Collecting Seeds outdoors to set up a seed bank.

Collecting Seeds outdoors to set up a seed bank.

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Next time you plan to take a walk outside try and focus on collecting seeds. Yes, seeds from various plants and fruits. This activity teaches participants of all ages where to find seeds in plants and introduces them to the seed location in some familiar foods.

Gather some fruits and vegetables with different types of seeds, such as mangoes, cherries, mash melons, guava’s, water melons, papayas, apples, oranges, corn and peaches. Start a discussion where they think the seeds are stored in each item. Cut open each food and point out the seeds to them. Exploring seeds is exciting as various types of seeds look different and are multi colored.

 

During nature trails participants get to know how seeds carry the beginnings of plants inside them. All seeds have a seed coat covering it for protection.  If you happen to find a germinating seed under a particular tree, you can see the roots, leaves, embryo and food storage area. Show the participants the inside of a seed and help them identify the parts.

Seeds come in two basic varieties, monocot and dicot, meaning they contain either one or two leaves. The seed coat, endosperm and embryo are the three main parts.The endosperm lies right beneath the seed coat and provides food to the embryo area of the seed. The embryo is the most essential part of a seed from which the new plant develops from inside. It consists of three main parts, the main root of the plant to be, the cotyledon and the embryonic leaves.The main root is from where water is absorbed into the embryo to initiate germination and growth. The embryonic leaves are the primary leaves of the new seedling and absorb the nutrients inside the seed. These leaves are contained within the epicotyl, which also contains the initial shoots of the seedling.

 

Once participants bring their collection indoors, add some seeds from fruits, vegetables or flowers, if you need to supplement the collections. You can collect many different types of lentils and pulses like peas, kidney beans and coriander.You could also add seeds from herbs to help increase the collection. Wheat grains grow quickly and children find them blooming in a day or two.

 Your walk to collect seeds also is a great time to talk to people about how seeds need water, soil, light and warmth to germinate and grow. Experiment by having them plant the same type of seeds in places with or without sunlight, and recording observations every three to five days. Similarly seeds can be planted in various location where water may and may not be provided. Writing down observations with illustrations can help document a seed journal showing the different phases of growth. Seeds without sunlight and water or good soil will obviously fade away and die, thus the basic essentials of  what is necessary for plants to grow will be established. Hence, planting trees with proper ingredients and essentials will prepare enthusiasts about looking after young plants right to the stage where they become independent strong trees.

Discuss how seeds travel in many ways.Wind carry most seeds from one place to another, while birds also eat some and help spread them.Water is also an vital carrier of seeds. Thus seeds need to be safely deposited into rich soil which will help it to bloom.

Once participants understand the complete life cycle of a seed from its first stages in the ground through its  development into a sapling plant to becoming a ‘Tree’, the importance of a ‘seed bank; will become clear. The art of seed collection can be exciting. Today most seed banks are set up professionally by commercial industries and multinational food produce cultivators. Most farmers try and keep a collection of the best seed collection they can of their prime crops, fruits and vegetables.We can also learn to save and preserve our own collection of seeds from our own favorite fruits,vegetables and flower varieties that can grow in our own backyards.

So, what is a professional‘Seed bank’? A seed bank is a resourceful center which stores and reserves seeds for planting in case of destruction. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity. Storing seeds also guards against calamities like natural disasters, outbreaks of disease, or war. They also provide source material for plant breeders and researchers in search of genetic traits for new crop varieties.Unlike seed libraries or seed swaps that encourage frequent reuse and sharing of seeds, seed banks are not typically open to the public as they are professionally set up by multinationals.

 

Similarly encourage people, both children and young adults to set up seed banks at a smaller scale in their institutions and communities. Have participants count similar same variety seeds to place in airtight pouches. You could also use a magnifying glass and tweezers to inspect the seeds closely. After classification and labeling, seeds can be stored in a seed library.Seeds from this reserve can be used for Botany,biology and life science classes.Or simply distributed to the community for increasing the area of plant life in a particular place or garden. The best part is that collecting seeds for a seed bank is applicable for all age groups. Seed banks simply perpetuate plant life and contribute towards Earths green cover.