Eco-Activity: Make some homemade wildflower seed bombs

Create a meadow oasis in your backyard with these homemade wildflower seed bombs!  As Earth Rangers, we know how important our native wildflower population is for our pollinator friends’ health.  The relationship between plants and pollinators is completely codependent – one cannot survive without the other!  Not to mention, us humans depend heavily on the work of pollinators for our own food sources as well. 

For today’s eco-activity, create these seed bombs to help disperse native plants, and reinforce your local pollinator population!

Steps if using clay powder:

1. Mix together 1 cup of seeds with 5 cups of compost, and 2-3 cups of clay powder.

2. Slowly mix in water with your hands until the mixture can be easily molded.

3. Roll the mixture into firm balls.

4. Allow the seed bombs to dry in the sun.

5. Plant seed bombs by throwing them onto bare spots of the garden – have some fun!

6. Wait to see what pops up from the soil where you threw in your seed bombs!

Steps if using recycled paper:

1. Shred your recycled paper into small pieces either by hand, or using a paper shredder machine.

2. Allow your paper scraps to soak in water while you work to soften them.

3. Place the torn and soaked paper bits into a blender, about 1/3 of the way full, and then fill the rest of the blender with water.

Note: You may have to adjust the ratio depending on the size of your blender.

4. Blend the paper until a mushy pulp forms.

5. Strain the paper pulp over a bowl to drain some of the water.

6. Place the paper pulp in a separate bowl.

7. Add your wildflower seeds to the bowl and mix them in by hand.

8. Roll the mixture into spheres and place aside to dry in the sun.

9. Plant seed bombs by throwing them onto bare spots of the garden – have some fun!

10. Wait to see what pops up from the soil where you threw in your seed bombs

Notes:

• Make sure to only use native wildflower species. Invasive species can cause large environmental problems, and can wreak havoc on the local ecosystem.
• Be sure not to throw your seed bombs on private property or in someone’s personal garden without permission.

The Earth Rangers App is where kids go to save animals! It’s free to join and you’ll have access to real-world Missions like this one. Plus, you can adopt an animal to support conservation projects, and learn all about animals in the Wild Wire Blog. Find activities like this, and so much more in the App!