Seed Balls and Creature Sculptures for Bioremediation

Create seedy mini-sculptures inspired by our native ecology (soil microbes, insects, seeds, pollinators and plants) at this creative hands-on activity, part of Arlington Garden’s Post Fire series. This is the second of four workshops in the series this Winter/Spring developed in collaboration with soil scientist Lynn Fang of ! 

When your sculptures sprout, they’ll grow into plants that help sequester and take up heavy metals from the soil. CA native seeds we will use will include Saltbush (Atriplex lentiformis), CA Buckwheat (Eriogonum fasciculatum) and Bush Sunflower (Encelia californica)! 

Each plantable sculpture will be packed with compost produced at Arlington Garden, clay donated by , and native seeds for bioremediation provided by Nina Raj of . 

Make a sculpture for a friend, and for yourself, to plant and help contribute towards local soil health, garden by garden. 

This event is for all ages! It is a creative follow up to the Soil Testing and Bioremediation talk in February. 

Listen to the February Soil Testing and Bioremediation talk with James Oliver () and Lynn Fang () here.

Special thanks to First Congregational Church of Pasadena for an education outreach grant to create youth workshops at Arlington Garden. 

Lynn Fang, MS, SoilWise

Lynn has over 10 years of experience in ecological landscape design, soil science, community composting, and regenerative farming. She founded a small community-based business, SoilWise, where she centers soil health as the foundation of thriving and abundant gardens. Her teaching and community work include partnerships with LA Compost, Integrative Development Initiative, CalRecycle Community Composting for Green Spaces, Cal Poly Pomona, and Pitzer College. She has also worked with Metabolic Studio, Studio Petrichor, the LA County Arboretum Crescent Farm, CropSwapLA, Buena Vista Community Garden (now Gente Community Garden), and Huerta del Valle. Lynn is certified as a California Native Plant Landscaper, Permaculture Designer, and Compost Facility Operator. [email protected]

Altadena Seed Library

Altadena Seed Library, founded by Nina Raj, is a growing network of seed exchange boxes, and educational and conservation resources. Through the distribution of free seeds, we are working to expand equitable access to shade and green spaces, increase food sovereignty, connect neighbors, and restore local ecosystems. Following the Eaton Fire, Altadena Seed Library is providing free seeds and seed education to affected residents, remediating toxic soils, and working to establish conservation seed banks throughout the region. While Altadena Seed Library also facilitates long-term seed conservation through decentralized seed banking, their little free seed libraries are intended to act as dynamic, living resources that can function autonomously if they are tended to by their communities. In order to build capacity for stewardship, Altadena Seed Library provides various educational resources, including videos, zines, and workshops.

Images in banner by Maryam Hosseinzadeh: Encelia californica and Eriogonum fasciculatum in the recent rains.

Host or Publisher Arlington Garden in Pasadena