ReGENEration Project Proposal

In an effort to bring native plants and animals to the remnant habitat of Camden, NJ, the ReGENEration Project was developed by Mackenzie Mozitis at Rutgers University–Camden to aid in the revitalization of the natural landscape. What may appear to be a grouping ordinary bird seeds is actually a strategically created formula of plant combinations and their seeds. These plants are natural to Camden, NJ have been specifically bred to produce a seed that has an extra hard shell. By having a harder shell, the birds do not digest the seed as well nor do they break from swallowed rocks and in turn allow the seeds to be dispersed throughout the area. Although birds naturally disperse seeds, their metabolism and activity level determine the rate in which they are released in excrement (Kleyheeg, et al 2015). Based on research by the International Seed Federation, this simple and relatively fast process of breeding plants to have seeds with harder shells will help to strengthen the plant population.

This project is an effort to return natural flora and fauna to the greater Camden, NJ area. It is a method of promoting not only the growth of Camden to create a more healthy environment, but the hardness of the seeds also is a symbol for the strength of those in Camden, NJ. This area is resilient and forever growing and changing. Through changing the hardness of these seeds, humans are being forced to modify nature in order to reverse their destruction of nature. