In praise of the humble seed

He’s a Hollywood star, with a chimney that groans under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett took an unexpected diversion from her day job: delving into the world of humble seeds.

Her eyes light up when she gets excited about the banksia species from her native Australia.

“It’s a pretty brutal-looking pod that only releases its seeds at extremely high temperatures,” she tells us.

“It actually looks like a cross between a mallet and a toilet brush. So they’re not always pretty, but yet what comes out is so spectacular.”

We meet her at the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) in Kew, Wakehurst Botanic Garden, Sussex. She lives locally and has joined the project as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

“Really, I came across Wakehurst. I was just in awe of the scenery and I always feel refreshed by being in the natural world,” she says.

“And then I discovered the seed bank, and I was literally blown away by the work that’s being done here…and I thought anything I could do to be connected to it, I found it so inspiring.”

The MSB is home to more than 2.5 billion seeds collected from 40,000 wild plant species around the world.

The seeds, which come in all shapes, sizes and colors, are carefully processed, dried and then stored in the freezer at a cold temperature of -20°C.

The conservation project was launched by the King – then Prince of Wales – in 2000. He appeared on a special episode of a Kew podcast about the project called Unearthed: The Need For Seeds with Cate Blanchett.

In the recording he talks about his concerns about the disappearance of many plant species.

“I know how absolutely critical all of this is, along with the destruction of rainforests, the extinction of an infinite number of species, which most likely have remarkable properties,” he told the podcast.

When the seed bank was first opened, it was considered a doomsday vault – an emergency seed stock intended to protect wild plants from extinction.

But 25 years later, the collection is used for another purpose: restoring threatened environments.

“We want to get these seeds back into the landscape,” said Dr. Elinor Breman of the MSB, who showed Cate Blanchett the team’s work.

“We’re just providing them a safe space until we can get them back into a habitat where they can thrive and survive.”

This includes projects like the one taking place in the South Downs. A special blend of MSB seeds is being sown to help restore the rare chalk grasslands found there.

And this restoration work is repeated all over the world.

“We visited all types of habitats, from sea level up to around 5,000 m altitude, and from pole to pole – literally,” Dr Breman explained.

“And we’re involved in restoring rainforests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, steppes – you name it – we’re trying to help people get those plants back.”

The seed bank also helped restore plants after intense wildfires ravaged Australia in 2019. Cate Blanchett says it meant a lot to her.

“There are almost 9,000 species of Australian plants that are stored (at the MSB). And we know that the bushfires are getting more and more intense. And it’s sad to say, but knowing that an insurance policy exists is a great comfort to me.”

Working as a Wakehurst ambassador gave the actor the chance to get his hands on the seeds.

“Do I have dirt under my nails? Well, I’m trying to turn my brown thumbs green,” she laughs.

“You know, living in Sussex, you can’t not become a keen gardener. So I asked myself a lot of questions about how you store seeds as a layman, and I learned a lot about it. My seed management has definitely, definitely improved.”

And after spending so much time with the MSB researchers, is she tempted to trade the film set for the laboratory?

“I wish I had that skill – maybe I could play a scientist,” she laughs.

Cate Blanchett describes the seed bank as the UK’s best kept secret and believes that over the next 25 years its work will continue to grow in importance.

“You often wonder where the good news is? And we’re actually sitting inside one of them,” she tells us.

“You come here, you visit the seed bank, you walk through a landscape so rich in biodiversity and you leave feeling exhilarated. You know that change is possible and that it is happening.”