A seed bank in England marks 25 years of preserving the world's plant diversity

Deep underground beneath the Sussex countryside in southern England, millions of seeds are kept frozen in a vault built to withstand fire, flooding, and any other disaster.

- By MUSTAKIM HASNATH

The Millennium Seed Bank at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew holds more than 2.5 billion wild plant seeds from around 40,000 species. The seeds are stored in sealed glass jars and foil packets, and are preserved in temperatures of minus 20 degrees Celsius (minus 4 Fahrenheit) to guard against extinction.

Researchers describe it as one of the most biodiverse places on Earth - a secure archive of the world's flora intended to protect its contents for centuries.

Opened in 2000 by King Charles III, then the Prince of Wales, the facility is now marking its 25th anniversary.

The king, who has remained involved with Kew's conservation work, features in a new anniversary podcast alongside actor Cate Blanchett and Kew scientist Elinor Breman that was released on Monday. In the episode, they discuss the origins of the seed bank and its future potential to restore ecosystems across the world.

The process begins far from the vault. Field collectors in places such as Madagascar, Thailand, Greece and Arctic Sweden gather seeds from wild plants and send a portion to Kew.

"Drying is the first step in increasing the longevity of those seeds," said Elinor Breman, senior research leader in seed conservation at Kew.