Presentation

Problem

PROBLEM

Globally, on average we are losing 10 billion trees every year due to deforestation, and natural disasters such as wildfires. Us as humans cannot recover the damages done by these cataclysmic disasters. As a result, we are losing trees and forests faster than we can recover them. This leads to a loss of carbon capture, which contributes to climate change and global warming. Restoring our forests at a faster rate then we are losing them will help re-stabilize the climate.

Climate Change- Trees are one of the most efficient natural resources and also absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As forests are being destroyed and damaged it causes 10% of global warming. When forests are destroyed by wildfires the carbon goes back into the atmosphere. Inturn this increases global warming. All of the world’s forests in total absorb 16 billion metric tons of carbon, and a single average forest absorbs 7 tons of carbon dioxide per hectare. So without trees it will worsen the climate crisis, and we cannot get over this crisis with the absence of forests.
Biodiversity Loss- Forests are home to multiple unique plants, animals and species. If forest is cleared or destroyed these species lose their habitats and will soon lead to extinction. Destroying forests will mean we are losing species at a fast rate, and it leads to irreversible damage, so we need to start NOW!
Destroyed Ecosystems- Deforestation disrupts ecosystems and makes them endangered to disasters and will stop form native plants and animals from interacting. In the end they will all be affected. No only this but many humans rely on ecosystems for food, water and medicinal plants.

Solution:

In our project, we will be exploring the idea of helping restore our forests and ecosystems with the help of drones and technology. This will allow us humans to use this technology and plant trees faster, and more efficiently in hard to reach places, or places that humans can’t reach. We will build a prototype of a seed-firing drone that will bring awareness to people all over the world about how technology can help fight climate change, and restore ecosystems.

Efficiency- Drones are a great form of technology that will have planting patterns in the dropping of the pods, and will make sure that they are at the preferred distance. This will limit any seeds that are wasted and do not germinate
Cost-Effective- Manual planting or any other type of reforestation is much more time consuming, and getting groups of workers is costly. With drones, they can cover large areas in a shorter amount of time. So this is more sustainable and less costly.
Raising Awareness- Drones can not only plant seeds efficiently, but this project wants to help people learn more about this. So we aim to inspire organisations and humans globally to develop solutions to restore ecosystems.

MAIN QUESTION

Can Drone Technology Be Used for the Plantation of Trees?

GUIDING QUESTIONS

What are wildfires, and how do they form?
Impacts of wildfires.
- Loss of forests
- Increase in carbon emissions
- Reduction in carbon capture
What are the effects of wildfires on deforestation, and climate change?
Does the loss of trees contribute to the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere?
What is reforestation ?
How can reforestation be achieved at the rate deforestation happens?

HYPOTHESIS

NAVNIR:

The importance of reforestation is crucial to maintain the climate, prevent the decrease in carbon capture, avoid biodiversity loss, and much more. But planting trees manually is very difficult, and not efficient. This is why many environmentalists, and engineers came up with the idea to create technology that will help with reforestation. What they came up with was a drone that would shoot out biodegradable pods containing the tree seed specific to that area. Over time, these trees will grow, restoring the loss that was caused by deforestation, wildfires, and much more. Our objective in this project is to create a cost efficient replica of these seed-firing drones, and showcase the wonders that technology can do to help us help the planet, and make things easier to do in our daily life.

TANVEER:

Wildfires and deforestation have many effects on the environment, humans and numerous communities, as we learned from our research. Deforestation and wildfires lessen biodiversity in ecosystems, this then increases global warming ads can have tremendous impact on climate change. This is why reforestation is something we should be working towards. In Canada, we can see that as a country, we have done plenty to help abilate forests that have been destroyed. We see this in our research where we know that Canada has made rules and regulations to help conserve forests. We want to create an efficient and fast way to plant trees in Canada and all around the world. With drone/model we may help many environments and communities to gain back their forests, just like flash forest. Flash forest is a company with the same goal as us who have worked in Canada, the US and Europe using drones to help with reforestation. In turn, This will help teach many people about drones and the importance of reforestation, but also help us develop a model to help the planet and all ecosystems and communities in it.

Method

RESEARCH

Causes and effects of deforestation:

Deforestation is an immense problem in the world. It is the clearing of trees and forests to make room for farmland, agricultural land, towns, and cities. As the demand for these resources grows, companies such as Walmart, Starbucks, and Mcdonalds benefit from deforestation, as deforestation allows the resources that they need to be made available. As the destruction of forests continues, on a large scale, it can add to the acceleration of climate change, Carbon capture reduction, biodiversity loss, and soil erosion.

National Geographic Society. “Deforestation.” National Geographic Education, 20 August 2024, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/deforestation/. Accessed 28 September 2024.

Lai, Olivia. “13 Major Companies Responsible for Deforestation.” Earth.Org, 29 January 2023, https://earth.org/major-companies-responsible-for-deforestation/. Accessed 28 September 2024.

What are wildfires and their impacts?

Wildfires are wild fires which burn in many different ecosystems, which includes forests, grasslands or savannas. These natural sisters are not limited to one specific place/environment. Wildfires most of the time start small and are intimately unnoticed, but are able to spread rapidly. They destroy everything in their path as they travel through areas.

