Rebecca Morelle<\/span>Science Editor<\/span> and<\/span><\/p>\n Alison Francis<\/span>Senior Science Journalist<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n She’s a Hollywood A-lister, with a mantelpiece groaning under the weight of awards. But Cate Blanchett has taken an unexpected diversion from her day job – to immerse herself in the world of the humble seed.<\/p>\n Her eyes light up as she enthuses about the banksia species from her native Australia.<\/p>\n “It’s quite a brutal looking seed pod that only releases its seed in extremely high temperatures,” she tells us.<\/p>\n “It does look like a cross between a mallet and a toilet brush. So they’re not always pretty, but yet what comes out of them is so spectacular.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n We meet her at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Wakehurst botanic garden in Sussex. She lives locally and teamed up with the project as it celebrates its 25th anniversary.<\/p>\n “Really, I stumbled upon Wakehurst. I was just in awe of the landscape and I always feel regenerated by being in the natural world,” she says.<\/p>\n “And then I discovered the seed bank, and I literally had my mind blown by the work that goes on here\u2026 and I thought, anything I can do to be connected to it – I found it so inspiring.”<\/p>\n The MSB is home to more than 2.5 billion seeds collected from 40,000 wild plant species around the world.<\/p>\n The seeds, which come in every shape, size and colour, are carefully processed, dried and then stored in freezers at a chilly -20C.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The conservation project was opened by The King – then the Prince of Wales – in 2000. He’s taken part in a special episode of a Kew podcast about the project called Unearthed: The Need For Seeds with Cate Blanchett.<\/p>\n In the recording he talks about his concerns that many plant species are being lost.<\/p>\n “I know how absolutely critical it all is, and the destruction of rainforests, the extinction of endless species, which have very likely remarkable properties,” he tells the podcast.<\/p>\n When the seed bank first opened, it was seen as a doomsday vault – a back-up store of seeds to safeguard wild plants from extinction.<\/p>\n But 25 years on, the collection is being used for a different purpose: to restore environments that are under threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n “We want those seeds to be back out in the landscape,” explained Dr Elinor Breman from the MSB, who’s been showing Cate Blanchett the team’s work.<\/p>\n “We’re just providing a safe space for them until we can get them back out into a habitat where they can thrive and survive.”<\/p>\n This includes projects like one taking place on the South Downs. A special mix of seeds from the MSB are being sown to help restore the rare chalk grasslands there.<\/p>\n And this restoration work is being repeated around the world.<\/p>\n “We’ve been to every kind of habitat, from sea level to about 5,000m, and from pole to pole – literally,” explained Dr Breman. <\/p>\n “And we’re involved in restoring tropical forest, dry deciduous forest, grassland, steppe – you name it – we’re trying to help people put those plants back in place.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The seed bank also helped to restore plants after intense wildfires swept across Australia in 2019. Cate Blanchett says this meant a lot to her.<\/p>\n “There are almost 9,000 species of Australian plant that are stored [at the MSB]. And we know that bushfires are getting increasingly more intense. And it’s sad to say – but knowing that insurance policy exists, is of great solace to me.”<\/p>\n Working as an ambassador for Wakehurst has meant that the actor has had a chance to get hands on with the seeds.<\/p>\n “Have I got dirt under my fingernails? Well, I’m trying to turn my brown thumbs green,” she laughs.<\/p>\n “You know, living in Sussex, you can’t not but become a passionate gardener. So I’ve had a lot of questions about how one stores seeds as a lay person, and I’ve learned a lot about that. My seed management has definitely, definitely improved.”<\/p>\n And after spending so much time with the researchers at the MSB, is she at all tempted to swap the film set for the lab?<\/p>\n “I wish I had the skill – maybe I could play a scientist,” she laughs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Cate Blanchett describes the seed bank as the UK’s best kept secret – and believes that over the next 25 years its work will continue to grow in importance.<\/p>\n “You often think, where are the good news stories? And we’re actually sitting inside one,” she tells us.<\/p>\n “You come here, you visit the seed bank, you walk through such a biodiverse landscape, and you leave uplifted. You know change is possible and it’s happening.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/81b8\/live\/63e35360-a9e6-11f0-a429-417d8b18f8ba.jpg.webp\")
Tony Jolliffe\/BBC News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/static.files.bbci.co.uk\/bbcdotcom\/web\/20251015-170100-8e96f025b0-web-2.31.4-1\/grey-placeholder.png\")
![\"RBG](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/2cfe\/live\/c605be10-a9e7-11f0-8f02-15a9bbd0334e.jpg.webp\")
RBG Kew<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"RBG](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/54aa\/live\/8d06faa0-aab6-11f0-8051-295629adf78e.jpg.webp\")
RBG Kew<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Tony](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/a605\/live\/f4214a40-a9e6-11f0-a429-417d8b18f8ba.jpg.webp\")
Tony Jolliffe\/BBC News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n![\"Kevin](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/c1a3\/live\/32959a10-a9e7-11f0-a429-417d8b18f8ba.jpg.webp\")
Kevin Church\/BBC News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n