2023 President’s Report
The Seedbank held its Annual General Meeting on 5 October this year. President Lorraine Hobgen shares her report of the Seedbank’s activities.
Our new website is now up and running, so you can check the full report from the end of season there (Review of the 2022-23 seed collection season). Very exciting and the culmination of much time spent in front of a screen. Thank you everyone especially Rose and Merrin.
The container is settled into its new position and we have an awning to supplement the gazebo when weather is unfavourable. We have created space in the container with some rearrangement and now we will be able to clean in there as well if necessary.
We welcome Cathy and Karen as new members and Jo and Jeanette will hopefully get a chance to attend sometimes when work stops getting in the way. We trust that you will be happy with us for some time.
Over the winter months, we checked out several new sites and re-visited some old ones with the view of branching out a little further with our collection. This means that we can increase our seed biodiversity and hopefully gather a few different species. It is also fun to collect in the bush! We of course also met for the all important coffee (or favourite beverage).
Representatives from Habitat Creations and Wonthaggi Seedbank joined us for coffee to share ideas; discuss ways we can help each other and generally get to know a little about each other. This was very productive and sparked further discussion on our seed identification booklet and how we can best share it with others. (Stay posted!) It was the trigger for exploration of new sites as they will also be collecting in the area and we don’t need to be in each others way. An invitation was issued from Chris Owens to see his property at Inverloch where we can see his collection and propagation areas, many species of which are similar to ours. Thanks for following that up, Rose.
To all our members, thank you for the ongoing support and willingness to pitch in and be flexible where needed. I love being a part of such a cohesive and friendly group. Keep up the good work.
Cheers,
Lorraine Hobgen
President of the West Gippsland Seedbank Association Inc
Pandorea pandorana (Wonga Vine)