THE

EXPANSION OF
SEED BANKS

1 Warm up

In pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. How often do you think about your future? Are you actively planning for it?
2. Are there any risks involved in planning for the future? What are they?

3. Should governments take an active role in making sure that the future of society is more
secure? Why?

4. In relation to the climate and the environment, who should take an active role in protecting
them for future generations?

2 Listening for details

Listen to the interview with a senior scientist working at the Global Seed Bank. She is going
to talk about a selection of different tasks they perform at the Seed Bank. Put a tick beside
the ones you hear.

Preserve the world’s seeds Grow new seeds

Collect seeds from around the world Make a backup for the seeds

Create new plant types Allow individuals to visit the bank

Help support smaller seed banks Grow new species outside of the vault
3 Listening comprehension
Listen again and decide if the following information is True (T) or False (F). If it is False then
try to correct that sentence.

1. Sarah is the only important scientist at the Global Seed Bank.

2. The vault is situated just under the surface of the earth.

3. The interviewer thinks the work Sarah is doing is worthwhile.

4. Sarah hopes the seed banks will contain most of the unique seeds from around the world.

5. The interviewer asks her about the chance of a doomsday-type incident.

6. Sarah only talks about dangers caused to seed banks by the weather.

7. Habitat loss is the only reason that they cannot collect seed samples quickly enough.

8. The act of research is moderately slow.

Now in pairs, discuss the following questions.

1. Sarah talked about making a backup of seeds. What kind of things do you make a backup of in
your life? Is it a good idea to do so?

2. ‘Our planet is home to diverse range of plants’. Do you think diversity is important when it
comes to nature? Why/Why not?

3. The interviewer says that we could "fall victim to" a horrific end of world event. What do they
mean by it? What other things can people "fall victim to"?

4. Sarah talks about issues like loss of habitat, deforestation and climate change. How serious do
you think these problems are?
4 Focus on vocabulary

Part A: Match the following vocabulary to the definitions.

advancement (n) doomsday (n) fluctuation (n)

preservation (n) resistance (n) safety net (n)
specimen (n) vault (n) vulnerable (adj.)

1. a room (series of rooms) primarily created for the protection of valuables

2. something examined as a typical example

3. the day the world ends, or a period when something terrible will happen

4. able to be physically or mentally hurt by internal or external factors

5. changes or the action of something changing, usually related to levels

6. fighting back against an act of aggression

7. maintaining something in an identical state, protecting it from damage

8. improving or developing something

9. (idiom) provide security against something difficult or against bad luck

Part B: Put some of the words from Part A into the correct gaps in the following sentences.
You may need to change the form of the word.

1. As a lab technician, I have to make sure the are ready for inspection.

2. My friend David felt particularly just after he’d been mugged.

3. The in the weather this summer have been really unpredictable.

4. The of old castles in Scotland is an ongoing project.

5. I love dystopian movies, real type stuff.

6. The precious diamonds were stored deep within the bank’s .

Now with your partner, discuss the following questions.

1. Have you ever seen any movies based around a doomsday type event?
2. How can you continue to stimulate the advancement of your career?
3. Do you think a savings account is an essential safety net these days?
5 Skimming for gist

Quickly read through the article about the Norwegian seed bank on page five and decide which
of the following headings can be used for each paragraph. Two of the headings are not used.

A multitude of plus points The cost of seed vaults

Past & present dangers Forward planning

Scandinavian protection Political implications

Agricultural treasure trove Forward planning

6 Reading comprehension
Read the following statements and decide if they are True (T), False (F) or Not Given (NG).

1. The seed bank is located on an island close to the Norwegian coast.

2. The seed vault project involved many countries.

3. The seed vault will soon gain support from other parts of Europe.

4. In the near future, the vault will help with research into the world’s forests.

5. Professionals in the required field can ask for seeds to research.

6. Converting the plants for storage can cause irreparable damage.

7. During the 2017 flooding, a number of the rooms were damaged.

8. Keeping seed banks at their current size is essential for the future.
 Norwegian seed bank continues its growth
An essential backup for all?

