Hidden deep underground beneath Sussex, England, is a vault full of millions of seeds frozen and preserved. The bunker is built to withstand any natural disaster imaginable. It holds 2.5 billion seeds with around 40,000 different species, all sealed in special containment and frozen. This is the Millennium Seed Bank, a marvel of engineering celebrating its 25th year of operation.
The bank started construction in early 1996 and was completed and opened around the 2000s. The project was commissioned by the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and has spawned collaboration from more than 100 countries. Originally, the goal was to collect 10% of the known seeds by the year 2010. They exceeded this goal in the year 2009, with the purple banana marking the targeted threshold. As of today, this worldwide collaboration has resulted in around 16% of the world’s known seeds being preserved in the complex.
The process of being stored is thorough. The seeds must be clean, dried, and stored in rooms that can reach -13°F, extending their shelf life for hundreds of years. The main goal of the project is to combat the effects of global warming by preserving endangered plants that may go extinct. It’s a backup in case something goes horribly wrong.
The project’s future is currently looking good. They plan to move away from large numbers and focus on collecting and storing useful plants.
