March 21, 2022 Fredericton, New Brunswick Natural Resources Canada
Canada's forests are an integral part of our fight against climate change. Resilient forest ecosystems help preserve biodiversity, protect and conserve our water resources and mitigate the effects of climate change by capturing and storing carbon, resulting in clean and healthy air. They also play an important role in the everyday life of communities across Canada, including Indigenous communities.
That's why today Julie Dabrusin, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources, and Jenica Atwin, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, announced the launch of the Indigenous Seed Collection Program, which will build the capacity of Indigenous communities to collect seeds from tree species of cultural, spiritual and economic importance to those communities.
This program will be delivered through Natural Resources Canada's National Tree Seed Centre (NTSC), and will advance conservation and planting of various tree species under the 2 Billion Trees program. It will support Indigenous communities as they play a vital role in ensuring that the right tree is planted in the right place.
Specifically, the Indigenous Seed Collection Program will:
• explore Indigenous seed collection and storage capacity;
• assess equipment and training needs across Canada;
• incorporate Indigenous knowledge into seed collecting, training and conservation efforts;
• collaborate with communities and Indigenous-led small and medium-sized enterprises to identify technical and training needs;
• co-develop a strategy with Indigenous communities to support the collection of species of interest for habitat creation, management of species at risk, restoration of ecosystems and community forest programs; and
• develop a network of community participants to assist in seed collection and processing.
