Seed Bombing Initiative This Weekend

Help our dunes!

In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, East End shorelines were left vulnerable, particularly due to the loss of vital plant life on the dunes, which naturally cleanse the soil of pollutants and strengthen the dunes through their root system.

Head to the Fair Foods Market in Sag Harbor on High Street this weekend to pick up the “seed bombs”—balls of clay, soil and seeds—and help our local beaches. Only very specific native dune plants are being used in this project, so make sure to use sanctioned seeds.

Volunteers will be directed to areas along the Long Island shore where, upon arrival at their destination, they will walk the beach and sow the seeds by throwing the “bombs” into the dunes. The rest is up to nature, as the rain will dissolve the ball and prepare the seeds to germinate.

This is not the first time locals have used plants to shore up East End beaches. Last month, volunteers from the Surfrider Foundation planted dune grass on the beach at the end of Flying Point Road in Water Mill.

Similar initiatives are being planned in various other beach communities, including the Rockaways.

It certainly beats burying demolished cars and it won’t alienate your neighbors.

The Sag Harbor Fair Foods Market is located at Christ Episcopal Church at the corner of High Street and Hampton Street in Sag Harbor from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.