WILDFLOWER SEED BOMB WORKSHOP at Wildheart Gathering

The signage design and wildflower info was sourced from a little old book that I bought from a stall last year at Wildheart Gathering, very fitting that it should return to the site with a new purpose.

To celebrate Beltane & the coming of spring me & Mr Popple (Mr Popple’s Chocolate swapping working with edible brown stuff to earthy brown stuff) offered kids & adults workshop making a seed bomb.  

My first seed bomb making workshop happened in October 2010 as part of the big draw with the notion of ‘drawing’ on the landscape by the planting of wild flowers. The slogan of ‘make your mark on the future landscape’ was developed alongside this project. This concept relates to permaculture principles.

Packaged Seed Bombs and Seed Bomb about to be chucked at the Festival Park Garden Festival Site, Hanley, 2010

The workshop aimed to offer a fun activity for youngsters at the festival, with a springtime theme and deeper meaning. For the adults we had more in depth information and a choice of carefully selected seeds suitable for different growing conditions. For both children & adults the workshop began with a discussion about where they would like to plant their seed bomb and why.

The Mix was selected based on where the Seed Bomb was aimed for

The workshop was an enjoyable process; I was particularly interested in hearing the tales of where their loaded bombs were aimed for. One was off to Ireland! The seed bomb workshops are still very much experimental and I have exchanged contact details with participants, with the intention of sharing stories and pictures of the bombing action, and the flourishing results (and to find out if the mix allowed the flowers to flourish at all) I anticipated it may be a case of trial and error, until a good mix/ method is achieved.

 

However, I planted one of the seed bombs in a pot of compost and left it on my windowsill at home, to test the mix, prior to going to the festival. I returned home to find 3 tiny seedlings sprouting from the dampened clay mixture, a sure sign of spring and affirmation of a good mix- I hope everyone else’s seed bombs will flourish too!

Wildflower seedlings appearing from the clay compost seed bomb mix

Part of the workshop also included designing a wrapper for the Seed Bomb to be easily carried away in. These were designed with slogans, patterns and thoughts about planting wildflowers. 

I really look forward to delivering another workshop soon, definitely closer to home this time as there is currently a lot of derelict wasteland and areas in Stoke-on-Trent in need of vibrancy, wild flowers and beneficial insects. People need to start taking responsibly for both their current and future landscapes. Something as simple as planting a few wild flowers really can make a difference now, engaging youngsters in this sort of activity connects them with the land. The notion of growing and showing their ability to grow something, and the impact that they can make on their local landscape is powerful and positive stuff for youngsters to engage with. 

The thanks and encouragement gained from participants at the festival has opened my eyes further to the possibilities within my local area.   I am developing more seed bomb workshops, and other growing related workshops.

I am also selling sachets of quality wildflower seeds and seed bomb mix from the workshops too, these will be available when I deliver a workshop, stall or from Airspace Gallery. Watch this space for more info (any upcoming workshops will be listed on the blog).