SEED BALL MAKING

Living under the constant threat of natural disasters, it becomes vital for us to take defensive actions. We need to focus our efforts on saving and conserving resources while giving back to society through the restoration of the green cover. Among our many initiatives to improve the green cover, making and dispersing seed balls is an efficient, cost-effective and fun way to restore Mother Earth.

A seed ball is a mixture of small spheres of soil that are made of clay, manure, and seeds. They are an easy and fast solution to restore the lost green cover of our environment. Seed balls retain the soil quality and the manure content enriches it until the seeds are germinated. The clay present in these seed balls reduces water loss and helps in increasing water retention. In a way, creating seed balls is an efficient way to plant native trees in hard-to-reach places. It helps with the restoration of the environment and responds positively to global climate change.

Seed ball making activity at We Grow Forest Foundation

We Grow Forest Foundation promotes the use of seed balls in urban and deforested areas keeping in mind the social responsibility of nature. We create a platform where distribution is done among schools, colleges, and companies looking for conserving nature activities. Students can participate by dispersing seed balls on their way to school. We Grow Forest Foundation team also supports them in teaching how to make these seed balls, identify the appropriate seeds that can be grown in a region which they can sell to a third party. Companies can also associate with us through our nature conserving programs such as trekking and can carry and drop seed balls along with it. Since it is an easy process and can germinate on its own, when suitable germinating conditions arise, seed balls are found to be effective in all aspects. Through seed ball disbursal activity, we are creating an awareness of nature conservation among people and also promotes urban forestry and forest restoration.

Seed Ball Making at We Grow Forest Office

On the afternoon of 19 March, we started making the

seed balls as planned. We used soil- mixed with manure, paper pulp- to retain the moisture content, and powdered coal to protect the seeds from pests. We mixed all the ingredients, with some water and made it into a dough consistency. The dough was then divided into smaller portions and seeds were placed inside each one. After placing seeds inside, the portions were rolled into a marble shape to form seed balls. We have gathered all the seed balls and laid it out in the shade for drying. We’ll sow these when the climate it favourable and the germination and growth will be covered in our future editions.

Nature Conservation Through Fun

Our seed ball making activity was very fun. We were very excited because we are new to this activity. The components aren’t hard to come by, and the act of making them offers the opportunity to get your hands dirty for a good cause, spend some time outdoors, and learn about seeds. We’re pretty sure this activity makes a great happy hour amusement with the right crowd.

Points to Note

We considered some conditions for making the seed balls. Seeds should be of a type that germinates easily. Moisture content within the seed balls should remain for a long time to make the seeds germinate. When seed balls are ready to be distributed, we have to make sure they hit the bare ground and don’t land on top of sod or other established plants. You want the seeds to directly contact the bottom once rain and weather break them down.

Community Involvement

We promote seed ball activity in schools and communities as a part of urban forestry. Though due to the pandemic situation, we were unable to donate them to schools, hence we decided to distribute it to nearby associations. A portion of our seed balls was distributed to a residential association and they will disperse it during the next rain on barren land near their house premises. We don’t need to water, plant or take care of the seed balls. We just disperse them and leave the rest to nature to bring favourable germination conditions and watch the seed balls grow into trees.

If If you want to know more about seed ball making or engage in this activity

To know more about We Grow Forest Foundation please visit our website https://wegrowforest.org/ or contact us at on 9778411911 or email at us plant@wegrowforest.org