For all of our scientific advancements and technology, seeds remain the underpinnings of civilization.
There’s something deeply elemental and satisfying about starting your own seeds. It’s difficult to explain to someone who’s never taken up gardening, much less staked their entire summer on a handful of particulate matter that one could fit on a 3x5 index card. A group of scientists in Longyearbyen, Norway understands the thrill. This week the Norwegian government opened the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which will safeguard millions of seeds from catastrophes ranging from tsunamis to nuclear war. The vault maintains a strictly controlled frigid environment, so that the seeds may remain viable even after 1000 years. That’s something to think about as I ponder seed packets from a few years ago and wonder if they’ll germinate or not.
A $9 million frozen Garden of Eden just 620 miles shy of the North Pole captures the imagination. Such a grand undertaking for a mere seed collection may seem like much ado about nothing. However, reporters in the remote region for the vault’s opening ceremony witnessed climate change in situ: a helicopter tour revealed melting glaciers around this Arctic archipelago.
No one knows exactly what changes global warming will bring in the next 10, 20, or 50 years. However, we can all acknowledge that we will each experience a limited number of springtimes. This spring, start a packet of seeds on your windowsill or in your garden, and see what all the fuss is about.
