More than just a nursery, the Twin Sisters Native Plants Nursery in Moberly Lake, British Columbia, Canada, is fulfilling many more vital roles and is a flagship operation for the reclamation of native territory around the world, says manager Susan Davis.
The staff harvests native seeds from local cleared land. They then sell those seeds back to companies who wish to restore land to its original state.
The standard restoration process has been to hydroseed, mostly with grass, and provincial legislation centres around soil stability rather than ecosystem or wildlife sustenance.
“It’s amazing how intelligent plants are, and there’s a lot of research going into this now, a seed will know where it’s geographical location is,” says Davis. “If it’s in the wrong location, it’s not overly enthusiastic about where it’s growing, so if we can collect seeds local, to be used in the vicinity, they have a much better chance of surviving … you have to start with the right species, so we’re trying to do that.”
Areas planted with only grass seed, even if it is a native variety, will stall the regrowth of the forest and become a no-go zone for wildlife.