Some impacts of Wildfires include:

Air Pollution (Wildfire Smoke)- Wildfire smoke can have big impacts on human health, because it is a mixture of multiple gases: ozone, methane, sculpture dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and more. These are all toxic air pollutants, which have horrible impacts on health and are greenhouse gases. These gases can go up into the ozone layer, helping create the greenhouse effect (which warms the planet). Wildfire smoke can cause burning eyes, runny nose, coughing, trouble breathing or illness like bronchitis. Furthermore, if you have respiratory and cardiovascular problems, it can make it worse.
Water pollution- Forest fires can have impacts on aquatic ecosystems, because ash and sediment in these ecosystems affects the water clarity and have a big impact on marine life.
Destroying communities- Due to wildfires thousands of peoples are forced to relocate. Not only this but wildfires can also ruin roads, power grids, homes and communication networks. Wildfires can also have impacts on cultures because some cultures have traditional practices like hunting or gathering.
Ecosystems- wildfires that are uncontrollable can reduce biodiversity because they eliminate key habitats and disrupt the interaction in ecosystems. Nevertheless, some ecosystems can benefit from these new ecosystems conditions created by the fire. Unless the fire is not controlled, which can burn through these ecosystems.

“Forest fires.” Ouranos, https://www.ouranos.ca/en/climate-phenomena/forest-fires-background. Accessed 28 September 2024.

Government Canada. “Wildfire smoke and your health.” Canada.ca, 6 June 2024, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/publications/healthy-living/wildfire-smoke-health.html. Accessed 28 September 2024.

National Geographic Society. “Wildfires.” National Geographic Education, 19 October 2023, https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/wildfires/. Accessed 28 September 2024

“Canadian Red Cross Home.” Canadian Red Cross Home, https://www.redcross.ca/how-we-help/emergencies-and-disasters-in-canada/types-of-emergencies/wildfires/wildfires-information-facts. Accessed 28 September 2024

World (World Health Organization) Health Organization. “Wildfires.” World Health Organization (WHO), https://www.who.int/health-topics/wildfires#tab=tab_1. Accessed 28 September 2024

Solutions for deforestation:

What is Canada Doing?

Canada's Government is doing everything in their power to conserve and protect our forests, ecosystems and wildlife. There are strict rules and regulations in place to conserve our forests. There are some areas where some activities are restricted to conserve natural ecosystems. For example industrial activities such as harvesting, mining, and hydroelectric development are banned in 95% of Canada’s protected areas and forests. All of this is done to ensure that our forests are protected, as there are 24 million hectares of protected forests in Canada, and 7% of the whole country is forests.

In 2021, a company named Flash forest, used drones to help with reforestation mostly in the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia. They have planted trees in Canada, the U.S and Europe. Flash forest owners are Mr. Jones, Cameron Jones (his brother) and Angelique Alström.

Government of Canada. “Government of Canada.” Conservation and protection of Canada's forests, 4 April 2024, https://natural-resources.canada.ca/our-natural-resources/forests/sustainable-forest-management/conservation-and-protection-canadas-forests/17501. Accessed 28 September 2024

Globe content Studio. “Canadian startup plants new forests in a flash, with investment from TELUS Pollinator Fund for Good.” The Globe and Mail, 24 April 2023, https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/adv/article-canadian-startup-plants-new-forests-in-a-flash-with-investment-from/. Accessed 7 October 2024.

Flash Forest, https://flashforest.ca/. Accessed 7 October 2024

Innovative solutions:

Aerial Seeding or Seed Firing drones have been used for agriculture and farming for many years. It reduces workload and increases the efficiency of farming methods. This type of technology is being used to help with reforestation today. Planting trees is a very popular way that us humans tackle climate change, but many planting projects always fall short of their goals. So Seed-Firing drones were invented to help humans and assist them in traditional reforestation methods, as well as boost tree planting rates.

When planting trees, scientists use special technology, artificial intelligence, and local indigenous knowledge to plant trees in a specific area that will thrive in today’s climate and future warmer climates.
Using Aerial Seeding Methods, humans can also plant trees in remote and hard to reach areas. The drones do this as the follow a pre-planned route, and shoot out seeds using pneumatic air guns, or simply just by dropping the seeds.

To give the plant the best chance of survival, the seeds are covered in biodegradable pellets/pods with all of the nutrients that it needs to survive.

Asher, Claire, and Glenn Scherer. “New Tree Tech: Cutting-edge drones give reforestation a helping hand.” Mongabay, 12 July 2023, https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/new-tree-tech-cutting-edge-drones-give-reforestation-a-helping-hand/. Accessed 29 September 2024.

Susan Graham. “These seed-firing drones plant thousands of trees each day | Pioneers for Our Planet”. Youtube, uploaded by World Economic Forum, 4 December 2019 https://youtu.be/nXophqU-rp4?si=VxHO5IwBh1aje5Qb. Accessed 29 September 2024.

What does deforestation in Canada look like?

Deforestation is the permanent removal of trees and forests. This is done so that the land covered by this can be used for other purposes, such as agriculture, and other reasons like paper industries, and furniture made out of wood.

In Canada, we do clearcutting, and other harvesting practices to sustainably give the resources needed to companies so that we as citizens can have access to things such as paper products, and wood furniture.

There are also many reasons why deforestation happens in Canada, and this graph shows the multiple different causes of why it happens.

As you can see, agriculture is a huge reason for deforestation. This is because agriculture is a huge industry in Canada, and farms cover 62.2 million hectares of land.

