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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Environment
Dani Anguiano in the San Luis national wildlife refuge complex

Meet the seed collector restoring California’s landscapes - one tiny plant at a time

a woman in outdoor work clothes and a wide-brimmed hat examines something as she kneels in a field covered in wildflowers
Haleigh Holgate, seed collection manager at Heritage Growers, inspects a seed in the San Luis national wildlife refuge complex on 25 March. Photograph: Dani Anguiano

Deep in California’s agricultural heartland, Haleigh Holgate marched through the expansive wildflower-dotted plains of the San Luis national wildlife refuge complex in search of something precious.

She surveyed the native grasses and flowering plants that painted the Central valley landscape in almost blinding swaths of yellow. Her objective on that sweltering spring day was to gather materials pivotal to California’s ambitious environmental agenda – seeds.

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