Seed-delivering drones may be the key to renewing our forests.2019 was a banner year for the environmental protection movement as more countries and companies have taken to the ideas laid out by Pope Francis is his environmental missive ‘Laudato Si.‘ People the world over are reducing their carbon footprint in an effort to preserve the planet for future generations.
A Canadian company has arisen with only one goal in mind: to plant trees. Flash Forest has a mission to plant new trees in areas that have been devastated by deforestation, both natural and man-made.
To do this they employ drones to carry seed pods, which are then dropped and scattered about. The pods each contain three germinated seeds that will gain nourishment from the nutrient rich pod as they begin to grow. These pods are also made of materials that discourage animals from eating them.
The seed pods carry enough nutrition for the seeds to survive up to nine months without taking to soil. The species of seeds are also mixed up to ensure variety in the ecosystem.
Flash Forest had their first successful seed delivery in August, when they planted 100 seeds by drone. The team made a few adjustments, but now they have perfected their process and vowed to plant one billion seeds by 2028.
As the drones are capable of planting one seed per second, it would take roughly 31 years for one drone to plant so many seeds, but Flash Forest has a whole fleet of drones ready to make the world a greener place.
They explain in their promotional video that each drone is capable of completing the work of 10 manual tree-planting workers. As each drone operator can control up to 10 drones each, this effectively lets each of Flash Forest’s employees plant trees with the power of 100 people.
Watch the video to see YouTube scientist Mark Rober explore the technological marvel that is drone-powered reforestation.
