Started as a safeguard for agriculture, seed banks are now one of the world’s most important conservation tools. The Missouri Botanical Garden’s Seed Bank stores more than 1,500 species, including 40% of Missouri’s native flora.
Now, Garden Seed Bank Manager, Meg Engelhardt, will be able to train other institutions on proper techniques to save local and global flora thanks to a pilot training program through Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. Engelhardt is one of the first to receive this training.
“The Missouri Botanical Garden is proud to be one of the founding institutions participating in the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership’s new Training Certification Scheme,” Engelhardt said. “As part of this collaboration, our role is to help extend Kew’s world-leading seed conservation training to a broader audience across North America.”
What is a seed bank?
A seed bank is a facility where seeds are collected, dried, and stored under carefully controlled conditions. This preserves their viability for decades—or even centuries.
Why were seed banks first created?
Humans have stored dried seeds for millennia. Scientists started creating formal seed banks in the 1920s as a way to safeguard agricultural and other economically important crops.
How was the purpose of seed banks shifted over time?
As more plant species began disappearing, scientists started expanding seed banks beyond farming crops. Seed banks began to include wild species, many of which are now at risk of extinction.
Today, seed banking is a cornerstone of global plant conservation. Globally, seed banks are one of the most effective and cost-efficient methods for conserving plant biodiversity. They are helping safeguard wild flora alongside cultivated crops to maintain the resilience of ecosystems and food systems alike.
How do Seed Banks Support conservation?
Unlike living plant collections, which require continuous care and space, stored seeds require little space and maintenance. This makes seed banking a powerful form of ex situ conservation. Seed banks can store vast amounts of genetic diversity to be safely preserved and readily available for research, restoration, and reintroduction efforts.
Ex situ conservation is the protection of species outside their natural habitats.
It’s important to note that seed banks are not a replacement for healthy ecosystems. Rather, they act as a safety net. By backing up vulnerable or endangered plant populations, they help ensure that genetic material is not lost forever. The ultimate goal is to support the recovery of species in the wild, helping to restore and sustain functioning ecosystems for future generations.
How many seed banks exist globally?
Experts estimate there are about about 1,700 seed banks worldwide today. Some noteworthy seed banks include the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, often referred to as the “Doomsday Vault,” and the Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the United Kingdom.
These seed banks, along with many others, form a global safety net for plant life—critical for research, education, and the restoration of ecosystems affected by environmental change.
When did the Missouri Botanical Garden Develop a seed bank?
The Missouri Botanical Garden has used seed banking as a conservation tool since the 1980s. As a founding and active member of the Center for Plant Conservation, the Garden initially focused on conserving globally rare species from our regional flora.
“By safeguarding genetic material from vulnerable plant populations, our researchers sought to ensure that these species could be studied and, if necessary, reintroduced to the wild in the future,” Engelhardt explained.
How did the Garden’s Seed banking evolve over time?
In 2010, Botanical Gardens Congress International added the goal of conserving at least 75 percent of the world’s threatened species in ex situ collections to its Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. In alignment with that goal, the Garden officially established its Seed Bank at Shaw Nature Reserve in Gray Summit. The Seed Bank expanded its focus to include threatened species from across the globe. The Garden also launched a Missouri-focused collection, aiming to bank seeds from all of the state’s 2,200+ native plant species.
Where is the Garden’s Seed Bank?
After more than a decade, the Seed Bank outgrew its home at Shaw Nature Reserve. In 2025, the Seed Bank moved from the Oertli Family Hardy Plant Nursery, just one mile from the Garden’s main campus. The Seed Bank now fills six freezers at the Hardy Plant Nursery—two more than it had at Shaw Nature Reserve—and the space provides room for future growth.
What’s in the Garden’s seed bank today?
As of November 2025, the Missouri Botanical Garden Seed Bank holds 9,678 accessions representing 1,511 different species. These collections span 145 plant families and come from 20 countries and 30 U.S. states.
