TUSCALOOSA, Ala. —The Alabama Water Institute’s Community-Oriented Nature-based Science for Ecosystem Restoration and Versatile Engineering, or CONSERVE, Research Group is building a native seed bank for Alabama through a new partnership. The partners are Atlanta Botanical Garden, Washburn Seeds and Agricultural Consulting, and the Alabama Native Seed Network, or ANSN. The effort will collect, propagate and store Alabama native seeds so restoration projects and private landowners across the state can draw on simple, effective native plant mixes for years to come.
Josiah Gullatte, CONSERVE assistant director of watershed conservation, preservation and restoration, or CPR, is leading the work.
“What we’re trying to do,” Gullatte said, “is build a native seed bank that helps educate communities, preserves and propagates Alabama’s native plant species, and provides locally adapted seed and plant material for restoration projects across the state.”
Why Native Seeds
The case for native seed starts underground. These plants are suited to Alabama’s soils and growing conditions and anchor soil that would otherwise wash away. Less sediment means clearer, healthier water downstream.
“Their fibrous roots are very extensive and they go deep,” Gullatte said. “They hold soil in place, which is really important in reducing sediment load into our streams and rivers.”
Those same locally adapted plants support the pollinators and wildlife that depend on them, and they give restoration a better chance of taking hold than seed sourced from far away. Rather than the crowded mixes of 15 to 20 species sold by many commercial producers, CONSERVE is working with partners across the state to assemble smaller, targeted mixes of roughly five to eight species, chosen so each plant can establish where it will thrive, whether in wetland or upland settings.
Native seed suited to Alabama can also be hard to find, and the science of storing and propagating it remains understudied. Building a reliable, local source is the gap CONSERVE aims to fill.
The Partners
Assembling a seed bank takes specialized know-how, and CONSERVE is drawing it from several partners. Atlanta Botanical Garden helps collect, store and propagate native species across the Southeast. Washburn Seeds and Agricultural Consulting, run by seed-preservation specialist Michael Washburn, contributes decades of experience in keeping seeds viable in storage. CONSERVE grows and propagates the plants and helps lead the restoration work, collaborating with the Geological Survey of Alabama and a network of private landowners statewide.
CONSERVE is a foundational member of the newly formed ANSN, which is sponsored with a grant from Alabama Power Company and is working to bring leaders in native seed conservation and propagation across the state together to build a stronger seed network for landscapes in Alabama. Members include federal and state agencies, nonprofits, industry and members of academic institutions.
What to Watch For
CONSERVE is building the seed bank now, collecting and storing an initial group of roughly five to eight native species with plans to expand. Gullatte pointed to spring 2027 as the time for landowners and others to watch for the program to take shape.
“The Alabama Native Seed Bank initiative led by CONSERVE is a great example of AWI filling the gap between research and healthy land and waters in the state of Alabama,” said Dr. Michael Fedoroff, CONSERVE director. “I am excited to watch it grow.”
The Alabama Water Institute is one of The University of Alabama’s research institutes. AWI acts as a forum for interdisciplinary research and education by bringing together University researchers, students and staff to foster collaboration and a broad interdisciplinary focus on water issues that face our world today. AWI-affiliated researchers specialize in hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, water security and quality, remote sensing, biodiversity and watershed management and human health through synergies with AWI research programs, including the NOAA Cooperative Institute for Research to Operations in Hydrology, the Global Water Security Center and the CONSERVE Research Group.