PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN REFORESTING REMOTE AREAS OF KENYA

Using innovative seedball techniques, school children participating in our Wildlife Warrior Clubs located in key conservation areas of Kenya will enjoy education sessions on sustainable forest management and soil degradation.

Each student will receive a 500gm bag of specially selected tree seedballs with which to begin the reforestation of their locale. Seedballs can be scattered throughout the year, and will then begin to grow when the rains come and conditions are right. This is the NATURAL approach to reforestation and is particularly appropriate for harsh environments.

WHAT IS A SEEDBALL?

A Seedball is simply that - a seed inside of a ball of charcoal dust mixed with some nutritious binders. We are focusing on helping reduce the costs of planting various useful indigenous plant species (mostly trees!) in Kenya. The biochar coating of the ball helps protect the seed within from predators such as birds, rodents and insects and extremes of temperature until the rains arrive! Once soaked, the seedball will help retain and prolong a moist environment around the seed to encourage germination.

Many seeds may respond to moisture and germinate in the first rainy season, others to a mechanical disturbance such as being trampled by wildlife or tumbled amongst rocks along a seasonal stream bed. Some may just wait and bide their time for several years.

The biochar coating of the ball helps protect the seed within from predators such as rodents and insects, dehydration, and extremes of temperature. When wet, the seedball will help retain and prolong a moist environment around the seed to encourage germination. At this time the char (charcoal powder) and other components of the seedball will offer an initial nutritious boost.

So, by distributing adequate quantities of BIOCHAR SEEDBALLS back into the wild, the Wildlife Warriors are encouraging reforestation in both space AND time, and allowing the Acacia seed's built-in sensors to determine when is the best time to start growing.