Projectiles plus!

My students made marshmallow shooters to uncover the ideal angle at which to fire a projectile for maximum distance. Students use their skills in metric measurement to measure and construct a marshmallow shooter, then execute an experiment that tests various angles on how far your shooter will launch a marshmallow. Students test the marshmallow shooter several times, recording all data in a neat table. They then write a "Publisher" newspaper article to tell the world about the results and successes. This assignment integrates technology and science in several ways: measuring; using pipe cutters; understanding variables; designing an experiment; understanding gravitational forces on a projectile; data recording; photography; and using "Publisher".

I was listening to a podcast about guerrilla gardening and had the idea that combining the marshmallow shooter with guerrilla gardening could be a lot of fun. Guerrilla gardening involves sneak attacks on wasteland, either beautifying it with plants or making it productive with vegetables. We live in a suburban/rural area, but there are still possibilities for shooting seed bombs into disturbed and neglected land areas. So I went looking for instructions on how to build seed bombs and for guerrilla gardening in general. Here is what I found, but remember, always bomb with indigenous species!

• Rather than encasing your seed bomb in a balloon, which won't break down, make the seed bomb hold together on its own.
• Species used should be native to your area and drought resistant.
• Areas seed-bombed will need follow-up tending if you expect them to flourish.
• Your seed bomb must include a fertilizer.

Now here are some interesting links, including recipes for making seed bombs:

• Guerrilla Gardening Homepage
• Stuff You Should Know podcast on Guerrilla Gardening
• EcoLocalizer Blog andHappyFunTimeGardening Blog and Heavy Petal Blog recipes for seed bombs
• Video How-to
  
• Spewing bubbles and seeds while you pedal your bike!
• Not actually guerrilla gardening, but interesting Green Art

I can't wait until spring to get out there and start injecting random bits of beauty into areas disturbed by human activities!