In praise of the humble seed

She's a Hollywood star whose mantelpiece groans under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett suddenly took a break from her daily work – she plunged into the world of the humble seed.

Her eyes light up as she admires the banksia species from her native Australia.

“It's a pretty tough-looking seed pod that only releases seeds at very high temperatures,” she tells us.

“It really looks like a cross between a hammer and a toilet brush. So they’re not always pretty, but what comes out of them is amazing.”

We meet her at Kew's Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst Botanic Gardens in Sussex. She lives here and joined the project as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.

“Indeed, I stumbled upon Wakehurst. I was just in awe of the landscape and always feel reborn when I’m in the natural world,” she says.

“And then I discovered the seed bank, and I was literally blown away by the work that goes on here… and I thought, whatever I can do to be involved with it, I found it very inspiring.”

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

Seeds of any shape, size and color are carefully processed, dried and then stored in freezers at -20°C.

The conservation project was opened by the King, then the Prince of Wales, in 2000. He took part in a special episode of Q's podcast about the project called Unearthed: The Need For Seeds with Cate Blanchett.

In the recording, he talks about his concerns about the extinction of many plant species.

“I know how critical all of this is: the destruction of the rainforests, the disappearance of endless species that probably have remarkable properties,” he says in the podcast.

When the seed bank first opened, it was seen as a doomsday vault—a backup seed store designed to protect wild plants from extinction.

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

“We want to get these seeds back into nature,” explained MSB's Dr Elinor Breman, who showed Cate Blanchett the team's work.

“We are simply providing them with a safe space until we can return them to a habitat where they can thrive and survive.”

This includes projects such as the one taking place in the South Downs. To restore the rare chalk meadows there, a special mixture of seeds from MSB is sown.

And this restoration work is repeated all over the world.

“We went to every habitat, from sea level to about 5,000 meters and from pole to pole – literally,” Dr Breman explained.

“And we're involved in restoring rainforests, dry deciduous forests, grasslands, grasslands—you name it—we're trying to help people put those plants back in place.”

The seed bank also helped restore plants after the severe bushfires that ravaged Australia in 2019. Cate Blanchett says it meant a lot to her.

“There are almost 9,000 species of Australian plants that are kept [at the MSB]. And we know that wildfires are becoming more intense. And it’s sad to say, but knowing that the insurance policy exists is a great comfort to me.”

Working as an ambassador for Wakehurst gave the actor the opportunity to receive the seeds.

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

“You know, living in Sussex, it’s impossible not to become a passionate gardener. So I had a lot of questions about how to store seeds as a layperson, and I learned a lot about it. My seed care has definitely, definitely improved.”

And after spending so much time with MSB researchers, is she even tempted to trade the set for the lab?

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

Cate Blanchett describes the seed bank as Britain's best-kept secret and believes its work will grow in importance over the next 25 years.

“You often think, where is the good news? And we're actually sitting inside one of them,” she tells us.

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