In what is described as the largest seed ball campaign in the State, Navodaya Schools are launching a ‘mission’ to produce one crore seed balls to be dispersed in lands identified by the Department of Forests from Sunday.
Each school was given a target of producing a certain number of seed balls. The total was expected to reach one crore by the time the campaign concluded.
The Karnataka Navodaya Seed Ball Campaign was launched after two seed ball exercises carried out in Navodaya School in Shivamogga district in March this year proved successful. The students had produced two lakh seed balls and dispersed them in the land identified by the Forest Department. To strengthen the campaign and extend it to the State, schools in which 75% of students hail from rural areas resolved to produce one crore seed balls with the onset of monsoon.
Bharatkumar Hanawadi, campaign convener, told The Hindu that school alumni Karthik, who works in Australia, was instrumental in launching the campaign. He was behind the Shivamogga seed ball mission. Mr. Karthik also got an opportunity to speak on this campaign at the Navodaya Schools’ principals’ meet in Tirupati.
The State government and the Forest Department were supporting the campaign. In Mandya district alone, around two lakh seed balls were expected to be handed over to the forest authorities on Sunday. A 15-acre plot had been identified to disperse them. Unused lands had been selected to hasten afforestation.
Around 1.5 lakh seed balls had been kept ready by the Hassan Navodaya, Mr. Karthik said, and added that the school at DMG Halli near Mysuru will hasten the campaign in the coming weeks since there was a water crisis in the school as four borewells here had run dry. Alternative water supply arrangements to the school were being made.
Model plot
Each school had developed a model plot, on about one acre of land, to demonstrate the seed ball culture.
Mr. Hunawadi said the seeds had been chosen based on climatic conditions and the nature of the soil. Honge, tamarind, neem and other varieties had been used in seed balls based on the advice of the Forest Department. Even fruit-bearing seeds had been used, he added.
