Unearthed - The need for seeds, with Cate Blanchett

In this final episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Cate Blanchett looks ahead to the next 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank – and beyond.

First stop: space. Dr Anne Visscher is a Research Fellow in the seed and stress biology team. She shares her pioneering work sending seeds to the International Space Station, revealing how experiments in orbit are helping scientists understand how plants might survive extreme environments — from future planets to a changing Earth.

Back on the ground, Senior Research Leader in seed biology Dr Louise Colville takes Cate into the cryogenic labs to uncover how scientists are developing new preservation techniques for seeds too fragile for conventional storage.

The MSB’s mission is also growing worldwide. Megan Engelhardt, Seed Bank Manager at Missouri Botanical Garden, USA, and James Amponsah, Head of the Tree Seed Centre at Forestry Research Institute of Ghana, explain how Kew’s training and expertise are helping them to share their knowledge across the USA and Ghana.

Finally, Cate reflects on what she’s learned, banking on the knowledge that something as small as a seed can provide one of the greatest solutions to our planet’s future.

Unearthed - The need for seeds is a Fresh Air production for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  

Series Producer: Hannah Fisher, Executive Producer: Annie Day, Director of Content: Michaela Hallam. Sound Design by Dan King.

With special thanks to everyone at Wakehurst and the Millennium Seed bank who helped with the production behind the scenes.

The Millennium Seed Bank holds over 2.5 billion seeds – but where do they all come from, and how do they end up in those deep underground vaults?

In this episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Cate Blanchett joins UK Seed Conservation Coordinator Ted Chapman and UK Conservation Projects Officer Isabel Negri on a seed-collecting mission in the South of England. Searching for yellow rattle, she learns how scientists balance collecting enough for research while leaving nature undisturbed.

Seeds also arrive from across the globe. Nattanit Yiamthaisong, a PhD student, shares how her research at the MSB is helping her understand how temperature affects germination — skills she’ll take back to her forest restoration work at Chiang Mai University.

Back at Wakehurst, Seed Curator Sian McCabe guides Cate through the labs where seeds are dried, cleaned, and x-rayed before being sealed deep in the vaults — the beating heart of this global effort to protect plant life for generations to come.

The Millennium Seed Bank started life as a modest chest freezer housed in an English chapel. It’s now a multi-layered vault housing over 2.5 billion wild seeds, with partnerships all over the world. A living insurance policy for our world’s plants.

In this first episode of Unearthed: The need for seeds, Wakehurst ambassador Cate Blanchett dives into the rich history of Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank with Kew’s Senior Research Leader in Seed Conservation, Dr Elinor Breman and founding father Roger Smith.

She also discovers the extraordinary variety of seeds stored and why — including relatives of staple crops like carrots and potatoes — to safeguard global food systems, explained by Dr Chris Cockel, UK Conservation Projects Coordinator at the Millennium Seed Bank.

And we hear from Dan Duval, Senior Seed Collections Officer from the South Australian Seed Conservation Centre, who shares testimony for the vital role banked seeds already play in regenerating habitats.

The new series of Unearthed: The need for seeds from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew launches with a very special conversation.

A long-time champion of nature, His Majesty King Charles III has shown lifelong commitment to conservation and sustainability. As Kew’s Patron, he officially opened the Millennium Seed Bank in 2000 and has taken an active interest in its work ever since.

His Majesty joins Kew’s ambassador for Wakehurst Cate Blanchett, and Kew’s Senior Research Leader in Seed Conservation Dr Elinor Breman in the gardens of Windsor Castle, to reflect on the Millennium Seed Bank’s beginnings, its progress, and its vital role in securing the future of plant life on Earth.

Unearthed - The need for seeds is a Fresh Air production for the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.  

Series Producer: Hannah Fisher, Executive Producer: Annie Day, Director of Content: Michaela Hallam. Sound Design by Dan King.

With special thanks to everyone at Wakehurst and the Millennium Seed bank who helped with the production behind the scenes.

Image of His Majesty The King by Hugo Burnand.

From the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Unearthed returns — celebrating 25 years of the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst, the most biodiverse place on our planet.

Hosted by Cate Blanchett, Kew’s ambassador for Wakehurst, this series explores the story of the world’s largest wild seed bank — a vault and living laboratory where science and conservation meet. From restoring habitats to protecting biodiversity, these seeds hold the promise of our planet’s future.

This is no distant insurance policy. It’s one we’re already relying on — and one that will only grow in importance as our climate changes and biodiversity is lost.

As the Seed Bank marks its 25th anniversary, Cate discovers how its groundbreaking work is already shaping life on Earth — and why its mission has never mattered more.