Seedling Sanctuary Project

Morning Star Conservancy’s Seedling Sanctuary is a proof-of-concept example of sustainable stewardship

A real world activation of prayer, the sanctuary functions as a sacred nursery for plants which were rescued from destruction; a refuge in which their offspring can provide more seeds and medicine for the future. These plants, whose genetic lineages are documented and maintained, are lovingly and respectfully nurtured using natural and simple methods. This extremely valuable collection also functions as a place of prayer and learning. We are able to share with others the self evident teachings the medicine displays by its own health and vigor.

The Seedling Sanctuary is MSC’s ex situ conservation program providing an alternative to extraction from threatened wild populations. These seedlings will provide sustainable harvested medicine for future ceremonies for NAC members.

Prayers which were made 30 years ago have now sprouted, and the time to plant them is now.

A Message From Morning Star’s Cultivation Director

The understanding that every peyote starts from a seed obliges us to insure that more seeds can grow for the future. This is a simple enough philosophy that is easily grasped when one becomes familiar with the life cycle of the plant.

Imagine taking a knife to a beautiful peyote plant whose seed you carefully planted a decade ago. You’ve seen it grow, it’s seen you. Even though you’re careful to leave lots of root when making the cut high on the stem, knowing that by doing so more crowns will grow for the future… it’s easy!

“How can I do this properly? Is it worth doing? Will I not waste this precious medicine by my own inattention, impatience, ignorance, or unexamined conscience? So much time led to this day… am I worthy? Can I sit with this Divine Peyote and myself long enough to truly hear, and understand, and gain value from this sacrifice?”

These questions need to be absolutely and honestly answered before you either make the cut, or put the knife away.

Having awareness of how peyote comes into the world, such that it exists for us to consume it, doesn’t make the medicine stronger. But it does strengthen our relationship with it tremendously. I believe this truth to be one of the most beneficial ongoing results of the Seedling Sanctuary project. By consciously participating in this mutual relationship, the medicine itself shows us how to help it live and grow. This is just the same way we ask it to help us. 

We’ve all heard the saying- Love is a two way street. I like to think that if we do what we can to live our prayer, the medicine will meet us halfway on the Peyote Road and take care of the rest. Planting seeds is what I can do to live my prayer. I believe the remarkable divine nature of peyote is capable of taking it from there. 

If you feel as we do, that this special medicine inspires us to preserve and protect it, I invite you to help us do so by supporting this project born by prayer.

Cultivation Director Leonardo Mercado, aka The Peyote Lorax, functions essentially as a plant midwife for seedlings during their first delicate year of growth. Within two years of their “birth” from seed, these plants have a high survival rate when planted in habitat.