You have the power to change the world.
April 22 marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The very first Earth Day took place in 1970 where roughly 2,000 colleges and universities, 10,000 primary and secondary schools and hundreds of communities throughout the United States not only ventured out into the spring sunshine for a peaceful demonstration in favour of environmental reform. Today, Earth Day has spread through over 190 countries and is recognized by over a billion people every year. Many people choose to spend the day helping to clean up their community. I’ve gone to the beach with some friends and we’ve picked trash up off the shoreline. There are other communities that hold dedicated “Earth Hours” or clean-up events.
One great way to get involved is to plant more flowers in your area. Seed paper is a great way to do that as you can carry the papers around with you and leave them on the ground where you would like to plant some flowers. Some great seed ideas are ones that bees or butterflies enjoy (wildflowers or milkweed). Have fun creating great shapes and brightening up your community.
Materials that you’ll need:
- A fine mesh screen (or something to help drain water)
- An old can (or something to place the mesh over)
- Paper cut into small squares (construction paper or newspaper, nothing shiny)
- Blender
- Warm water
- Mixing bowls (one for each colour of paper if using multiple colours)
- Flower seeds
- Cookie cutters
- Tea towel or paper towel
Here’s what you do:
- Cut the paper into small pieces and place into bowls. If using multiple colours of construction paper, place each colour in a separate bowl.
- Cover the paper with warm water and allow to soak for a couple of minutes.
- Place the soaking paper into the blender, one colour at a time, and liquefy the paper until you get a watery texture (it should look like oatmeal). You may need to add more water to help you reach this stage.
- Pour the paper back into the mixing bowl, still keeping the colours separate, and mix in the flower seeds.
- Cut the mesh screen large enough so that it covers the can and secure it with a rubber band.
- Place a cookie cutter on top of the screen and spoon the paper mixtures inside to make a thin layer. Press down with a spoon so that as much of the water drains as possible.
- Transfer these to a tea towel or paper towel so that they can dry. If needed, wrap a heavy book in plastic wrap and place on top of your seed paper so that they don’t curl up at the edges.
Have fun and be sure to share your experiences by tagging us #curiosityboxcrafts