Dodds, R. (Greening Australia Victoria); Dennis, C. (Greening Australia Victoria); Horlock, J. (Greening Australia Victoria); Turnbull, T. (Greening Australia Victoria); Gartlan, C. (Greening Australia Victoria);

This Framework for Effective Seed Supply provides an assessment of the current seed supply structure within Corangamite and identifies key recommendations to establish a strategic and operational framework to service the future native seed supply demands of the Corangamite region. The key recommendations of this report can be summarised as two priority actions: 1. The formalisation of a Native Seed Supply Network for the Corangamite region, that comprises of two, complementary components ? a Revegetation Network and a Supply Network, 2. The facilitated sharing of supply & demand information relating to native seed throughout this network. Key information sharing throughout the Network should embrace: a) The dissemination of technical guidelines and standards in native seed supply (eg. FloraBank Guidelines and national standards for collecting and storing native seed), b) Sharing of project information required to supply native seed to major revegetation projects in the region, between all Network stakeholders. Other actions critical to the funding and operation of the of the proposed Native Seed Supply Network include the recognition of the ?true value? of appropriately provenanced, native seed for revegetation projects. The true cost of the supply of local native plant seed should embrace the cost of both collection (market cost for the seed species) PLUS the coordination of its collection (cost of the identification of seed collection zones for different species required for a project and the co-ordination of seed collectors to fulfill seed orders). True cost of sourcing local native seed must be adequately budgeted within project funding and appropriate seed costing recommendations established by the Native Seed Supply Network and communicated/ monitored by funding bodies such as the Catchment Management Body, though funding application guidelines etc. (Refer to section 4.43 Purchase of Seed). It is expected, as has been experienced in other regions of Victoria, future revegetation within the Corangamite region will utilise a greater portion of direct seeding techniques in order to address the increased scale of revegetation planned across the landscape. A greater use of direct seeding will correspondingly bring about a much greater volume demand for locally-sourced native seed. This increase demand has a two-pronged impact for native vegetation management that will be key issues for the Native Seed Supply Network to address: ? much greater collection pressures upon remnant vegetation of the region, and ? a heightened need to instate and manage, seed quality assurance measures within the native seed collection & supply networks. The recommended Framework will enable the Corangamite CMA to address issues effecting the supply of native seed in the region and provide a strategic and pro-active planning tool to support large-scale revegetation works, that maximise biodiversity outcomes and ensure the efficient use of capital and environmental resources. It is envisaged that ALL revegetation programs occurring within the region that are operating to achieve objectives as identified within the Corangamite Regional Catchment Strategy, are to be serviced for their native seed demands through this regional Native Seed Supply Network. This includes Corangamite's land, biodiversity and water programs.

Corangamite Catchment Management Authority, National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality