This module will equip students with knowledge of approaches to sample, preserve, recover, restore and monitor plant diversity with a particular emphasis on using wild-sourced seeds and seedlings. 

The first week will focus on habitat restoration, covering the scientific basis for species selection and use in the landscape and providing tools to engage with stakeholders when prioritizing and planning landscape scale projects. It will include a day a visit to the rewilding project at Knepp in West Sussex,  The second week will teach the biology required to make decisions about ex situ conservation options for plant species, and will provide examples of the ecological knowledge and propagation skills needed to plan and deliver reintroduction and recovery actions for species. It includes a three day residential visit to the Millennium Seed Bank at Wakehurst.

Case studies will show what scientific evidence is required to make effective conservation decisions, and actions will be discussed in the context of published guidelines including for reintroduction (IUCN) and habitat restoration (SER). Understanding of the linkages between in situ and ex situ conservation, the restoration policy environment, and ways to include livelihoods and natural capital values in project design will prepare students for diverse career pathways. These include biodiversity research, ecology, landscape restoration & management, and planning and implementation of conservation interventions in multiple contexts and scales.