Seed Paper Dreams

Overview:

Relationships to seeds can be deepened by writing letters to them, and integrating letters into soil and/or space building. 

The Tkaronto CIRCLE Lab facilitated this activity by using Wildflower Seed Paper (recycled paper with seeds embedded) from Botanical Paperworks Inc. However, this activity can be modified by using any compostable writing material and seeds. 

Facilitator Note: This activity should not be done with traditional seeds, such as tobacco, or seeds that have relationships with Indigenous communities. We recommend using seeds that will support native biodiversity. 

Objectives: 

• Writing letters and speaking to seeds as more-than-human relations

• Understanding seeds as important relations for the future

• Increased care, investment and participation in growing space by letter writing and integration into growing space 

Suggested Supplies:

• Seed Paper (or recycled and unbleached writing paper and seeds)

• Pen/pencil

• Potting Soil

• Planting pots or outdoor area

• Nutrient-dense compost (such as worm castings)

Facilitator Note:

We found this activity useful as a reflection tool for youth programming. We asked young people to create protest signs from the perspective of more-than-human relatives, for example, a forest, plants, a body of water. We created a gallery walk of their signs. From this activity, we invited young people to collectively brainstorm dreams for their climate futures that include land, waterways, and the more-than-human world. They wrote their dreams on the seed paper, and we planted the seed paper together using the prompts below.

This activity can be modified to support your specific land education program goals. 

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Distribute seed paper, encourage participants to observe and feel the texture, scent, and appearance of the paper. 

2. Let participants know we will use seed paper to write to the seeds, and then plant this paper. 

3. The following prompts may be helpful to your facilitation: 

   Noticing 

• What do you notice about the seed paper? How would you describe it? 

• What do you think the seeds within the paper want, and need to survive? You can remind participants that seeds do not only need water and sunshine to thrive, but on-going commitment and relationships, to humans and more-than-human life (such as bees, butterflies, surrounding plants and animals). 

  Writing 

• In pairs or groups, ask participants to discuss what their hopes and dreams for the seeds are. What makes you excited about growing this seed? Encourage bullet-point note taking to facilitate longer thinking and sentences. If they have access to a search engine, they can look up their seeds at full maturity for a helpful visual. For example, I hope these wildflower seeds sprout year-after-year, that the pollen is inviting for bumble bees and butterflies, that they blossom into colourful buds and florals.

• In pairs or groups, ask participants to discuss what their intentions are with planting these seeds. How do you plan on being in a good relationship with them (caring for them)? For example, I want to get to know tobacco better. I plan to water them everyday, visit with them everyday, take pictures and capture their blooms and harvest their leaves. 

  Planting 

• Invite participants to rip up the seed paper as a symbolic act representing the worries, fears and obstacles that might hinder our dreams with seeds and our environment. For example, in our programming, we found it useful to name and talk about climate anxieties before planting the seed paper.  

• Support everyone in creating their soil mixtures*, plant their seed paper dreams, and water them as a way to participate in the care needed for our dreams to grow. 

Facilitator Note: As a rule of thumb, soil can be mixed with compost on a 4:1 ratio, respectively. If using seed paper, paper should be completely covered by soil. If using seeds, follow instructions according to seed needs.

1. As a closing you can encourage participants to reflect on how their intentions and words are always within your growing space and intertwined with the seeds growing journey. 

Authored by Kaitlin Rizarri for the Tkaronto CIRCLE Lab, in conversation with on-going farming & earthwork in Tkaronto