“Deforestation in Canada—What are the facts?” Forests and forestry, March 2016, https://cfs.nrcan.gc.ca/pubwarehouse/pdfs/36710.pdf. Accessed 7 October 2024.

Overview of Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector - agriculture.canada.ca, 27 June 2024, https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/overview. Accessed 7 October 2024.

What does reforestation in Canada look like?

In Canada, there is a program called “TREE CANADA”. It is a group of people that research and help recreate the lost forests. Tree Canada is an association that focuses on large hectares of damaged land. Then plant tree seedlings that are perfect for that area or province.

Why should we plant trees?

Trees have many benefits. For example Carbon (the process of capturing and storing atmospheric Carbon Dioxide), improving habitats, improving biodiversity, and increasing Oxygen in our air.

Not only that, but trees help with the fight against climate change. Through a process called photosynthesis, trees take in carbon dioxide, and use it for the tree’s energy, and release a by-product, which in this case is oxygen.

“National Greening Program.” Tree Canada, https://treecanada.ca/our-programs/national-greening-program/. Accessed 7 October 2024.

Trees Canada. “Restoring and Growing our forests.” 24 October 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7KtZHv92ss&list=PL7phlB_fGFq-Jt1-halBQdmMf-l_-mJQF&index=1. Accessed 7 October 2024.

“Photosynthesis | Definition, Formula, Process, Diagram, Reactants, Products, & Facts.” Britannica, 20 September 2024, https://www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis. Accessed 7 October 2024.

TREES AND CARBON CAPTURE:

What is carbon capture/CSS?

CSS or carbon capture is the capture of Co2 emissions with the use of steel and cement production. In general, it is a process, which collects carbon dioxide (Co2) and takes the carbon dioxide somewhere with the greenhouse gas. This process may be a key component to reduce global warming. This is 3 step procedure:

Capturing the Co2 for storage- the carbon dioxide to split up Co2 from other gasses in the air.
Transport- the Co2 is then squeezed and moved through pipelines, road transport or ships to move for storage.
Storage- lastly, the Co2 is put into rock formations underground for permanent storage.

Trees do this by a process called photosynthesis, which converts CO2 from the air and turns it into breathable oxygen.

“Journey to net zero stories | More stories.” National Grid, https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/journey-to-net-zero-stories. Accessed 7 October 2024

Thompson, Avery. “What Is Carbon Capture? | Carbon Capture and Storage.” Popular Mechanics, 13 April 2018, https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/green-tech/a19645960/what-is-carbon-capture-storage-ccs/. Accessed 7 October 2024.

“Photosynthesis | Definition, Formula, Process, Diagram, Reactants, Products, & Facts.” Britannica, 20 September 2024, https://www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis. Accessed 7 October 2024.

How much carbon dioxide (CO2) do trees capture?

A tree absorbs anywhere between 10 and 40 kg of Co2 per year. To compare 1 kg of Co2 can fill a large beach ball (with a diameter of slightly over 1 meter). This means 0.83 - 3.3kg of Co2 captured per month. This can be based multiple factors:

The species of trees: the different species can have varying growth rates, which can differ from patterns of carbon sequestration (the process of capturing and storing astrological Co2). A fast-growing species may see a lessening of carbon storage and on the other hand slower growing trees can show a gradual increase in the carbon storage
Environmental conditions: some factors like soil fertility, water availability, sunlight exposer, and temperature, these conditions can impact tree growth and carbon uptake. The optimal conditions are preferred for faster growth and the higher carbon sequestration rates (the process of capturing and storing astrological Co2).
Disturbances: natural or human activities disturbances including: fires, pests, or disease, these can interrupt the typical pattern of carbon sequestration (the process of capturing and storing astrological Co2). Leading to temporary or perm at changes in carbon intake.

“What is carbon sequestration? | U.S. Geological Survey.” USGS.gov, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-carbon-sequestration. Accessed 7 October 2024.

“What is 1kg of CO2 equal to?” Cogo, 15 November 2022, https://cogo.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/8016117711641-What-is-1kg-of-CO2-equal-to. Accessed 7 October 2024.

Bernet, Ross. “How Much CO2 Does A Tree Absorb?” One Tree Planted, 25 July 2023, https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/how-much-co2-does-tree-absorb. Accessed 7 October 2024.

“Our Team — Hamerkop.” Hamerkop Climate Impacts, https://www.hamerkop.co/team-hamerkop. Accessed 7 October 2024.

How does this impact climate change?

The carbon cycle- is a cycle is the constant movement of carbon from land, water and through the atmosphere and living organisms.

As you can see from the picture above forests are a vital part of the carbon cycle, with storing and releasing. This is a big part of the carbon cycle, looking at the global scale. Forests help Martian the Earth's carbon balance by capturing Co2 From the atmosphere as they grow.

As the trees grow, they help stop climate change by removing Co2 from the air, storing the carbon in the trees and soil. In turn, the excess product (oxygen) into the atmosphere). Even though forests release Co2 they take in way more carbon, in comparison with the release of Co2.

Forest carbon, 21 June 2024, https://natural-resources.canada.ca/climate-change/climate-change-impacts-forests/forest-carbon/13085. Accessed 7 October 2024.

