The world is faced with a problem…

[Dr. Robin Probert, Millennium Seed Bank]
“Huge numbers of plant species are predicted to be threatened and might become extinct. And many, many of those plants are yet unstudied for their potential uses to people.”

But help is on the way.

[Dr. Robin Probert, Millennium Seed Bank]
“The Millennium seed bank is really a network of international partnerships.  We are working in 54 countries worldwide, and our objective is to collect seeds that are of plants that are important to people for a variety of purposes and to keep those seeds alive in the seed bank.”

The world’s population is predicted to increase to over nine billion by the year 2050. With this increase, the destruction of natural habitats and the extinction of more plant species is likely to occur.

[Dr. Robin Probert, Millennium Seed Bank]
“Well, the main objective of the current phase of the project, this is from 2000 and 2010, was to collect and conserve ten percent of the world’s floras, that’s approximately 24,000 species.”

The objective of the next phase is even more ambitious, the Millennium Seed Bank plans to store samples of one quarter of the world’s plant species by the year 2020.

And some of those plants, you wouldn’t find in your local garden center. This one was grown from a seed found in an old wallet that belonged to a Dutch Sailor 200 years ago.

The Seed Bank aims to allow future generations to restore earth's natural habitat.

Suzi Rodriguez, NTD, London