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In early 2019, Neville Walsh, a botanist at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, was sifting through clippings, seed pods and blurry botanical photos sent by mail from a plant enthusiast at Cobungra, in the Victorian high country, when he spotted a few âgenuinely rare speciesâ.
He decided to visit the property, owned by octogenarians Anne and Jim UâRen, and found himself scrambling down a steep gully to the banks of a silvered creek where he noticed a curious wattle. âI thought, âBloody hell, whatâs this?ââ he recalls.
Tim Entwisle and Neville Walsh at the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne.Â
Itâs a fine, crisp day and the first frost of the season, a significant occasion for any gardener and one that has not gone unnoticed by the seed guardians of the Stroud Community Seed Bank. Beth Richardson, a 27-year-old student midwife and coordinator at the seed bank, meets me by a big compost heap that steams on contact with the icy cold air. The heap, a valuable group resource, belongs to the allotment where Beth grows her crops.
In allotment greenhouses and back-garden potting sheds across towns, cities and villages in the UK, communities of local growers are digging deep and planting the seeds for a richer, more diverse and more resilient food system. It is a trend being repeated all over the world.