Making seedballs is a rewarding and environment-friendly activity to share with our kids. TRIO World Academy chose to organise it for the whole school community. 

Having a school community that is deeply connected, shares common purpose and provides the feeling of belonging is invaluable to students. A school level activity will only create more opportunities for the members of our diverse and multicultural community to contribute in meaningful ways.

The role of fun and play in improving engagement and learning among students has been well-established. Children love having fun. TRIO World Academy places a lot of emphasis on students having fun while they learn. The school also wanted nature and outdoors to be an integral part of their education. The TRIO Seedball Initiative was conceptualized keeping all these ideals in mind.

What are seedballs?

A seedball is a seed that is covered in a mix of compost, clay, and water. The seed is rolled in the mix by hand and allowed to dry. Many disadvantages of traditional seed dispersion methods are overcome by doing this. The is protected from being eaten by birds or other foragers. The seeds are carefully chosen so that they reliably germinate and don’t propagate invasive or parasitic plants. The seedballs once dried can be put into bags and distributed. They can be tossed along roadsides or into home gardens. They are truly a simple, yet impactful concept. 

About the TRIO Seedball initiative

The TRIO seedball initiative was first conducted in 2009. Students came together to create around 2000 seedballs. This year’s initiate aimed to produce at least 10000 seedballs and involve the larger school community, and even earmark one day where families of staff, students and the public can take part in the preparation of seedballs. The seeds were carefully chosen based on expert recommendations and are typically tree seeds like Annona squamosa (Seethaphal), Azadirachta indica (Neem), Dalbergia latifolia (Rosewood) etc.

The event also aimed to be part of and tie into the ongoing global ’Save soil’ movement. The movement was launched by Sadhguru, the founder of Isha Foundation. The movement aims to unite people for the cause of preventing further soil degradation and push for better policies and initiatives for restoring soil health.

The guest of honour for the event was Punati Sridhar, former Indian Forest Service officer and head of Bamboo Society of India, a pan India NGO. Mr. Sridhar had initiated the seedball programme in the state of Karnataka in India, in collaboration with the Forest department and schools, when he was serving as the APCCF, Social Forestry. He said that reforestation is a dire need of the hour and seedballs are a great method for rejuvenation of urban forests. On his recommendation, the seedballs will largely be dispersed around the Nandi hills and Chikaballapur area around Bengaluru city.

Getting closer to the earth

The need of the hour is to help ourselves and our students get closer to nature and cultivate an appreciation for it.  Efforts such as these help adults reconnect with the child in us. On the other hand, children love to help, be included in something bigger than themselves and cultivate a sense of accomplishment. Children also get valuable opportunities to take initiative, solve problems and practice the skill of inquiry. Seedball making is a healthy and rewarding activity that will give us back much more than what we put into it.