In praise of the humble seed

She is a Hollywood star, with a mantelpiece creaking under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett has taken an unexpected shift from her day job — to immerse herself in the world of the humble seed.

Her eyes light up and she is excited about the Banksia species native to Australia.

“It is a feral-looking seed pod that only releases its seeds at extremely high temperatures,” she tells us.

“It looks like a cross between a hammer and a toilet brush. So it’s not always pretty, but what comes out of it is absolutely amazing.”

We met her at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst Botanic Garden in Sussex. She lives locally and collaborates with the project, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

“I really found Wakehurst,” she says. “I was fascinated by the landscape and always feel rejuvenated by being in the natural world.”

“And then I discovered the seed bank, and I was blown away by the work that was going on here…and I thought, anything I can do to connect with it – I found it very inspiring.”

The MSB is home to more than 2.5 billion seeds collected from 40,000 wild plant species around the world.

The seeds, which come in all shapes, sizes and colours, are carefully processed, dried and then stored in freezers at a cold temperature of up to 20°C.

The conservation project was inaugurated by the King – then the Prince of Wales – in 2000. He participated in a special episode of the Kew podcast about the project called Unearthed: The Need For Seeds with Cate Blanchett.

In the recording, he talks about his fears of losing many plant species.

“I know how important all of this is, including the destruction of rainforests, and the extinction of countless species, which very likely have wonderful properties,” he told the podcast.

When the seed bank was first opened, it was viewed as a doomsday vault – a reserve storehouse of seeds to protect wild plants from extinction.

But 25 years later, the collection is being used for a different purpose: restoring threatened environments.

“We want those seeds back in the landscape,” explained MSB’s Dr. Elinor Bryman, who was presenting the team’s work to Cate Blanchett.

“We’re just providing them with a safe space so we can return them to a habitat where they can thrive and survive.”

This includes projects such as those taking place on the South Downs. A special blend of seeds from MSB is sewn to help restore the rare chalk grasslands there.

These restoration works are repeated all over the world.

“We went to all kinds of habitats, from sea level down to about 5,000 metres, and from pole to pole – literally,” Dr Bryman explained.

“We are involved in restoring tropical forests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, steppes – you name it – and trying to help people put those plants back where they belong.”

The seed bank also helped restore plants after the severe bushfires that swept across Australia in 2019. Cate Blanchett says this means a lot to her.

“There are approximately 9,000 species of Australian plants stored [at the MSB]. We know that wildfires are becoming increasingly severe. It’s sad to say – but knowing there’s an insurance policy is a huge solace for me.”

Serving as an ambassador for Wakehurst means the actor has had the opportunity to learn about the seeds.

“Do I have dirt under my fingernails? Well, I’m trying to turn my brown thumb green,” she laughs.

“You know, when you live in Sussex, you can’t help but become a passionate gardener. So I had a lot of questions about how to store seeds as a normal person, and I learned a lot about that. My seed management has definitely improved.”

And after spending so much time with researchers at MSB, are you at all inclined to replace the film set with the lab?

“I wish I had the skill, maybe I could play a scientist,” she laughs.

Cate Blanchett describes the seed bank as the UK’s best-kept secret – and believes the importance of its work will continue over the next 25 years.

“You often think, ‘Where are the good news stories?’ and we are actually sitting inside one,” she tells us.

“You come here, you visit the seed bank, you walk through such a biodiverse landscape, and then you leave lifted. You know that change is possible and that it is happening.”