BEAUTIFUL SEED BOMB EXPLOSIONS CAN HELP SAVE OUR PLANET NOW

THE GREAT SEED BOMB

Jill Jordan is saving the planet’s food supply -- one bomb at a time!

Seed bombs, that is.

Over ⅓ of our food crops are pollinated by honeybees, butterflies, bats, and other creatures that rely upon access to wildflowers for food. Yet wildflowers are being decimated by both herbicides and land-clearing.

Jordan, an environmental advocate and social entrepreneur with a master’s in public administration, developed a beautiful solution: The Great Seed Bomb. It’s a grassroots effort by concerned citizens that replants wildflowers by scattering seed bombs throughout the land.

Seed bombs are little balls, usually made of compressed soil and clay, studded with wildflower seeds. They are used in an ancient agricultural method in which the balls are thrown to the ground. 

The balls protect the seeds from being eaten by birds and other critters until, after sufficient exposure to rain and sunlight, the seeds germinate and the balls biodegrade. 

Soon, the land explodes with a flurry of wildflowers. The most helpful seed bombs contain a blend of non-GMO butterfly-sustaining milkweed and bee-friendly native wildflowers.

Milkweed creates its own natural seed bombs, exploding towards the end of every summer to send millions of parachuted seeds scattering through the air in homes of fertile landings.

Milkweed is especially important because it is the only food source for monarch butterflies. Shockingly, over 90% of the monarch butterfly population has been wiped out as vast swaths of milkweed have been killed by glyphosate, an herbicide marketed by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup.

 

Bee populations have also been declining at an alarming rate, while at the same time human populations that rely on the crops bees pollinate have been growing. This is a negative spiral. White House has created a Pollinator Health Task Force to address the problems.

The Great Seed Bomb event, inspired by 5k and 10k races, leads participants on a 15-mile bike ride, tossing seed bombs into fields and roadsides along the way. The first event took place in Fall 2015 near Dallas, TX.

Since then, Jordan has received many requests from people and organizations wanting to plan their own seed bomb event. Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Kansas, Iowa, and other parts of Texas.

If you’re interested in coordinating an event in your area, contact the Great Seed Bomb for more information.

Making seed bombs is super-easy and fun. Check out these beautifully simple recipes for seed bombs at Instructables, Gardenista, & Twig and Toadstool.

We also love the gorgeous seed bombs at Visual Lingual and Renaissance Botanical.

We want to see beautiful explosions of wildflowers color our world. So start seed bombing now!

Read more about Beautiful Explosions in How to Capture the Most Beautiful Fireworks Explosions.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: by tdlucas5000. Wildflower Outbreak.
2. Image: by Jack. Spring bliss.
3. Image: Courtesy of West Virginia DEP. Pink Wild Flowers. Operation Wildflower.
4. Image: by Nydia Lilian. Courtesy of Cedim News. Seed Bombs.
5. Image: by KnitSpirit. Seed bomb, it's growing.
6. Image: Courtesy of KaleidoscopePhotos. Wildflowers.
7. Image: by Don Young, of Friends of Tandy Hills. Wand Milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) Sparkles on the Prairie After a Good Watering.
8. Image: by Michael.PortrayingLife.com. Yellow on Pink. Butterfuly on Milkweed.
9. Image: by tdlucas5000. Butterfly on Buddleia.
10. Image: by Brennan Cavanaugh. Time's Up! and OWS Seed Bombing and Garden Visit Ride.
11. Image: by Carol Von Canon. Falls County, Texas.
12. Image: Courtesy of Renaissance Botanical. Woodland Seed Bombs.
13. Image: Courtesy of Twig and Toadstool. Rainbow Seed Bombs.
14. Image: Courtesy of Visual Lingual. Regional Seed Bombs.
15. Image:  by Ken Slade. Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.
16. Image: by BN App - Download now!
17. Image: Courtesy of Renaissance Botanical. Woodland Seed Bombs.