Andre Penner/AP
DCL
The history of environmentalism is rich with innovation?revolutionary environmental journalism from Rachel Carson, guerrilla gardening in the '70s, the bold organizing and activism of early Greenpeace, up to the prescient "green jobs" advocating of Van Jones are all fine examples of those dedicated to green causes finding new ways to bring unobserved issues to light. And we've always relied on an ever-growing arsenal of green 'weapons', if you will, to help us in the good fight: from the hoe and rake to seeds to the protest banner, the peaceful tools of the environmentalist have well served the cause over the years.
And now there's a new green that will help spread green to as-of-yet untouched corners of the world: it's the Seed Ball.
What's a seed ball? You can probably guess?it's a little ball rolled up to hold seeds. Also called seed bombs, they're typically made of clay, compost, and seeds.
NPR broke the story of environmentalists in Brooklyn using seedballs to get seeds into tough to reach spots like boarded up abandoned lots or blocked-off riverfront areas. They simply drop or hurl the little balls into areas with adequate soil. Then, the seedballs . . . just sit there. Until, after a couple rains wash away the clay, the seeds sprout, with the compost standing by as fertilizer. The group organizing the seedball strikes is Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, or NAG. They're based out of the highly gentrified Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods in Brooklyn, so there's all the more need for such innovative environmentalism to (bad pun incoming) take root.
But are seed balls dangerous? Not in the slightest—but don't tell that to the NYPD. From NPR:
Back in 2003, during a World Trade Organization protest, a dozen police surrounded a parking lot. They were concerned that these strange pellets they found might be dangerous weapons. They threw them against walls and watched them "explode." It took them a while to figure out that they were seed balls.
They're completely safe, legal, and make for a great way to sneak a little green into bleak areas. Try your hand at making and tossing seed balls, and help fight the green fight.