As we are losing trees due to things such as wildfires, and deforestation, we are also losing organisms that can help with the fight against climate change. This is because trees intake carbon dioxide (which is one of the biggest reasons why our planet is warming up and causing catastrophic disasters like sea level rise). The carbon capture helps reduce the amount of carbon in our air and replace it with oxygen. This helps reduce the greenhouse effect, which in turn reduces the global temperatures, resulting in a decrease in climate change.

Lindsey, Rebecca. “Climate Change: Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide | NOAA Climate.gov.” Climate.gov, 9 April 2024, https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide. Accessed 7 October 2024.

Are we planting trees as fast as we are losing them?

No, humans do not plant trees as fast as we are losing them. Even though yes, many people plant trees or donate to helpful organizations that also help with reforestation.

Every year, us humans plant close to 1.83 million (15, 250 trees every month). On the other hand, it estimated that humans cut/destroy 15 billion trees each year. To continue, from the start of human civilization the Earth’s tree count has dropped by 46%. From satellite data we can conclude that there are nearly 400 billion trees around the world (something to keep in note the source is from 2015).

From another source written in 2020 Around 15 billion trees are cut down every year with about 5 billion trees planted to replace. I conclude that we lose 10 billion trees every year (to compare this to the size of a football field).

Pope, Alexandra. “What if we could plant trees as quickly as we cut them down?” Canadian Geographic, 29 August 2021, https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/what-if-we-could-plant-trees-as-quickly-as-we-cut-them-down/. Accessed 8 October 2024.

“Tree Planting Statistics 2023.” Trees Down Under, 27 December 2022, https://treesdownunder.com.au/tree-planting-statistics/. Accessed 8 October 2024.

“Deforestation Explained: Should We Cut Down Trees?” Climate Transform, 21 April 2022, https://climatetransform.com/deforestation-explained-should-we-cut-down-trees/. Accessed 8 October 2024.

Wilce, Matt. “How many trees are lost to deforestation every year.” Tree-Nation, https://tree-nation.com/projects/inside-tree-nation/article/9739-how-many-trees-are-lost-to-deforestation-every-year. Accessed 8 October 2024.

What is a seed firing drone?

Seed firing drones is a relatively new developed technology that plants trees at a very fast rate. The drone drops seedling covered in a specially designed pod that gives nutrients to the growing seedling.

On average, a drone can fire 1500 trees everyday. This increases the chances of success, and allows for the maximum amount of trees to germinate.

“Startup using drones to replant B.C.'s burnt forests.” Business in Vancouver, 25 October 2022, https://www.biv.com/news/resources-agriculture/startup-using-drones-replant-bcs-burnt-forests-8269370. Accessed 8 October 2024.

Nonko, Emily, et al. “Seed-Planting Drones Are Reforesting Canada With Lightning Speed.” Reasons to be Cheerful, 27 February 2023, https://reasonstobecheerful.world/drone-tree-planting-reforesting-after-wildfires/. Accessed 8 October 2024.

The Weather Network. “Seed-dropping drone targets 100 million trees by 2024.” The Weather Network, 19 Jan 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6j08_F-hvQ. Accessed 8 October 2024.

How do drones help reforestation?

Drones can help a lot with reforestation, these bullet firing seeds can drop these pods (which have tree seeds inside). They do this in an ordered route, working together with a singular human supervisor.

This saves time and is way more efficient, not only this but you will be able to plant more trees rather than planting the trees physically. Physically, not only would the planting take twice the time, but it would take more effort and man-power.

Animation showing three drones embedding seedpods into the soil.

“Conservation news on Drones.” Mongabay, https://news.mongabay.com/list/drones/. Accessed 8 October 2024.

Stout, Kristie Lu, and Andrew Millison. “Reforesting in a flash: these drones can plant trees faster than we can.” YouTube, 10 August 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27bOcWLbFa0. Accessed 8 October 2024.

What are the pods made out of?

Mostly, the pods that are used for these innovations are made up of biodegradable materials. These materials are safe for the environment, and animals, and consist of no harmful chemicals and toxins.

Most pods are made with waste and biomass which cover the seedling and protect it from animals that would want to try and eat it. For example insects, rodents, and birds.

Flash forest, the company that we’ve already talked about. Their seed production includes: beneficial bacteria, fungi, minerals, and nutrients. With this production they are able to make 200,000 seed pods every day, this would mean 200, 000 trees everyday.

Animation showing the inner composition of Flash Forest's seedpod technology.

Schneider, Daniela. “These seed-firing drones are planting 40000 trees every day to fight deforestation.” Euronews.com, 20 May 2022, https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/05/20/this-australian-start-up-wants-to-fight-deforestation-with-an-army-of-drones. Accessed 8 October 2024.

“Tech — Flash Forest.” Flash Forest, 6 December 2022, https://flashforest@.ca/tech. Accessed 8 October 2024

PROCEDURE(S):

Material needed for the mechanism: (we got all of our materials from Amazon).

Arduino Board (image 3)
Servo Motor (image 1)
Hook-up Wires (image 2/7)
USB Cable (image 4)
IR receiver (image 5)
Remote Control (image 6)

1.

6.

7.

Creating the Mechanism:

Connect the Servo Motor:

We created the basic circuit for the mechanism
The servo motor has three wires: power (red), ground (black), and signal (yellow)

Connect the power wire to the 3.3V pin on the Arduino board
Connect the ground wire to any ground (GND) pin on the Arduino board
Connect the signal wire to pin 9 on the Arduino board

A representation of this is shown in image 3

Connect the IR receiver: (image 1 shows how to attach the wire to the IR reciver)

The IR recover has three wires, just like the Servo moter: power (red), ground (black, signal (yellow).

