Save Our Seeds: Protecting Plants for the Future
Save Our Seeds: Protecting Plants for the Future
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is sometimes called the “doomsday vault” because it saves seeds for future need in the event that the world, or a particular region of the world, suffers a massive catastrophe. Svalbard is a tiny archipelago off the coast of Norway. It is just over 621 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the North Pole. Svalbard is a remote place, and not very many people live there. The average high temperature during the summer months is only 44°F (7°C).
The Svalbard Seed Vault was built by the government of Norway and opened in 2008. It is a huge building carved 390 feet (119 meters) into the side of a mountain. Inside the vault, seeds are stored at a constant temperature of -0.4°F (-18°C). This temperature gives the seeds their best chance of staying viable. There are seeds from common crops such as wheat, rice and barley. There are also seeds from rare food and ornamental plants, including lentils, chickpeas and alfalfa varieties that were almost lost in Syria due to civil war. Each year the vault receives deposits of seeds from around the world. Only the organizations and countries that deposit the seeds can take them out again in the future if they are needed.
With her background in horticulture and urban agriculture, author and master gardener Sheryl Normandeau knows of what she speaks in this addition to the “Orca Footprints” series. In Save Our Seeds, she emphasizes the importance of saving and conserving seeds for the future in order to sustain healthy life on Earth. The book is divided into four chapters, the first of which introduces readers to the different types of seeds (heirloom, open-pollinated and hybrid) as well as plant reproduction (sexual, asexual and tissue culture) and selective breeding. This chapter also focuses on plant diversity and the many uses of seeds which include food, medicine, wood, fuel, and fibres for clothing and other items.
Human intervention is the focus of the second chapter whose topics include seed patents and proprietary plant varieties, weed control and invasive plants. Readers will learn how the introduction of invasive plants can cause harm to other plants, livestock, pets, wildlife and humans, and how habitats and even the economy of the area where invasive species have been introduced could be threatened. There is also mention of seed fraud, the trade of illegal seeds which could lead to crop failure or food shortages. The difference between genetic modification and genetic engineering is explained.
Topics in the third chapter include environmental challenges such as global warming and deforestation. As the Earth’s temperature rises, some insect varieties not normally found in certain parts of the world can migrate northward and cause damage or destruction to plants. One reforestation initiative in northern British Columbia, entitled “Seed the North”, uses drones to sow various types of tree seeds in an area that has been adversely affected by logging and natural disasters such as flooding. This chapter also includes information about cross and self-pollination, seed dispersal and the importance of a variety of pollinators.
The final section of the book highlights the preservation of seeds, from seed banks all around the world to seed “libraries” and seed swap groups. There are step-by-step instructions for how to preserve and store the seeds of different vegetables and herbs commonly grown in gardens.
Additional information is provided in sidebars and plant pot-shaped text areas entitled “Fact”. Illustrations in Save Our Seeds include black and white photographs, colour photographs, diagrams and charts. A table of contents, an index, a glossary and a list of print and online resources for further study are also offered.
Gail Hamilton is a retired teacher-librarian in Winnipeg, Manitoba.