Seed-bomb event in Falls

Niagara Falls students will get an educational lesson about pollinators and their effect on the environment when they take part in an event at Fairview Cemetery Wednesday.

Students from Westlane Secondary School and St. Mary Catholic Elementary will participate in a hands-on Schools In Bloom seed bomb event at the Stanley Avenue site between 10 a.m. and noon.

The event will be run by Renee Delaney from Small Scale Farms in partnership with the Park in the City committee.

Students will create handmade mud balls packed with sunflower seeds and throw them along a prepared ground area at the cemetery.

Jeff Guarasci, a community development co-ordinator with the city, said sunflowers produce plant matter from carbon dioxide and various environmental nutrients. They attract honey bees and have a long blossoming season.

He said the event is part of the city’s “proactive” approach to environmental initiatives taking place within the municipality.

“For example, we’ll be designated as a Bee City on June 15 by Bee City Canada, and … it’s in support of bees (and their importance on the food supply),” said Guarasci.

He said Fairview Cemetery is already an environmentally friendly site, including having a green burial area with more than 10,000 pollinators.

“Right beside it we can add to the area, where they would make these seed bombs,” he said.

“The majority of these seed bombs are going to be local seeds, so they’re native to the area, all native species.”

Guarasci said the students will also benefit from having Delaney, who has a “wealth of information” about the issue.