Seed Balls
Recycle Utah
Summer Camp
Ages 4 – 12, 40-50 minutes
How many kids will attend?
Site needs: Water source, outdoor area
If Recycle Utah goes to the site, count on 45 minutes. If the camp comes to Recycle Utah, count
on one hr (includes a tour of Center). This is an outside activity and should be near a water
source. Be prepared for the age group and customize accordingly.
Need for presentation (prepared beforehand):
1. Seed mix (labeled)
2. Bucket of clay
3. Bucket of compost
4. Tarp
5. Egg cartons (counted out)
6. 3, 5-gallon buckets (2 for water, 1 for mixture) and orange cup for H2O
7. Posters
8. Gloves & several pens or sharpies
9. Sample box of recyclables
10. Seed Ball Recipe
11. Handouts: HHW, RU Newsletter, Seed mixture ingredients
12. Miss Rumphius book or another shorter one for larger groups
INTRODUCTION
A. Review recyclables & Recycle Utah (5-10 min)
(Show samples – review categories. Ask where each category comes from e.g. glass:
sand). Why is it important to recycle? What does NOT go in Curbside Recycling? 80% of
what’s in landfills doesn’t need to be there. 30% is compostable. Show landfill pic.
B. Poster (5 min)
(Discuss. How many earths do we have? One: our Mother Earth, we need to take care of
her. Touch on everything on the list: Bees: we need them. Why? Because they are
‘pollinators.’ They transfer pollen and seeds from one plant to another, helping them to
grow. Some plants are food, others are wild. Beetles, birds, bat, ladybugs and butterflies
are also pollinators. Hummingbirds need our flowers. Bears need our berries. Dogs need
bushes to pee on! We need trees because they help keep our air clean and create oxygen
for us to breath. We’re all connected.
C. Create! (5 min)
(Do it yourself for younger kids, older kids can help mix. If it’s a large group, have the
recipe pre-mixed, except the water. Get a helper to mix one of the buckets.)
1. Put clay powder into master bucket (using recipe)
2. Add compost (bring extra)
3. Add seeds, then mix all together
4. Add water with orange cup a little at a time, to make a big mud pie
Talk while mixing: ask them if they have gardens, what kind? What are their favorite flowers?
Vegetables? Why again are bees important (mention the recent decline of bees due to chemicals
in our environment)? Why is recycling important? Where does Clay come from? Where does
compost come from?
D. Egg Cartons (10 min)
Have the teachers help by putting each child’s name on a carton with a pen during the
presentation. Put a ‘blob’, enough for 6-20 seed balls, in the flat part of each carton for the
students to work with. The balls should be the size of a large grape and how much is
given to each child depends on the size of the group. After rolling their ball, they can place
it in the egg space, 1 to 3 in each. Each child gets to take home an egg carton.
While the kids are rolling, explain what they can do with the balls. They can toss them in
a field, a garden, anywhere they’d like to see wildflowers grow, during a walk, a hike, a
jaunt with the dog. Do not toss them on a street or sidewalk – it must be in soil. Check the
spot a year later. Ultimately, our earth will be more beautiful than it already is! We need
to keep our bees happy.
E. Clean Up (5 min)
Fill two buckets with water. Each child needs to dip their hands in each bucket (dirtiest to
cleanest) to rinse their hands when finished with their seed balls. After everyone has
gone through, dump the water in a garden or on soil to absorb the seeds.
F. Read Ms. Rumphius or another shorter book (5 to 10 min)
Thank you!
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