November 2012
Post by Ty Smith, Biophilic Cities Research Assistant
Ty Smith is a Dual-Master’s candidate at the University of Virginia studying Civil Engineering & Environmental Planning.
Seed bombs for throwing
Danny, one of the co-founders of GreenAid, describes seed bombs as a way to “allow people to get involved in the incremental beautification of their environment.”
Seed bombs are one way for biophilic urbanists to introduce vegetation to arid or off-limits lands. They are essentially hand-rolled balls of dried soil, nutrients, and seeds and, when watered, provide ideal conditions for starting seedlings. Seed bombs are not a new technology, just a revisited one. Native Americans would lay flattened seed bombs on inclines near streams or rivers to protect the seeds from animals. This protection and location ensured adequate water supply and safety to germinate. Taking this old technology and introducing it within the urban environment through guerilla gardening or PARK(ing) spaces could take your day from
This:
To This
Which would you prefer? Get started today and find where you can purchase seedbombs, or if you want a dispenser in front of your business you can find that here. Finally, for all of those DIYers, Instructables provide a number of great “how tos” for seedbombs. Here’s our favorite.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWyduWsoy8o