Connect the power wire to 5V pin on the Arduino board
Connect the ground wire to any ground (GND) pin on the Arduino board
Connect the signal wire to pin 11 on the Arduino board

Assemble the Final Mechanism:

After connecting the servo motor to the IR reciever, the final setup should look like image 3

2. This is an image of the wires used to connect the servo motor to the arduino board. As you can see, all of the wires that are connected, should be connected to the corrisponding colour.

3.

UPLOADING THE CODE:

1.Install Arduino IDE:

Install Arduino IDE software (this is the software we used but you could use another). This is what you can use to upload the code to Arduino board.

2. Upload the code:

Connect the Arduino board to your computer using the USB cable.
Input the code.
Open the Arduino IDE, and click the check mark on the top-left of the screen to verify the code.
Once done, click the right arrow next to the checkmark to upload the code to the Arduino board

NOTES

Make sure the connections are firm and secure to have no issues or errors in the testing
Make sure everything set up correctly

Material needed for the pod:

We will be using bio-waste as it is a cost effective, and easiest way to get the nutrients for the seed, and make sure that the pod is very durable as well. In the future we could get this from Green bins, to make it more sustaniable, because this is mostly organic waste.

Orange peels (high in Nitrogen, Potassium, and calcium)
Banana peels (high in nitrogen, and potassium)
Blueberries (high in phosphorus)
Avocados (high in magnesium and sulphur)
Kiwis (high in sulphur)

(These fruits were specially selected because of the nutrients that they are rich in. These fruits provide the seedling with crucial nutrients that are necessary for it's germiantion.)

Fullers Earth (multani mitti)
Water
Bowls
Spoon
Sieve
Blender

Creating the pod:

1. BLENDING THE FRUITS

First take all of the fruits, cut them up and put them into the blender.

Avocado: 8g (9.6%)
Orange: 15g (18.07%)
Banana: 36g (43.3%)
Kiwi: 10g (12.04%)
Blueberry: 14g (16.8%)

The total total Weight was 83g, which created 15 pods for us. You can increase/decrease these proportions based off of how many pods are needed.

Start blending up the fruits, make sure that you shake and add a little amount of water to the mixture so it is easier to blend and mix together.

2. STRAINING THE MIXTURE

Pour the mixture out into the sieve (image 1) and strain to get rid of the extra water/moisture. This will prevent the pods from being to wet and to make sure that they keep there shape. Through make sure you are not removing to much of the fruit’s pulp because that may take away from the nutrients.

3. SHAPING THE PODS AND ADDING THE SEEDS

Shapping- shape the mixture into circles about 0.6inch in diameter,(image 3 and 4) add place the seed right in the center (image 5), for durability and strength of pods.
Drying in Refrigerator- Then put them into the fridge to dry for 10 hours, this will give the pods more strength and make them more firm. (The amount of time for this process can depend on the consistency of your mixture)
Sun Drying- Then leave the pods to dry in the sun for 3-5 days, throughout this time period make sure the pods are turned regularly to make sure they dry evenly.

Additionally, to take an extra procusion, you could put the mixture after starining into a dehydrator for a few hours. This will take away majority of the water to prevent mold, but it will also keep the nutrients in it.

4. COATING WITH FULLER"S EARTH (MULTANI MITI)

Creating the Coating- First make a mixture of multani mitti using water. Mix 2 cups of Fuller’s Earth (Multani Mitti) into 1 cup of water, mix until you see a creamy consistency of the mixture.
Layering- Then cover each of the pods with this substance, applying 2-3 layers to the pods is needed because this will add impact resistance to the pods.
Drying after Coating- you can leave the pods out in the sun to dry, just like before. Another, but faster way to do this by using a blow dryer.

5. FINAL DRYING

If you need, you may do another 3-5 days of sun-drying. This will make the pods more stronger and durable for the drop.

Some thoughts to consider…

Moisture- throughout the process make sure checking the moisture of the substance so that the substance does not get to watery and has a good viscous consistency
Fuller’s Earth (Multani Mitti)- Not all brands are all good of the fuller’s earth you use so make sure you chose a good one. For example the one we chose was ‘Teja’

6.

7.

Putting it all together:

Mechanism:

Creating a Barrier for the pods:

For the mechanism to fufill it'a function, it needs a barrier to provent the pods from falling out when not in commamd.

Materials:

- adhesives (glue, tape, etc)

- bottle cap ( from a milk carton or any other small bottle)

1. Cutting the bottle cap (Image 1)

Take the bottle cap
Use scissors or any other tool to steadily cut the surroundings of the cap, to take of the part that twist around the bottle
Final shape the cut should a circular and that can cover the opening of the bottle
WARNING- if your a using a heta force to cut the the bottle cap make sure you are ways from flammable materials and wear protection

2. Attach the Cap to the Servo motor (Image 2):

Use a adhesive to attach the bottle cap to the servo motor
Test the it by manually moving the servo motor to ensure the barrier open and closes smoothly

WARNING- if using a heat source (hot glue gun) to attach it it can cause burn if directly touched on the tip

1.

2.

Attaching everything to the bottle:

You need somesort of holder/carrier that will carry the pods, and will have the mechanism attachted to it. For this job, we chose a bottle. We are using a fiji water bottle at it is made up of strong material, and has a moderatly large size.