A. increase the chances of long-term damage to

Situated inside an Arctic mountain, one of the African food sources. Another possible upside is for
world’s most important seed vaults has continued current scientists and researchers who can request
its expansion this week, with the housing of a permission for certain samples of seeds to work on,
number of rare crops. The seeds came in the form in areas such as increased crop production and
of gene banks, which were donated by countries disease resistance.
from around the world and will be stored on a D.
remote island, deep underground. The gene banks, Despite the project seeming to be very positive it has
along with thousands of other specimens, will be faced its own setbacks and received a segment of
kept in freezing conditions with the hope that they negative attention from curious onlookers. It is
will provide a secure backup of some of the world’s believed that despite their huge potential, at present
most precious, agricultural resources. seed banks do not have the capability to save up to a
B. third of the world’s endangered plants and this is
The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is one of over 1000 primarily down to the fact that the process of drying
seed banks of varying sizes now situated around the the seeds can cause damage that cannot be repaired.
globe. It opened in 2008 and cost around million to Some researchers have also argued that seed banks
construct. The playfully nicknamed "Doomsday" Vault on their own are not enough to protect us from an
was created with the key aim of protecting crops, unpredictable future. We also need farming methods
plants and trees from an unlikely apocalyptic event that look more towards creativity and diversity and not
that may hit the world. Although set up in Norway, it is just preservation. Furthermore, in 2017, the "fail-safe"
very much a joint Scandinavian project with support Svalbard Vault was hit by its own climate crisis when
and backing coming from Sweden, Finland, Iceland the entrance tunnel was partially flooded due to
and Denmark. melting ice and snow.

C. E.

The positives of such a project are clear to see, The stability of our planet for future generations seems
they are plentiful and not only limited to ‘’end of to be questioned more now than ever before, and the
world” scenarios. One of the primary goals is to use advancement and enlargement of seed vaults is seen
the stored samples to compare and to contrast with to be a crucial step towards guaranteeing that stability.
long-term changes that may happen within the However, the introduction of alternate plans for the
world’s forests. A further potential benefit is to the conservation of crops may also be required so that our
continent of Africa, a place where crops can seem Plan B comes with its very own safety net.
particularly vulnerable. This vulnerability can be Sources: reuters.com; bbc.com; independent.co.uk;
due to political instability, climate change and theguardian.com; theconversation.com
population fluctuations and these factors can
7 Synonyms (optional)

Read the article on page five and find synonyms for the following words.

1. farming (para. A)

2. growth (para. A)

3. reinforcement (para. A)

4. established (para. B)

5. fateful (para. B)

6. observers (para. D)

7. competence (para. D)

8. preservation (para. E)

8 Talking point

In pairs discuss the following questions.

1. Where do you stand on seed banks? Do you think they are something that we should invest
more time and money in?
2. They described the fault as "fail-safe". Do you think anything can really be ‘"fail-safe"?

3. Would you like to see your own country set up a seed vault? What plants/flowers/crops from
your country would you like to preserve?
*Fail-safe: incapable of error

9 Extra activity/homework

Read the following essay title.

You are applying for a grant to set up a seed vault in your country.

Think of all the positives you can, and then write a persuasive essay to encourage
somebody to give you the required funding.

You should:
• Write at least 250 words.
• Check your spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Transcripts

3. Listening comprehension

Interviewer: ... On today’s Green is Good podcast we are going to be talking to Sarah Podolski.
Sarah works in a Seed Bank and she is going to be telling us all about what that
entails. Hi Sarah, thank you for talking to us today.

Sarah:It’s my pleasure.

Interviewer: So, can you tell us what kind of work you do at the seed bank?

Sarah:Sure, well at present I am one of a number of Senior Scientists working at the Global Seed
Vault, and our work is primarily to do with the preservation and storing of the world’s
seeds. We collect seeds from all around the globe and we place them deep
underground in our vault with the aim of creating a backup of as many of the world’s
seeds as possible.

Interviewer: Wow! So quite important work then? How many different types of seeds exist at
present?

Sarah:At present we think there are around 2.2 million unique seeds stored at different seed banks
around the world. Our planet is home to a diverse range of plants and crops, and it
is our hope that one day the Global Seed Vault will be able to preserve the vast
majority of these.

Interviewer: Some people have suggested that Seed Banks are there should we all fall victim to
some sort of horrific end of the world event. Is that the way you see them?

Sarah:Not exactly, although that is often the way they have been reported in the press. Seed
Banks are there for various crucial reasons, not all of them are to do with end of the
world type scenarios. In our position as one of the biggest Seed Banks in the world,
we connect with over 100 different environmental projects in different countries. As
a result, what we can do is to offer support to smaller Seed Banks that may fall
victim to any man-made or natural disasters that could occur in their countries.
Should their Seed Banks suffer any damage, we are then able to provide them with
duplicate seeds to re-stock.

