Drones fire seed pods into fire-damaged land in Canada, backed by federal funding

Flash Forest is a Canadian company that deploys drones to fire seed pods onto fire-damaged land. Its pilot projects started in spring 2021 at 13 sites across Canada, and the company’s commercial planting is focused on British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, according to Reasons to Be Cheerful.

The article states that between April and June 2021 the team planted over 300,000 seed pods, and that mapping software helps avoid wasting pods on water, rock, logs, paths and tree crowns. It says the company partnered with federal and provincial governments, private landowners, forestry companies and First Nations communities, and that the federal government contributed C$1.3 million through its 2 Billion Trees programme. Natural Resources Canada announced the contribution of over C$1.3 million on 13 October 2022, expecting over one million trees to be planted over two years, and said the sites would be monitored for germination success and survival to compare drone planting with traditional methods. Company targets and cost claims are the company’s own and are not repeated here.