The materials you will need are the following:

- one water bottle (preferably Fiji as we are using it)

- adhesives (tape, glue, etc)

1. Arrange everything in a way that makes everything fit well. We chose the format displayed in image 1.

ex.

- Arduino board on the left, IR on the right, etc

2. Then firmly stick everything to the bottle using the adhasives. The final should look somewhat like image 1.

Prepare the bottle as the holder/carrier:

1.Choose your bottle:

Make sure you chose a strong and durable water bottle
Ensure the bottle is clean and dry before starting
WARNING- if you are citing or changing the bottle make sure you don’t cut yourself as the edges of the plastic can be sharp, so wear protection.

2. Plan the layout of the components:

Place the Arduino board on the left side of the bottle
Place the IR sensor on the right side( or anywhere it makes sense with your bottle)
The servo motor should be positioned where it can function the barrier nicely, which we would be likely near the top
Make sure that all the parts are comfortably laid out and make sense

3. Test the design:

Before you glue or attach anything make sure you are Fit correctly and make sure there aren't any tight spaces

IMAGE 1:

Creating an attachment to the drone:

1. Creating Holes

To do this, you will either need a drill, or heat
Create 2 holes on two sides of the bottle (image1)
Insert a zip tie threw and close it (image 2)
Insert another zip tie around the drone's legs, and attach it to the previous zip tie (image 3)

This will create a strong bond between the mechanism and drone and will prevent it from falling off.

The final structure should look simliar to "THE FINAL IMAGE". (There is a stand/platform visable in the image, but it is not needed for this project. It is just for display purposes.)

1.

2.

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Adding a pathway to allow for the loading of Pods:

To load the pods into the mechanism, you can create a hole.

- using a drill or heat, create a hole ( about 1 inch in diameter)

The final result should look like image 1

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FINAL IMAGE

WHAT WE DID:

All the materials that we gathered for the mechanism were based on past research. Then, we started to build the actual mechanism by using the help of Taranjot Randhawa (student at BVC). The building process went very smoothly, and there were no setbacks. Once we made it, we tested everything out. Fortunately, everything was running very well and there were no issues.

Then we started to create/design the pods. Throughout this process, we were constantly thinking back at our past research and what our existing knowledge about these pods were. Then, we came up with the idea of using compost and Fuller Earth to provide nutrients and protect the seed. The compost consisted of the fruits and veggies that it did because of the nutrients that each of them hold. All of them were put in these ratios as per what the pine tree seeds needed. . Next, we started building the pods. Once we shaped them into a spherical shape, we let them into the fridge (which was initially for 5 hours). Once we took it out, the compost material was still wet, so we put it in for another 5 hours. Then when we took it out it was dry and hard. The next day, the pods let out a bit of water, so to evaporate that remaining moisture to prevent mold, we set them out in the sun for 3 days. This made the pods dry, but just to make sure we set them out for another 2 days, which intotal in 5 days. Once we started to add the protective layer. This was originally planned to be soil, but after some testing, the fuller’s earth turned out to be stronger and harder to protect the seedling. Then we layered it to ensure protection.

The barrier for the pods which was a bottle cap was as per planned, and we did not run into any issue there.

Preparing the carrier which was a FIJI water bottle for us because of its strong material that will hold the pods in one place and not break. It was also a large size which allowed for good fitting of the circuit. The orientation of the way we placed it ended up also being a little issue as finding the perfect place was difficult. But after changing where the wires and the arduino board went, everything fit nicely and was secured very well by the adhesives used which were tape, and glue.

Lastly, attaching the mechanism onto the drone went as per plan as well, we did not run into any major issue. The only problem was finding a good way to place the zip ties so that the drone does not fly away on the platform, and making sure that the mechanism fits well on the drone as well. We drilled some holes onto the top of the bottle and put a zip tie through and attached it to the drone and platform.

Before attaching the drone to the platform, we did run some tests to ensure that the whole system was working properly. First was to see how many seeds fall out per second. We ran that test 10 times, and on average 2 pods fell out per second. This means 7200 pods per hour. (There was a slight issue that we ran into at this step. It was when we were testing, soemtimes, the pods would get stuck in the nozzle. To fix this, we made sure that the pod's shape was as round as possible. Even after our efforts, the pods would still get stuck. But during flight tests, the vibrations of the drones, would help the pods fall out easier).Additionally, to increase the germination success rate, we wanted to ensure that maximum amount of pods can be released per second. To do this, we made the pod as smooth as possible so that they do not get jammed in the nozzle. This did help, allowing the pods to flow out easier, and in some cases 4 - 5 pods did fall out per second. This is very important because if these amount falls per second on average, in the future, the germination success rate can be inceased. We also tested how fast that drone can go, and its safety and reliability, and how easy it is to control.

Analysis

Analysis of Model:

Once we built the mechanism, we started testing it, and analysing how it works. Thesen are the main categories:

Speed of how many it can plant.

- germination

- type of seed

- pods

Falling speed of the pod.
Success rate of germination.
Number of pods per unit of time

Short tests that were Run

The PODS that were dropped every second

This was done as a small test to figure out the average pods that fall every second.

Number of times tested	Amount of Pods that fell
1	2
2	2
3	2
4	1
5	2
6	3
7	1
8	1
9	2
10	3

To figure out the avaergae (mean)

(2+2+2+1+2+3+1+1+2+3)/10=mean

so.......

