Strategy to seed survival of overlooked plants

Stefan Weber has visions of wild plums dancing in his head.

The restoration botanist and selfdescribed “plant nerd” is spearheading a new Hamilton Seed Strategy that hopes to give local rare but native plants a reproductive hand to help them adapt to threats like climate change and urban encroachment.

The strategy will begin by identifying priority species to be planted in garden plots next spring — including one at Cathedral Park in west Hamilton and two on Hamilton Conservation Authority lands.

Likely species include wild plums, black currents, butterfly milkweed and hairy bush clover, with a goal of creating a seed bank for future restoration efforts.

“The Hamilton environment isn’t a constant thing, so those plants need to be able to adapt, and the only way to do that is to exchange genes with neighbouring populations and migrate to new ground,” Weber said.

“Right now, they’re just kind of enclosed and protected, but they’re cut off from the outside world, so they’re really denied a future.”

Weber said he became interested in creating a seed strategy about two years ago when he realized there were no efforts to restore plants other than those endangered or at risk, which are already protected by provincial or federal legislation.

That led to the formation of the Ontario Plant Restoration Council, which chose Hamilton for the seed strategy because it’s a hub of conservation efforts, like the Cootes to Escarpment Eco Park, that involve multiple partnering agencies, he said.

“I learned that there was really nobody in the province figuring out the restoration of common or somewhat regionally rare native plants,” Weber said.

“If you look to the United States or countries in Europe, they have really thoroughly developed plant restoration strategies and they have networks of growers and maps of where plants should go.”

Hamilton Conservation Authority directors earlier this month endorsed the strategy, agreeing to provide two 40-square-metre garden plots, staff advice on priority species and access to authority land for seed collection as appropriate.

Chief administrative officer Chris Firth-Eagland said he expects others to find it easy to get on board because the strategy isn’t asking for much beyond a bit of land and it will help uncommon species get strong enough to be replanted in the wild.

“I think it’s awesome,” he said.