientific expertise needed to expand native seed
production, we are helping ensure that future generations inherit landscapes that are healthier, more
diverse, and more resilient than those we see today.”
Native plant communities form the foundation of healthy ecosystems, supporting pollinators and wildlife, protecting water quality, storing carbon, stabilizing soils, and helping landscapes withstand environmental change. Yet even as demand for native plants grows, the supply of locally adapted seed has struggled to keep pace.
“As the pace of ecological change increases, preserving local adaptation is increasingly important for building resilience in ecosystems. We will not win this battle by simply introducing more plants from the south. The flora of the Northeast will adapt, and we can support this process by ensuring all the pieces remain in place. Gardens, designed spaces, and restoration projects all help shepherd the ecosystems in which we live into the future by valuing the use of locally adapted native plant material,” says Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust.
The need is urgent. A 2023 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that ecological restoration in the 21st century will be required at a scale never before seen, as native plant communities face mounting threats from climate change and environmental degradation. At the same time, restoration practitioners, conservation organizations, government agencies, and commercial growers across the country face a well-documented shortage of native seed, often using seed mixes with non-native species designed for different regions and lacking transparency about seed origins.
The Restoration Accelerator™ builds upon more than three decades of the Native Plant Trust's
nationally recognized expertise in seed banking, conservation, and native plant propagation. Based at
Nasami Farm, the organization's nursery in western Massachusetts, the program coordinates with seed
users and native plant and seed producers in Massachusetts to better understand needs and match
production to demand, offering seed and plant production services to restoration practitioners (i.e.,
seed users) on a contract basis. Those services include wild seed collection, nursery production, and
seed increase, and providing services to both new and experienced growers, including training and
consultation, wild-sourced starter seed, plugs for increase plots, seed processing services, and climate-
controlled seed storage. The facilities include a dedicated seed-processing building and a storage facility equipped with a cold-dry room and a long-term storage freezer, enabling growers to clean, process, and safely store large quantities of seed while maintaining viability and quality.
For more information about the Restoration Accelerator™, please contact
ra@nativeplanttrust.org.
