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Seed Balls: The World in Your Hands
Goal:
150,000 Seed Balls by Winter 2004
Seed Balls Made to Date: 155,000
Seed Balls Spread to Date: 155,000
In partnership with the Volunteer Task Force
Seed balls are simple mud spheres that encase a collection of seeds. The seed ball concept is simple and applies perfectly to burnt forest conditions or to forests and woodlands hard-hit by insect infestations. Seeds are encased in a ball of red clay and humus. The clay protects the seeds from the drying sun, rodents, birds, and insects until the opportune rains come. The rains melt the clay, allowing the seeds to sprout in a mini-environment of nutrients found in the humus and clay. Although only a percentage of sprouted seeds will take hold, the profusion of thousands of these balls, each containing a surplus of seeds, will more than adequately cover nature’s requirements to make it work.
PPWP's seed ball project was two-fold. THe orginal project was designed to re-vegetate 40 acres of the Cerro Grande burn area with native grasses and wildflowers. Volunteers made 125,000 seed balls in 200s-2003 and spread them on the burned area. To reduce the amount of erosion in piñon-juniper forests following the recent episode of bark beetle infestation, PPWP and its volunteers made a different type of seed ball with native grasses and wildflowers specific to that ecosystem.
All told, volunteers gave 4,768 hours to the seed ball effort. Most of the seed ball rolling took place in the Los Alamos Public Schools. A lesson plan is available for seed ball construction is available.
About 155,000 seed balls have been spread in Los Alamos and White Rock. Almost 100 acres have received this treatment.
View the full reports for the seed ball projects
