The students of over 28 Navodaya Vidyalayas in Karnataka are to kickstart a seed ball program aimed at aiding large-scale afforestation. The Karnataka Forest Department has agreed to provide the seeds for the same. About 12,000 students from 28 schools, 1,500 alumni members, 1,500 teachers, 2,000 volunteers and 28 principals are set to take part in the program which will be held on June 25, 2017.
Through the programme, these students and institutions not only wants to carry out a large afforestation initiative but also intend to create awareness on the importance and effectiveness of seed ball method of plantation.
What is seed ball method?
The method involves making a ball of mud and cow dung with a seed inside it. It is said to aid afforestation in a massive way and its success has been proven time and again in India as well as foreign countries such as Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Indonesia. With this, the forest department is targeting a record of planting 28 lakh seed balls.
Here's how the seed ball is prepared
- Seed ball mixture is prepared by mixing red soil and cow dung in 30-50 percent ratio.
- Seed is placed in the middle of a ball made up of a moist mixture of red soil/locally available soil and cow dung/Organic manure.
- Seed ball is then dried up in shade.
- This dried, hard Seed ball is then sowed or thrown in wastelands /hilly area/forest area just before the monsoon or rainy season.
- When the rain soaks the seed ball, the seeping water germinates the seed inside the seed ball.
- The sprouting seed uses the nutrients of the seed ball and its roots spread inside the land and grow up to become a tree sapling. This sapling grows up to become a big tree without any effort.
The forest department has also listed the benefits of the seed ball method and it is said to be economical. The other benefits are:
- Easy to prepare and disperse in dry lands.
- Increases oxygen levels in the atmosphere and reduces pollution.
- Decreases carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere as trees absorb them.
- Lowers soil Erosion during the rainy season.
- Increases the ground water level.
To prepare the participants for the programme Navodaya Vidyalaya also organised a training session on June 10, during which topics like the need for the seed ball, how to prepare it, and how to execute the project independently were discussed.
