Visit to the largest and oldest seed bank

The 2nd and 6th-year students from the Padre Bartolomeu de Gusmão School Group visited the most significant and oldest seed bank of native species in mainland Portugal, a space usually inaccessible at the Museum (MUHNAC-ULisboa): the A.L. Belo Correia Seed Bank.
They were able to see the laboratory where the seeds are collected, treated, preserved and supervised, the germination chambers and the refrigerator, which maintains more than 1/3 of the Portuguese flora and about 60% of the protected species in Portugal's mainland.
The seed bank curator Manuela Sim-Sim, and the technician Domitila Brocas, guided the visit, from which the students ended up with more in-depth knowledge on the selection and conservation of seeds process to maintain the germination potential during tens to hundreds of years.