Seed balls growing into a huge movement

Krishnakumar Suresh, Founder, Thuvakkam, said that school children and resident welfare associations are showing a growing interest in seed balls. When asked how a seed ball is made, Krishnakumar said, “A seed ball is created using wet sand and cow dung, in a 3:1 ratio. We add water to this mixture, make a ball and put a seed into it. These are dried in the sun for a week, after which they are thrown. This method is easier than planting trees, which requires digging a 3x3 pit, for effective growth. We started near the Chembarambakkam pond last December and now, 70 per cent of the seed balls are now sprouting.” According to him, neem and tamarind seeds are used. The group has thrown seed balls across the city, including Valluvar Kottam and Chembarambakkam. “The seeds tend to grow better near lakes. We have made more than a lakh of seed balls,” added Krishnakumar.

Bhumi, another city-based NGO, has been making seed balls since 2016. Dr Prahalathan KK, Founder of Bhumi, said, “ We did a few thousand seed balls last year. This year, we are planning to do a lakh of seed balls over the next few months.” Hitesh, a volunteer, said, “Over the last two weekends, we have made 2,846 and 2,431 seed balls respectively. The seed balls do not require any maintenance and are thrown where the green cover is less. We have been receiving requests from Singaperumal Koil near Chengelput, since there is a barren land.” Chennai Trekking Club’s Ainthinai and Regreen Chennai will be planting more than 700 saplings at the YMCA, Nandanam on September 3. The idea, said Sivakumar Shanmugavelu, a member of Ainthinai, is to create a forest-like eco system inside the city. “The concept is to plant many saplings closely. We will be experimenting with this concept at the YMCA, over the next few weeks,” said the youngster.