The Garden currently maintains seed accessions for 81 species in the CPC’s National Collection of Endangered Plants. The Garden is the primary custodian of 41 species and continues to bank new material for those species.
The Missouri collection continues to grow. The Seed Bank houses 942 native species, representing just over 40% of the state’s flora.
“Together, these collections capture both the local richness of Missouri’s landscapes and the Garden’s growing role in global plant conservation,” Engelhardt said.
Who maintains the Garden’s Seed Bank?
Seed banking at the Missouri Botanical Garden is a collaborative process with dozens of Garden staff members making contributions. Its backbone is a small but mighty team of two full-time staff members—Engelhardt and Seed Specialist Katie Pittman.
Engelhardt has been at the helm since 2014. She earned her master’s in conservation biology focusing on the impact of invasive plants on native ecosystems. Engelhardt started her career surveying and documenting natural plant communities. She realized she wanted to spend her career protecting species and habitats rather than documenting species as they disappeared.
“It allows me to work with a wide range of species across many habitats, from rare Ozark endemics to globally threatened plants,” she said. “I love that the work is both proactive and practical. We collect and safeguard seeds today, and then those same seeds are readily available when the opportunity is right.”
The Missouri Botanical Garden, known globally for its plant science and conservation, is the perfect place for her.
“Working within an institution that truly values and invests in protecting our natural world means a great deal to me,” she said.
I take great pride in caring for these seeds. Each one holds extraordinary potential — not only for its ecological importance, but also for its deep cultural significance. Seeds have evolved over millennia to endure, yet today they face unprecedented challenges. Their time with us in the Seed Bank offers a moment of pause — a chance to protect and understand that potential. Working with them is a powerful reminder that, through careful stewardship, we can help nurture a brighter, more resilient future.
Meg Engelhardt, Seed Bank Manager
Global Partnerships
The Garden partners with seed banks around the world to support global conservation efforts. Notably, The Garden has a long history of collaboration with the Millennium Seed Bank, or MSB, at Kew. Currently celebrating its 25th anniversary, Millennium Seed Bank houses over 2.5 billion seeds from approximately 40,000 wild plant species.
The Garden’s Seed Bank and MSB are rooted in a shared commitment to global plant conservation. Over time, the institutions have strengthened that relationship through training, data sharing, and participation in MSB-led courses. Engelhardt completed their seed conservation techniques program in 2018, and Pittman completed training in seed viability testing.
Pilot training
This year, MSB approached Engelhardt to complete training that would allow the Missouri Botanical Garden to be one of the founding institutions participating in its new Training Certification Scheme. This pilot initiative certifies qualified individuals to deliver training in seed conservation techniques across the globe.
“I think my experience, combined with the Missouri Botanical Garden’s long-standing reputation and leadership in plant conservation, made this a natural fit,” Engelhardt said.
In June 2025, Engelhardt traveled to the UK to join just five other seed bank managers chosen for the first round of training. Now, as a certified trainer, Engelhardt can lead courses using Kew’s curriculum adapted for regional needs. This combines international expertise with the Garden’s long history of applying Center for Plant Conservation Best Practices.
“This collaboration strengthens global training capacity and reinforces the Garden’s leadership in plant conservation education,” Engelhardt said.
Building the Future
The certification ensures new trainers are using protocols that remain state-of-the-art and scientifically rigorous. It also formalizes our ability to deliver structured, MSBP-endorsed training to partners across the U.S. and beyond — from conservation agencies to academic collaborators.
“Ultimately, this enhances the quality of seed collections entering our bank and builds regional expertise to safeguard rare and threatened species, which supports the Garden’s mission of protecting plant diversity for future generations,” Engelhardt said.
The program will allow the Missouri Botanical Garden to co-host regional workshops, contribute to the development of new training materials, and exchange expertise with other botanical institutions.
“This positions the Missouri Botanical Garden as a hub for seed conservation training in North America — expanding our impact beyond our own collections to support the broader conservation community,” Engelhardt said.
Catherine Martin
Senior Public Information Officer
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