19/10=1.9

Then 1.9 can be rounded about to 2.

(The amount of pods can still vary based off of the quality and shape of the pods)

DRONE DESIGN AND ENGINEERING:

Payload system:

The payload system worked very well. It successfully placed all of the pods in the correct estimated location (around 2.5 meters apart), which was originally planned. It was mechanically operated and encountered no issues during the pod planting proccess. The pods did not land exactly where they were supposed to, but they were still placed close to the intended spots. To conclude, the overall planting proccess was done efficently and effectivly.

To come up with the conclusion that the seeds should land at this distance, we came up with an equation:

(1m/s) / (PODS/s) = (m)

- PODS/s represent the rate at which the pods fall.

- 1m/s represents the drones constant speed

- m is the distance that the drone travels before the pod hits the ground or in other words the disantce that the pods are predicted to fall.

we changed it to (5m/s) / (PODS/s = 2) = (2.5m) to fit our requirments.

This means that if this drone is left running for an hour, it can plant 7200 seeds.

Seed placement:

The pods were dropped directly on top of the soil, but are excpected to gradually settle beneath the surface over time. The distance at which the seeds were planted was perfect to the tree species that is being planted, which is pine. The planting mechaniam, which is mainly powered by the force of gravity, helps ensure that the seeds are safley droped and suffer no damage. Overall, the system was proved to be reliable, and safe, even though the slight variation in placement.

SAFETY AND STABILITY:

The drone that we used for this project provided safety and stability during navigating and maneuvering. It was very easy to control, which allowed for a safe flight from start to finish. Most importantly, the drone did not cause any damage to people or property, proving the fact that it is safe. To conclude, the drone's performance was very good, creating a sense that it is safe and effiecent and making it a very good tool for this project, and the function that it is being used for.

DRONE:

The drone that we used for this had a maximum range of 150 meters. This provided a a reliable and functional radius for the task. This range allowed for a good coverage of land, ensuring the drone could reach requried areas without any limitation, allowing for a efficent and effective system. This range could also allow it to go very high, which could help avoiding obsticales which could potencially interfere with it's purpose. Overall, the drones range of 150 meters allowed for a safe, stable, efficent, and effective flight.

(We used the Holy Stone HS110D – FPV RC Drone with 720P HD Camera)

GERMINATION AND SUCCESS RATES:

To assess the success rate of seed germination, we used the following equation:

( # of seeds germinated / total seeds ) * 100 = germination success rate

Then we changes it to (5−25)/100×100=15-25% to fit our requirments.

This calculation that we made was based on several factors that influence that seed growth and success rate of germination in Canada. The country's challenging environmental conditions which include cold winters, long periods of snow, and extreame weather (droughts, heat waves) can pose a serious risk to a seed's germination chances. The short growing seasons, and intense compition from other plants, as well as herbivory, pests and disease can also contribute to the reduced likelyhood of successfull germination. Even though the pods provide some nutrients and protection from these threats, the environmental challenges result in very low probablity the seed germination. This is why forest restoration using drone technology uses large yeilds of pods to increase the chances of seed germination. Over all, this calculation reflects all aspects that could effect seed germination.

NOVELTY:

The design that we came up with has a purpose to support reforestation efforts and increase the trees being planted to help fight the battle against climate change, resort habbitats, etc. Currently, there are many companies that create these seed-firing drones at a large scale. For example FlashForest. These companies create, manufacture and start planting trees and other flora to help with forest restoration efforts at a faster and afficent pace. While the technology used for these ambitious projects is showcased, one of the main components is missing: the pod design. Most companies use bio waste and things like that. Taking inspiration, we came up with a pod design that uses materials efficently. Our pod consists of compost that is dried and covered in Fullers Earth to protect, and perserve the seed until the drop. This is crucial for the survival of the seedling, and helps boost up the success rate of germination. To conclude, this work helps fill a slight gap in the world's current knoweldge about seed firing drones and could make a effective tool for furture applications.

Application

The main application of this project is to use drone technology for wide-reaching and defined reforestation efforts. This will help with the increasing rate of deforestation and the loss of ecosystems due to natural disasters. With all this deforestation, we need innovative solutions. This seed-firing drone prototype can be sent to regions that are difficult for humans to access, including: mountainous terrains, remote areas or disaster-stricken zones.

Comparing this to a human planting trees, it is much faster and more efficient. For example using drones we can

Promote biodiversity- by using technology to plant trees, in different areas, it can I power others to found to make it even more efficient, faster and overall better
Support Carbon Capture- restoring forests faster can help with mitigating climate change and will reduce the effects of global warming

Finally, our project's aim is to highlight how technology, specifically drones, can be a sustainable solution to one of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

Not only that but the pods that we designed can be efficiently made using the compost collected by the green bins.

Applications of the research:

We are loosing 10 billion trees annually, leading to destructive issues such as carbon capture loss, habitat loss, bio-diversity loss, etc. All of these issues are significantly effecting the world, and the traditional ways of planting that we have today are not that efficent. This is why more, and more reasearch is being done regarding new technology that will help restore forests globally. Seed-Firing Drones are increasingly becoming a popluar, efficent, and effective way to do this. With the combined help of uniquly designed pods, restoring forests is becoming a faster proccess, and will help reverse the devastating impacts that deforestation has.

