Seeding Victoria’s seed bank and La Gerche trail, Creswick
Seeding Victoria Inc. is a not for profit, charitable organisation that manages several seed banks in Victoria. For our May excursion, we will be privileged to have a tour of Seeding Victoria’s seed bank at Creswick as recently featured in the ABC’s Gardening Australia. Dan Frost who manages this seed bank will explain how seed is appropriately sourced and maintained under strict conditions to supply revegetation projects. We will also learn how Seeding Victoria not only provides provenance-based seed sales but also a consultancy service for collection and caring for seed as well as site assessment and direct seeding advice.
The tour of the seed bank and discussion will take about 1.5 hours after which we will have a picnic lunch and a walk along the La Gerche Trail in the afternoon.
The La Gerche Trail is a 2.2 km long, easy walking track in the Creswick State Forest. The trail commemorates the work of John La Gerche, the first bailiff for the forest charged with halting the rampant cutting of trees for mining and fuel-wood and allowing regeneration of the forest. The trees planted by La Gerche are now over 100-years old and include a large variety, both native and introduced for experimental purposes. There are interpretative signs along the way.
Meet: Meet at the Octopus (Duke St, opposite the Castle Motel) at 10am, or at the Seed Bank, co-located with the Parks Vic complex in Sawpit Rd Creswick at 10.50am. We will meet at the old oak tree in the gardens near the Seed Bank.
Bring: lunch, chairs, sturdy shoes and water.
The Field Trip will be cancelled in extreme weather conditions or if there is a high fire risk.