THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Creating green spaces and conserving forests have become the need of the hour. City-based Indus Cycling Embassy had relised this a few ears ago itself and started creating awareness about the importance of planting trees through its ‘Seed the Future’ campaign under which seed balls were planted at Kanakakunnu in Thiruvananthapuram. Following the campaign, students who are part of the Corporation’s Bicycle Brigade recently prepared ‘seed bombs’ and handed them over to a Tamil Nadu-based cycling club to be planted in appropriate locations.
Tomy B V, director of Academy for Mountaineering and Adventure Sports handed over the seed bombs to Junior Bicycle Mayor Madhur B and flagged off the ride. About six students, led by Madhur and Bicycle Brigade captain Devadath V, cycled to Kaliyikkavila and handed over 1,500 seed bombs to TN 75 Cycling Club.
“Two seeds have been placed inside each ball which has been made using soil, cow dung and coconut fibre. These are dried to keep them safe from insects and help them germinate in the rain. The long-term campaign aims to increase green cover by encouraging the planting of trees in available locations,” said Madhur. Devadath said, “Each student made 100 seed bombs. We are planning to continue the project”. The cycling club sowed the seed balls in different locations during its four-day ride from Nagercoil to Dhanushkodi.
“After discussions with city Mayor Arya Rajendran, we plan to make more than 10,000 seed bombs with the help of the students and sow them in locations within a 10km radius of the city that can be easily accessed on bicycles. These plants will be taken care of by the students,” city’s bicycle mayor Prakash P Gopinath said.
“We made seed bombs since they are easier to carry anywhere, especially on bicycles. Different kinds of seeds like ashoka, kanikonna, custard apple and manjadi have been used inside the bombs. These trees can grow in any weather condition. Seeds were also picked up from the museum premises with the permission of the museum director,” he added.