How can we support our Traditional Owners on their path to Treaty?  When asked at a recent Treaty information session, Belinda Briggs, Yorta Yorta woman, asked us to ‘walk together’.

In practical terms, what does this mean?  Working in land management or conservation, there seems to be an unspoken or unconscious belief that our objectives and those of our Traditional Owners are one and the same.  It’s very easy to barrel on our path without listening.  So our seed story has taken some new turns lately – after listening and working to honour the wishes of our Traditional Owners.

  As a little recap, the State Government Biodiversity Strategy aims to revegetate 200,000 hectares in Victoria by 2037.  Cassinia Environmental are funded for the private stream of Bushbank to revegetate 20,000 hectares – they estimate they need 15 tonnes of seed.  At this point in time, seedbanks are tracking to provide about 10% of this requirement of 15 tonnes over the 7 years of Bushbank funding.  Seed will be the main limiting factor for Cassinia to achieve this goal.  We haven’t even started on the remaining 180,000 hectares!

To meet this shortfall, the Arb set about growing our seed orchards.  We’ve received great local support from you all, with donations now over $20,000, plus funding from Taungurung and Natural Resources Conservation Trust.  Our daisy boxes are looking gorgeous, our intensive seed production area at the Arb is 2/3 complete after many hard hours replacing soil, plastic matting and plants.  We are on the cusp of planting 10 hectares with 8,000 plants at Goulburn Valley Water property, Avenel.  Over the last 2 years our seed orchards have supplied more than half of our annual seed collection harvest and we look forward to that figure only increasing.

Where is the state government support in this work?  You may well ask – despite numerous meetings and presentations, there is still no support on the horizon.  I was becoming a grumpy and bitter old woman, frustrated at being ignored, despite our efforts to support the state’s own strategy.  Until that is, I attended a ‘Right Plant, Right Way’ conference last October with a representational group of Traditional Owners from across the state. 

Turns out, the Traditional Owners aren’t so fussed about the state government’s plans.  As I’m often reminded, being a bit antsy myself, they take the long view.  You can when you’ve been around 60,000 years and have confidence your people will continue to care for country long after you’ve gone.  There was lots of discussion and upset about the bush being pillaged and damaged in the name of seed harvest – a good reminder that our seed orchard plans are well grounded and our tight control over who is harvesting what and where is warranted.  There were aspirations that Traditional Owners control seed and its distribution – I came home ready to hand over the reins for the seedbank. 

Except that long view, (which trips me up each time) – Taungurung aren’t ready to take it on yet, and Yorta Yorta are a little way off.  I was told gently – Cath, you are the custodian of seed.  That one word, ‘custodian’ – it changes everything.  With it comes obligation and responsibility – sound like familiar terms when you hang out with Traditional Owners?  Our seedbank is not just a repository with a transactional approach.  That simple language shift and trust has moved me from being a grumpy old woman, bemoaning lack of finances.  We have developed a statement and rules that govern our seed sales.  

As a seedbank, we don’t just supply seed, we consider native seed as a precious resource.  Native seed is critical to support natural food chains, ecosystem function and is laboriously collected whilst ensuring sustainable harvest.  We are invested in the future of our seed, and request it is used thoughtfully to give the best possible benefit to restoring the health of our country.

Our seedbank prioritises projects and seed distribution within the Goulburn Broken Catchment from where our seed is collected (Yorta Yorta and Taungurung Country). 

• We are working towards our seed referencing the Traditional Owner lands that they are taken from.
• We will supply seed for the bush food industry if it benefits Traditional Owners directly.
• We adhere strictly to the FloraBank guidelines – only 10% of seed is harvested from wild locations. 
• Projects promoting biodiverse plantings that reflect the appropriate country type, (eg. grasslands, woodlands, forest), will be prioritised.
• We will continue to develop seed orchards to take pressure off wild harvest of seed.  
• Where seed of species is low in stock or where supply is challenging,  as a customer, you may have upper limits placed on seed orders  and given the option to utilise the seed stock for plants as tubestock, rather than ordering seed for direct seeding purposes.

It could be lip service, but its not.  Already it is changing how we interact with our customers.  We discuss their projects, their site, site preparation and seed quantities.  If you are our customer, rest assured, you are not the only one to receive a grilling!  We want to make sure that the seed we sell is used for the best possible outcome for country.  We continue to look for ways to make our seed go further, and we make no apology to reject some seed requests that aren’t right for country.  This may be plantings that are too dense or the species selection isn’t correct.  We work to the principle of Country first.  

While Taungurung and Yorta Yorta build their capacity to take on seed and plant sales, we will walk alongside them as they build skills and confidence.  

Finally, it feels we are on the right path going forward.  Sometimes its not necessarily obvious at the outset and walking together is not always a simple thing.  Another reminder from our treaty talk this week – keep talking to mob, keep checking in.  So we will keep yarning and adjusting our way forward.

by Cathy Olive
Development Manager

…