At Semillistas, we are very happy to share some news that we are especially excited about: our SEED2SEED project has received a grant of €292,079.23 through the EURENI call for proposals from Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation, and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN).
SEED2SEED was born from an idea we’ve been exploring and putting into practice for some time: forest restoration can also be achieved by sowing seeds directly into the ground. We want to share the knowledge we’ve accumulated over the years and our experience so that this methodology can be adapted and developed in other parts of Europe.
The project will launch a European network of organizations committed to restoring forest habitats through direct seeding. We will work alongside Rewild Sicily (Italy) and the Centre de Développement Agroforestier de Chimay (Belgium), transferring our methodology, identifying native species, conducting experimental plantings, and learning from each region.
One of our main objectives is to make ecological restoration tools accessible to small organizations and rural communities. In contrast to models that may rely on nurseries, machinery, irrigation, and complex logistics chains, we want to help democratize “LowTech-HighKnowledge” tools: accessible solutions that place knowledge and the capacity for action in the hands of those who live in and care for these territories.
For us, restoring a forest doesn’t just mean replanting trees. It means restoring biodiversity, strengthening ecosystems, and building local capacity so that communities can actively participate in their own restoration.
SEED2SEED will also be an opportunity to experiment, measure, make mistakes, learn, and share. Because every ecosystem has its own unique conditions, and because we believe that knowledge grows when it is shared.
We want seeds to be the starting point for something bigger: a European network that connects territories, people, and knowledge to move toward forest restoration that is more accessible, diverse, and adapted to climate change.
At Semillistas, we continue to sow seeds. This time, we also want to do it together on a European scale.
