Last year, the network undertook its first major project: a large-scale survey of more than 50 partners across the region. The results were stark. They revealed that more than 500 native species in the Midwest are effectively unavailable for restoration. In some cases, it’s because no one grows them. In others, the seeds are available, but the cost — even at a couple of dollars per packet — becomes prohibitive when restoration projects require thousands of pounds. And for certain finicky species, the bottleneck is technical: Researchers and growers still don’t fully understand how to germinate them reliably or help them thrive in restoration settings.
Kramer said that, ultimately, the goal is to connect the people who need seeds with those who know how to grow them. While the network does not sell seeds, it works with organizations and partners that do. “We are using the network to help elevate what we all know and share what we know to make it easier,” she said.
It’s great to see projects like this. It lays the foundation for what I’d argue is one of the more realistic approaches to climate change: genetically modifying native species to integrate carboxysomes into photosynthesis. Definitely more work to be done on the protein design front to merge the systems and a need to be really really careful if we want to use gene drives, but if carboxysomes can facilitate carbon capture without the dramatic ecosystem changes caused by adding fundamentally new species then I think humanity has a real chance of solving the without challenging entrenched economic motives.