Oxygen is most important for the life of humans and animals. Trees are needed for oxygen gas. But with the increase in technology and building, the number of trees is decreasing. Some countries around the world are constantly trying to deal with this problem. Kenya is also a country in this, which is using seed balls to promote trees. Do you know what these seed balls are? Today we will tell you what these seed balls are and how they work.
Seed Balls
First of all, let us know what seed balls are. As the name suggests, seed balls mean a ball that contains seeds. Actually, Kenya is using balls with seeds wrapped in charcoal to increase greenery. Seeds wrapped in charcoal are thrown far away with the help of slingshots and helicopters. When it rains, plants start growing from the seeds present in the charcoal. For information, let us tell you that in 2016, an organization named Seedballs Kenya was started by Teddy Kinyanjui and Elson Karstedt. Seedball was considered a successful experiment and efforts are being made to bring back greenery in many countries including India.
Why charcoal instead of soil?
Now this question must be coming in the minds of many people that when the trees are in the soil, then why are seed balls with charcoal being used? Let us tell you that it is thrown in the fields in hot weather. The reason behind applying charcoal on the seeds is that if only the seeds are left, birds and other creatures eat them. But when charcoal is wrapped on it, it remains safe. At the same time, when it rains, the moisture in the ball increases and the seed starts germinating. In this way, a plant is prepared from the seed. You must have seen that every seedball contains one seed. Charcoal is applied on this seed and it is shaped like a ball. These are the size of a coin.
Inception of Seed Balls?
In Kenya, the work of planting saplings through seed balls was done with school children in 2016. First of all, the seeds were distributed to the nearby children, who carried them far away with the help of a slingshot. At the same time, competitions were started among the children to make this work interesting. They were given a slingshot and the target of carrying the seeds far away. In this way, this work became like a game for them, which they completed very well.
However, in the remote areas where it was not easy to deliver the seeds, seed balls were dropped from helicopters. During this, GPS technology was used to find out where the seeds were needed, and they were dropped there. On the other hand, seedballs contain seeds of such plants that grow in very less water. For example, acacia grows very fast. Due to its strong roots, it can easily withstand drought. Teddy and Elson’s organization Seedball Kenya applies a layer of charcoal on the seeds only after getting them verified from Kenya Forestry Research Institute.
Also read: Birds Fly: This bird can be seen while traveling in a flight, know how high it flies
