A solid vault hidden in the wilds of the Australian National Botanic Gardens guards something far more valuable than gold – precious seed – and it’s just received a multi-million-dollar makeover.

A state-of-the-art walk-in seed vault, kept at -20°C for long-term seed preservation, is part of a $5.7m renovation by the Australian Government to guard against the unthinkable.

It may look like a benign red-brick building adjacent to the rainforest gully but it’s actually the last stand between life and extinction.

If it goes, end of story.

Inside the newly-refurbished laboratory are more than 4,000 species of native plants being safeguarded from threats such as climate change, fire and habitat loss.

It’s a bricks-and-mortar insurance policy.

The National Seed Bank is exactly what it sounds like, taking deposits from seed collectors and making withdrawals for research, restoration and land management.

It also pays good dividends, safeguarding against the loss of genetic diversity and species extinction in the wild.

In a multi-million-dollar refurb that would rival The Block, the reno has delivered an expanded seed biology lab and incubator room, specialist imaging rooms with separate seed X-ray and microscope spaces, bigger seed dry room to reduce seed moisture before storage, and a cold room at 4–5°C for medium-term storage.

Canberra’s seed vault has been gathering seeds with interest since the early 1960s.

Federal Minister for the Environment and Water Murray Watt said the National Seed Bank was at the frontline, fighting to secure the future of our fragile native plants.

“The Seed Bank is our key to protecting native species into the future and making sure our unique plant life will continue to form part of Australia’s landscape,” Minister Watt said.

“The old facility had well and truly outgrown its storage capacity so through this significant upgrade, staff will be able to store more species and embrace new research technology.”

The vault used to be housed in a modified 1960s caretaker cottage at the base of Black Mountain, however it was rapidly running out of space.

Member for Fenner Andrew Leigh poetically called the refurbished vault “Canberra’s library of life”.

“Each seed is a volume in the story of our continent, waiting to be opened by future scientists,” he said.

Perhaps Canberra’s vault draws more similarity with the famous “doomsday vault” (Svalbard Global Seed Vault) in the Arctic Circle, which contains millions of seeds from crops to protect the world’s food supply in case of nuclear war, global warming – basically Armageddon.

Canberra’s version could be coined “extinction vault”.

When the 2020 bushfires decimated 80% of Namadgi National Park, Canberra’s seed vault was imperative to regenerate charred species.

According to the Australian Native Plants Society, more than 60 species of Australian plants have become extinct since colonisation – and many more are at risk.

Wired with security alarms and temperature controls, our extinction vault remains on guard and ready for an uncertain future.