The Chicago Botanic Garden has spearheaded the creation of the Midwest Native Seed Network to tackle the growing scarcity of native seeds amid climate-driven demands. Launched in 2024, the coalition unites over 300 experts across 11 states to enhance seed availability for ecosystem restoration. This initiative responds to intensified wildfires and other disasters that heighten the need for resilient native plants.
At the Chicago Botanic Garden, volunteers like Marty Landorf meticulously process seeds, such as those from black-eyed Susan flowers, for storage in a vault holding about 46 million native Midwest seeds. These seeds, adapted over millennia, are vital for restoring prairies, wetlands, and woodlands.
Native seed supplies remain limited, exacerbated by climate change. "Climate change is affecting our weather and the frequency of natural disasters," said Kayri Havens, the garden's chief scientist. "Wildfires becoming more common, hurricanes becoming more common—that increases the need for seed."
In 2024, the garden initiated the Midwest Native Seed Network, involving roughly 300 restoration ecologists, land managers, and seed growers from 150 institutions in 11 states. The group researches high-demand species, optimal growth locations, and scalable production methods. It compiles data on seed collection, processing, germination, and propagation, targeting challenges like submerged aquatic plants and the parasitic bastard toadflax.
A 2023 survey of over 50 partners found more than 500 Midwest native species effectively unavailable for restoration, due to lack of growers, high costs—even a few dollars per packet adds up for large projects—or germination difficulties. "We’re addressing these local, regional, and national shortages of native seed that are really just hindering our ability to restore really diverse habitats, build green infrastructure, and support urban gardens," said Andrea Kramer, the garden's director of restoration.
The network connects seed users with producers and shares knowledge, without direct sales. This builds on national efforts, including a 2001 congressional mandate for native seed partnerships, which a 2023 report deemed incomplete. Wildfires burned over 170 million acres in the U.S. from 2000 to 2025, prompting the Bureau of Land Management to purchase up to 10 million pounds of seed in severe years.
Federal funding has supported initiatives like the 2021 infrastructure law's $200 million for the National Seed Strategy and 2024's $1 million for a native plant seed bank. However, cuts under the Trump administration and early 2025 reductions stalled progress. "If something isn’t supported on a national level, then it becomes incumbent on states and regions to do that kind of work," Havens noted.
Similar networks operate in over 25 U.S. regions, often in the West due to extensive federal lands. Kramer aims to repeat the survey in 20 years, hoping for full seed access to address emerging climate challenges.
