Native Seed Production
One of the greatest roadblocks to ecological restoration in Southern Oregon and Northern California is limited availability of site-appropriate native seed. Although there has been great progress towards providing diverse and genetically appropriate seed in general, we feel that our region still lacks access to native seed for restoration projects in grasslands, oak-savannas and wetlands. It is our hope that our future native seed farm will begin to further support understory native plant communities by filling this void.
At The Understory Initiative, we believe that our native ecosystems provide a wealth of educational opportunities for school groups, local growers and members of the public. We plan to host regular farm demos, wildflower hikes, and training on how to sow, harvest, and clean seed from a diversity of native species.
Propagation Protocol Development
Native seed farming requires a creative agricultural approach. Many species cannot be grown or harvested using typical farm equipment or it is unclear what approaches will work best. At The Understory Initiative, we are working towards researching and developing new propagation techniques so that we can share "lessons learned" with other growers, restoration practitioners, and other land managers.
Native seed production requires specialized equipment to collect, sow, harvest, and clean seed. As a collaboratively managed farm we aim to provide shared access to these tools and the training needed to operate them effectively.
Native Plant Salvage
At The Understory Initiative, we seek to facilitate the salvage of native plants that will be impacted by future development. To do this, we work with land managers to remove native plants from the site before or during construction and then ensure that they are used either for seed production or habitat restoration.