Regional Seed News
News, funding opportunities, and updates from across the region highlighting efforts to expand the availability and use of diverse, source-identified native seed and plant materials in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.
New York awards $45 million for seeds, trees and nurseries
October 29, 2026
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton announced $45 million in grants to 44 projects through DEC's Advancing Forest Markets (AFM) initiative (October 29, 2026). The funding bolsters reforestation, strengthens New York's forest product industry, increases forest resilience and climate mitigation, and contributes to the State's 25 Million Trees Initiative. The projects will help businesses expand tree seedling and forest product capacity, production and markets, increase access to affordable native trees, and grow New York's forest products economy.
Over the next year, the reforestation supply chain projects are expected to:
- Collect more than 5 million native tree seeds
- Grow more than 1 million locally adapted tree seedlings
- Foster partnerships among 250+ seed collectors, nurseries and forestry practitioners
- Train 400+ students, landowners and professionals
A big congratulations to our network members:
- NYC Parks, $1,605,304, for the Plant Ecology Center and Nursery (PECaN): tree seed collection and processing, seedling propagation, workforce training, knowledge sharing, marketing and distribution
- ArcheWild, $2,912,725, for seed collection and containerless seedling production at a new start-up nursery
- Limeledge Botanical Garden and Arboretum, $1,323,000, with Go Native! Perennials and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank
- Plan It Wild, $768,099, for eco-typical tree seed and seedling production
- Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, $382,737, to expand its Native Plant Nursery for restoration at Akwesasne
Congratulations as well to all 44 grantees.
Which trees should New York State grow? The Collaborative Priority Native Tree Species List for New York State, led by The Nature Conservancy in New York and Ecological Health Network, narrows hundreds of native trees to a focused set. It was shaped with input from ecologists, nursery professionals, Indigenous horticulturists and others. It gives seed collectors and nurseries clearer demand signals about which species to grow. This work follows the 2023 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine native seed report, which found that suppliers see "unpredictable demand as their leading challenge." The report recommended "developing region-specific lists of priority species."
Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank welcomes two new board members
October 29, 2026
Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Seed Bank (MARSB) is welcoming two new members to its board: Peggy Olwell and Leah Lenzo.
Peggy Olwell retired in 2025 as Program Lead of the Bureau of Land Management's Plant Conservation and Restoration Program and is now a Research Associate at Chicago Botanic Garden. Over more than 38 years in plant conservation and restoration, she built the BLM's Native Seed Program, helped develop the Plant Conservation Alliance and led the 2015 National Seed Strategy.
Leah Lenzo recently earned her Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, where her research focused on native seed ecology and restoration. Originally from Rochester, New York, she served as Seeds of Success National Curator from 2018 to 2020 and as the inaugural Treasurer of the International Network for Seed-based Restoration.
Congratulations to MARSB and to both new board members!