Native seed balls offer grassroots push for Margalla regeneration

ISLAMABAD, Sep 12 (APP):Environmental awareness activist Mansoor Sherwani, popularly known as “Awareness Man”, is using seed balls containing locally native plant species to encourage natural regeneration in bare patches of the Margalla Hills.

Speaking to APP in an exclusive interview, Sherwani said he had achieved his target of placing 5,000 seed balls at different locations in the Margalla Hills.

He said the seed balls were being carefully placed in open patches where trees were absent rather than randomly scattered along trails, roads or among existing vegetation.

“I placed them in areas where I felt there was a need for trees, including 15- to 20-foot bare patches,” he said, adding that seed balls thrown on walking trails could be crushed underfoot and the seeds wasted.

Sherwani stressed that the use of native seeds was essential for the initiative. Seeds, he said, should be selected according to the ecosystem of the area where they were to be placed, as introducing unsuitable species could disturb the local ecological balance.

For the Margalla Hills, he said, he used seeds of locally occurring species including kikar, phulai, sanatha and chir pine.

Seed balls could also be used in other parts of the country, including Lahore, Karachi and Bahawalpur, he said, but the seeds should be appropriate to the local environment.

Explaining the technique, Sherwani said seed balls could be prepared at home by mixing good-quality soil with charcoal or ash and fertiliser, kneading the mixture like flour dough and placing suitable seeds inside small portions before shaping them into balls and allowing them to dry.

He said charcoal helped protect and preserve the seed balls, allowing them to remain usable for several months.

To test the method, Sherwani said he had placed a seed ball in a plant pot at home, given it some water and left it outdoors. After rainfall, he said, seedlings began emerging from the ball.

He said seed balls were available at nurseries and had also been distributed by the government in Islamabad, but people needed to be made aware of their proper use.

“Please place them in the right place rather than throwing them away,” he said, pointing out that even a properly prepared seed ball would serve little purpose if placed where it could be damaged or where its seeds were unsuitable for the ecosystem.

Sherwani said the initiative was also aimed at raising awareness about the importance of trees amid growing environmental pressures associated with climate change, including unseasonal rains, storms and cloudbursts.

He has involved students in the activity as well, sharing seed balls with groups visiting from Jhang and Lahore and demonstrating their preparation and placement.

With the current monsoon season nearing its end, he hoped more people would make and distribute seed balls during the next monsoon, when regular rainfall could provide moisture for germination.

“I may not be here one day, but the impact of this work will be visible after 20 to 25 years,” he said.