BENGALURU: Children like nature and they want to do their best to protect it. Now, Bengaluru’s children have a cool weapon to fight desertification of the city and to save the environment: seed bombs.
Seed balls are made by wrapping seeds in mud. Once dry , they are tossed into any open space.When nourished by rains, the seeds may germinate and grow into a tree. Started by Masanobu Fukuoka, the Japanese man famous for popularising natural farming, the concept has been adopted worldwide. ..
“This is an easy way of afforestation. You don’t need to dig,“ said Chockalingam M, an entrepreneur, adding that there was a 20-25% chance of a tree growing.For the past few summers, he and his wife Annam have been taking children residing in their colony on nature walks and teaching them how to make seed balls.
“The children improvised and started putting several seeds in one ball. These, they call the `seed bombs’,“ Chockalingam said.
It is more than just rolling a seed or two in mud. Native seeds must be used and compost must be added to the mud while making the spheres. Water is added in a measured quantity and they are dried well to avoid fungal growth.Last week, Chockalingam was invited to a birthday party in Isro Layout to teach the little guests about the idea.
Supriya Vinay organised this event to mark her daughter’s tenth birthday hoping to get children interested about trees.“When we were children, the streets here had so many trees.But many have been cut down for the metro now,“ she said.
The children’s workshops conducted by Chiguru Eco Space, a bio-diversity educational centre in Singadasanahalli village, Magadi, also include the making of seed balls. “When we talk about the importance of trees, we also give them a chance to grow.Seed balls are a great alternative to saplings -light, fun for the kids, weather-proof and longlasting,“ said Srivathsa G, who runs the space in his farm.
Noting that children loved getting their hands dirty , he blamed adults’ paranoia about germs for taking the joy away from them.“Once you make seed balls, you will find a hundred places to disperse them. Many children observe to see if their seeds have started growing. It is also a great lesson in responsibility ,“ he said.