2026 President’s Report

In the 2025-2026 season we collected and processed 8.4kg of seed from 35 sites (both public and private land), from 56 species. This is a gradual increase from 6.4kg then 7kg in previous seasons.

Our trickiest seed last season was the Cassinia aculeata (Common Dogwood) which was hit with high temps while flowering and ‘cooked’, preventing many from ripening. Acacias and Eucalypts had a good season and seeded well. Well done!
We ended our season with a lunch and presentation of our learning aids to Landcare.

A great deal of time, effort and brain power went into investigating a grant to build new accommodation for our storage, cleaning and social activities. Unfortunately, it was not to be and we are still restricted by useable space in unsuitable weather conditions.

However, we have added more shelving in the container and cleaned up some of the equipment to free up space in the Atco hut. A rearrangement of furniture and some thinking outside the box means we will be OK for this year, hopefully. We also have been allowed access to the archives shed at the depot for those inclement days. Thank you to all who were involved in this process.

The step at the front of the hut is now fixed (hopefully) and the roof repair is a work in progress.

Kangaroo grass (donated by Wonthaggi Seed Bank) planted in the garden bed in the depot carpark has stayed alive and will hopefully flourish better with this Spring weather. Also now planted out by an eager team are some Olearia phlogopappa (Dusty Daisy Bush) and Goodia lotifolia (Golden Tip) grown from our seed!

Our Winter educational excursions have been phenomenal! The visit to the Melbourne Herbarium archives was informative and invigorating. Their enthusiastic staff showed us seed magnification through x-ray to identify viability, cleaning and storage procedures, temperature-controlled germination testing and mounting of dried specimens for study purposes. This was followed by lunch in the Botanic Gardens and a stroll.

French Island was another treat. The Landcare team met us at the ferry and organised transport around the island to visit their nursery and revegetation sites while discussing the pros and cons of living on an island. A delicious morning tea and lunch were included with some talks on how feral populations and koalas are being managed.

Many morning cuppas were enjoyed at Jindi Cafe (unfortunately now closed – we tried!) and the Warragul Country Club, with visits to sites at Nangara Reserve, Vesper and Blue Rock Lake for possible new species and seed sources.

Thank you to all the committee for the ongoing background work you do. Wendy, you have been an outstanding Treasurer, keeping our finances ticking over. Merrin: always brilliant with record keeping and general guru of everything! Joyce, your secretary stuff is essential to keep us legal and on task. Rose: for the data, photo and website input.

I am looking forward to a new season working with you all and expanding our horizons for new species and more of the old faithful.

Lorraine Hobgen
President of the West Gippsland Seedbank Association Inc