Researchers gather to highlight importance of native plant seeds

“NASSTEC is training researchers in native seed science, conservation and use, building the capacity in local companies for large scale native seed production, carrying out demonstrative pilot projects and lobbying the relevant stakeholders to widely promote the use of native seeds in land restoration and reclamation activities.

Eleven early stage researchers employed on the EU-Marie Curie funded Initial Training Network attended a 5-day workshop at the James Hutton Institute in Dundee as part of the Native Seed Science, Technology and Conservation (NASSTEC) initiative, which aims to promote grassland restoration underpinned by the use of native plant seeds.

NASSTEC involves four academic institutions (Museo delle Scienze and University of Pavia, Italy; The Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and the James Hutton Institute, UK) and three native seed producers (UK’s Scotia Seeds, Spain’s Semillas Silvestres and The Netherlands’ Syngenta Seeds). The workshop was the first for the project and focused on the functional and molecular diversity in plants.

Dr Pietro Iannetta, molecular ecologist at the James Hutton Institute, said: “NASSTEC is training researchers in native seed science, conservation and use, building the capacity in local companies for large scale native seed production, carrying out demonstrative pilot projects and lobbying the relevant stakeholders to widely promote the use of native seeds in land restoration and reclamation activities.”

The workshop included trips to meet colleagues at Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) and Scotia Seeds, as well as a presentation from the National Trust for Scotland.