Operation Seedballs: Restoring Kenya’s natural havens for wildlife
For the price of a cup of coffee, you can help create a thriving new forest.
Every year, we lose approximately 10 million hectares (almost 25 million acres) of natural forest to agriculture, livestock farming and urbanization. That’s an area larger than Portugal.
Globally, one third of all forests have been wiped out, amounting to an area twice the size of the United States.
Every tree that is chopped or burned down destroys a vital habitat for the vulnerable wildlife that depend on our planet’s forests.
Studies estimate that around 137 species of animals, insects and plants are driven to extinction by deforestation every day. With every living organism critical to the healthy function of its ecosystem, scientists are deeply concerned about these catastrophic losses.
The destruction of forests is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity – and we’re fighting back.
An innovative solution, which we support in deforested parts of Kenya, holds the key to real change. Seedballs Kenya uses small, compact balls of indigenous seeds to effectively reforest destroyed habitats. Coated in a protective layer of charcoal dust, they are scattered over deforested areas from above via helicopter, on foot or by motorcycle.
The coating protects the seeds from predators and extreme temperatures, and keeps them dormant until conditions are ideal for germination. When it rains, the eco-friendly coating dissolves. The seeds germinate naturally, growing into essential native trees and grasses that help repair natural habitats and provide critical nutrition and shelter for a myriad of wild animals.
Seedballs are cost-effective to produce, simple to distribute, and a powerful tool for large-scale forest restoration, especially in areas that are typically hard to reach.
How can you get involved?
Just $5 (£4) can distribute up to 500 seedballs – and with an average germination rate of around 20%, that means you will have helped plant around 100 new trees in areas suffering the worst deforestation.
That’s just 5c (4p) per tree planted!
These fast-growing indigenous trees and grasses provide critical sustenance to elephants, giraffes and many other wild animals who have lost much of their habitat to human activity. A small, simple act – a donation of just $5 – will help provide life-saving food to these precious animals.
Help plant the foundations of a new forest – while protecting wild animals who are losing their only source of food and shelter.
In countries like Kenya, where we support an effective seedballs program, reforestation is not just important – it is critical and urgent. Kenya is facing a deforestation crisis and currently loses an average of 84,716 hectares (209,337 acres) of forest each year, primarily due to logging for charcoal production (their main local fuel source) and rapid urbanization.
As forests are destroyed, animals are pushed closer to human settlements. This almost always ends badly for the animals, including majestic elephants and endangered reticulated giraffes, who either starve or are killed for their meat, or shot because they have become “pests.” Keeping wild animals safe by stabilizing their ecosystems through reforestation efforts is vital to their survival.
Seedballs can be used in any area of the globe, and Kenya is one of the places where seedballs have been a great success.
Do seedballs work?
Yes! According to a study carried out by researchers (Tamilarasan et al., 2021), “Seedballs can quickly cover enormous areas. It’s inexpensive, sustainable, and effective for planting in challenging areas. Even in resource-limited situations, it improves seedling establishment, vigour, and survival.”
Click to donate and plant a tree today.
Donate the equivalent of a cup of coffee today, and help us restore the critically important forests of Kenya. Elephants and so many other animals will be deeply grateful.