OUR MISSION

Why are we doing this?

Endling [endling] noun “the only living individual of a species whose death means the extinction of the species; the last of its kind.”

In 2021, more than five hundred documented seed species have gone extinct because of human causes. Between 100,000 and 1 million more find themselves threatened by extinction, an ongoing event often described as the Holocene Extinction, or Anthropocene, a mass extinction event in which humankind is the primary driver.

If humanity is the only species driving these extinction events, we may well also be the only species to be conscious of the terrible powers of our actions, the only species capable of exercising the power of choice, and perhaps the only ones with the potential to nurture biodiversity and heal our planet.

It takes a village...

The Endling Project only works by partnering with people and organizations like Seed Libraries, who care about donating resources, expertise, and contributing to our documentation, organizational, and educational projects. We aim to foster biodiversity as well as knowledge about biodiversity in both communities and individuals, who share a code of Seed Ethics.

The Endling Project will aim to preserve both Endlings and the stories of their keepers, as well as the communities developing around our project.

As it develops, The Endling Project will expand our mission by partnering with more organizations and bringing the project to more Endling Keepers, served by their own local partner organizations, including museums, nature centers, libraries, and other cultural hubs.