Interviewer: And I also believe that with a number of species you are in a race against time?

Sarah:That couldn’t be more true. Every year we lose a larger number of seed species because we
haven’t had the time or resources to collect them and preserve them within the vault.
This is primarily due to habitat loss in a number of areas; deforestation plays its part
as does climate change. The speed of loss is contrasted with the fact that research
is a painfully slow process and, no matter as much as we want it to happen, we
cannot acquire the seed samples quickly enough.

Interviewer: Thank you, Sarah, that really does emphasise the important work you are doing at the
Global Seed Bank, and it really should plant a seed in all our minds ...

Key

1. Warm up
 5 mins.

This gives the teacher an opportunity to set the context and allows the students time to talk about their attitude
and their opinions in relation to planning for the future both on a personal level and a societal level.

2. Listening for details

5 mins.

This allows students to focus on the main details of the listening without asking them to write too much. Very
advanced students may be able to manage both tasks in one listening.
X Preserve the world’s seeds X Collect seeds from around the world
X Make a backup for the seeds X Help support smaller seed banks

3. Listening comprehension

10 mins.

Ask students to listen again and identify the specific information that appears in the podcast. When they have
finished, check the answers as a class and then have them talk together using the discussion questions below.

1. False. "A number of Senior Scientists ... "

2. False. ‘deep underground...’
3. True. ‘So quite important work then’
4. True. ‘our hope that one day the Global Seed Vault will be able to preserve the vast majority of these.’
5. True. ‘to some sort of horrific end of the world event’
6. False. ‘fall victim to any man-made or natural disasters’
7. False. ‘Deforestation plays its part as does climate change.’
8. False. ‘the fact that research is a painfully slow process.’

4. Focus on vocabulary

5 mins.

Ensure students can correctly pronounce the target vocabulary. Ask them to complete the task by themselves
first and then compare answers with a partner.
1. vault (n) 2. specimen (n) 3. doomsday (n)
4. vulnerable (adj.) 5. fluctuation (n) 6. resistance (n)
7. preservation (n) 8. advancement (n) 9. safety net (n)

Part B
10 mins.

Ask students to identify which parts of speech could fill the gaps before completing the exercise. When they
have finished, ask them to discuss the questions in order to practise using the vocabulary. Circulated and help
as needed.
1. specimens 2. vulnerable 3. fluctuations
4. preservation 5. doomsday 6. vaults
5. Skimming for gist

5 mins.
You may want to set a time limit and highlight the differences between skimming and scanning at this point.
Not used: Political implications; The Cost of Seed Vaults
explain that treasure trove is for valuable things that are found hidden and whose owner is unknown
A: Agricultural treasure trove
B: Scandinavian protection
C: A multitude of plus points
D: Past & present dangers
E: Forward planning

6. Reading comprehension

10 mins.
Ask students to read in more detail and complete the exercise. Ask them to underline where they find the answer.
If they are unable to do this, then it will be Not Given.
1. False. ‘... stored on a remote island.’ 2. True. ‘Although set up in Norway, it is very much a
joint Scandinavian project with support and backing
coming from Sweden, Finland, Iceland and Denmark.’
3. Not Given. 4. False. ‘... to contrast with long-term changes that
may happen within the world’s forests.’
5. True. ‘Another possible upside is for current 6. True. ‘... down to the fact that the process of drying
scientists and researchers who can request permission the seeds can cause damage that cannot be repaired’.
for certain samples of seeds to work on, ...’
7. Not Given. 8. False. ‘... and enlargement of seed vaults is seen to
be a crucial step towards guaranteeing that stability ...’

7. Synonyms (optional)

5 mins.
To improve the students’ range of vocabulary, ask them to quickly scan the text looking for the following synonyms.
You could do this prior to reading or after.
1. agricultural 2. expansion 3. backup 4. set up
5. apocalyptic 6. onlookers 7. capability 8. conservation

8. Talking point

10 mins.
Ask students to discuss the questions in pairs or small groups. Monitor and provide feedback where required.

9. Extra activity/homework

45 mins+.

Ask the students to plan, write, and edit their essays using the ideas and material covered in the lesson. You may
want them to write it in exam conditions, or you may want them to do their own research in addition to what you have
covered in the lesson and write it with reference to their sources. Ensure you give students feedback on their
work.