Years ago, the Saint John Naturalists’ Club and Nature NB began distributing swamp milkweed seeds to New Brunswickers as part of our Monarch conservation project. From our first foray into native seed and plant work, we have expanded to support coastal restoration projects, create pollinator gardens, and establish the Seed Sitters Club. Through this work and in collaboration with our partners, one challenge became clear – a lack of access and knowledge about native plants and seeds that are needed for restoration, public engagement, and related conservation work across the region.

In February of 2026, WWF-Canada hosted a gathering of restoration practitioners to start to dig into the challenges of native plant and seed access in the region. Workshop participants identified five main priority areas: seed sourcing, funding, training, materials/space, as well as public engagement. As a group, it was agreed that a Seed Strategy & Action Plan was needed to address these priority areas.

With support from WWF-Canada and the New Brunswick Environmental Network, Nature NB has completed a workshop series called Germinating Change, which brought conversations about native plants and seeds to various parts of New Brunswick. During our workshops, participants from various sectors including nurseries, NGOs, Indigenous groups, government departments, horticultural organizations, volunteers, woodlot owners, and passionate gardeners came together to map out actions that we can take as a community to increase access and interest in native plants.

With over 100 registrants across 4 workshops, the passion and excitement for native plants among participants was palpable at each workshop. As one nursery participant in Dieppe said “… [I] came out of the event feeling motivated and hopeful! The workshop structure was conducive to both deep discussions and spontaneous side-chats; I met many inspiring people, and came away with several new tools that I will use in my own nursery business.”

Moving forward, Nature NB will be sharing various tools with workshop participants and other partners to help maintain momentum and start implementing actions identified over the course of the project. We hope this effort helps to catalyze restoration projects involving native plants, both big and small, in the region for years to come. We would like to gratefully acknowledge the support of WWF-Canada in helping us continue to build a strong network of native plant and seed partners in the region.

As we continue to work with our partners to gather, distribute, and grow native plants, this project has shown that we are just one piece of an ever-growing movement aimed at restoring natural ecosystems across this beautiful region we call home.

For more information or if you’d like to chat native plants, please visit our website www.naturenb.ca or email info@naturenb.ca.

We gratefully acknowledge the support of WWF-Canada in this project. We also thank the New Brunswick Environmental Network for workshop support and coordination assistance.