Seed Planning and Registry (SPAR) and Cone and Seed Program (CONSEP)
The Ministry of Forests’ online tree seed registry is called SPAR. It’s used to track information about seedlots, orchards, and parent trees; order seeds, seedlings, and cones; and request seed processing, sampling, testing, and transfers.
CONSEP tracks seeds in the Tree Seed Centre’s freezers, contains seed preparation recipes, and integrates with the centre’s hardware. (The centre is the main supplier of cone and seed services to B.C.’s forest industry.)
FDS Team Evergreen is modernizing SPAR and CONSEP.
The first release of the modernized SPAR 2.0 was in August 2024. It focused on A-Class seedlots which are seed collections from seed orchards. Key features of the release include:
- A modernized screen for A-class seedlot registration
- An intuitive user-interface design
- An informative system feedback functionality with progressive disclosure and helper text
- Data upload to reduce manual data entry
- A smart save feature to prevent data loss, and
- A database replacement to improve SPAR’s memory and ability to make complex calculations
The screens will save SPAR 2.0 users time and effort, improve the application’s data quality and accuracy, and help seedlot owners and the centre’s staff manage collections.
Evergreen has turned its attention to modernizing CONSEP, which is an application built for the Tree Seed Centre. CONSEP keeps program data, contains seed preparation recipes, and tracks seeds in the centre’s freezers. It also integrates with the centre’s scales, printers, and other hardware so staff can prepare seeds for clients. CONSEP is being modernized because it’s critical for the continued success of B.C.’s tree breeding program.
More information about SPAR and CONSEP modernization will be available on these pages as it becomes available.