Future Scope:

As the project grows, the seed-firing drones/technology holds a large potential to revolutionize reforestation. By scaling up the technology and partnering with others and improving our design. Our project could enhance our project and plant millions of seeds annually. With this people could learn about different ways to help with reforestation, and drones play a central role in reforestation efforts.

Advancement in drone/technology

As we go into the future, technology is only improving and getting better. So one of the ways we could improve our drones is by getting drones from the military and repurposing them to our advantage. This will also make this more sustainable.

Longer flight durations- military drones are designed for long missions and adapting themselves, and they can improve the coverage of the land and the planting efficiency
Heavy payloads- military drones are designed to carry heavy loads. So they will be able to hold twice the much as pods and even water delivery systems
Environmental Intelligence Gathering- military drones can be changed to gathering data on the seeds and see how they are owing and give information for making the designs of the pods even better

If we also design an artificial intelligence (AI), we will give drones the ability to assess the continent of the seeds and environment like soil quality, climate and the health of the ecosystem.

Predictive Analytics- this will allow us to find the best locations for planting which trees, improve growth and the cosystems

Global collaboration and Expansion

With making partners and going into this industry and making connections, we could improve this project and make the world a better place. It will also make us known in

Partnerships- this project can expand through partnerships with NGOs, and different companies and with these it will promote sustainable ways to manage the land
Campaigns- With the reforestation, we will also educate the public and everyone we can about climate change and how we should restore ecosystems and make the Earth better

In summary, our future scope for this seed-firing project is not just about restoring forests and ecosystems. We will also revolutionize how we approach climate change and restoration of ecosystems. With the advancements made everyday, drones could become a large-scale of reforestation.

Areas of Future Research Related to this Topic:

Some areas of future research related to this topic include.................

Implementing Artificial Inttelligence into Drones

- With a rapidly changing society, AI is getting more and more integrated into our lives. This means that it is advancing very fast. With this technology integrated into Seed- Firing Drones, it will give the drone the ability to assess the area, and plant the seedlings accordingly.

Creating less Weather - Dependent Drones

- One of the major limitations of drones is that they are extreamly weather - dependent. This means that they are very vulnerable to specfic weather conditions, such as rain, hail, snow, etc. To make Seed- Firing Drones more efficent, ot is crucial to engineer the drones so that they are adaptable to any weather condition that it might encounter. This will allow the rapis planting of trees to continue in any weather condition, allowing for higher yeilds, which in turn will help increase the likelyhood of germination.

Improving the Durability of the Pods to Withstand Harsh Weather Conditions

- To further inhance the functionality of our project, and to make it so that the seedlings have a higher success rate, it is crucial to prepare the pods so that the seeds are ready for any weather condition. This might include rain, hail, snow, etc. This is especially crucial in Canada, consdering the harch weather conditions.

- In future project, you might want to focous more on creating the pods so that they are prepared for plantation all year round. And once done, testing can be conducted to further enhance the pod's design.

*Additionally, in future projects, you might want to focous more on testing the pods, and to test the theoretical probablities of the germination success rates. This will help prove the germination success rates, and aswell test the reliablity of the pods that we designed.

Conclusion

CONCLUSION

In our project, our objective was to create an innovation that enhances reforestation and restoration of ecosystems, and helps with carbon capture. We found this important device to make because every year we lose around 15 billion trees every year, but only 1.9 billion are planted. So we made this prototype to enlighten the world on restoring ecosystems and how we need to make changes. This seed-firing drone can bring enlightenment to the world and if improved, maybe it could plant even more seedlings and plant in different rough terrains.

The model that we made addresses the problem superbly. The way that it works is that the drone carrying the mechanism flies at around 5 meters per second. Then, as the latch ( which is controlled by a remote that sends IR signals to open the latch) opens, it starts dropping seeds, around 2 pods per second. And at a distance of 2.5 meters. This means that in an hour, this seed-firing drone can plant roughly 7200 pods. This can help with forest restoration efforts, and boosts the amount of trees being planted. In turn, this helps face many global problems such as habitat loss, carbon-capture loss, and much more.

This seed-firing drone is a distinctive model of technology in reforestation efforts. From the organic pods inside the model and the innovative technology gluing it together it is quite unique. The pods we made are fully organic, in the middle is the seed and around it is a pull of fruits and vegetables rich with nutrients best for germination (including bananas, kiwi and avocado). After this for the strength of the pods we coat it with Fuller’s Earth, this makes the pod firm and sturdy.

Even though this is a great model, many improvements can be made to the design. Firstly, the drone is not a great model, as stated in our future scope using drones such as micro and nano drone/drones primaraly used in the military.these drones will help with heavy loads, and speed.Secondly, is a better adhesive to connect all the parts, to make sure everything is secure and won’t fall in flight. Overall, improvements can be made with the drone and device, but with our limitations (not having superior equipment, a lab to work with and more) this is a substantial model.

This project has been a very valuable learning experience for us. We gained good knowledge about forest restoration using drone technology. We are proud of our innovation as it is realistic and efficient, and how big of an impact this concept can have on the whole world. The problem that we started with is faced with this innovation. Considering that it can plant around 7200 seeds in an hour is impressive, even if it is not fully refined and industrialised. We hope that in the future, we can continue refining this model, and bring it to the attention of others how seed-firing drones are a big step forward in forest restoration efforts, and the fight against climate change.

Citations

BREIF RESEARCH: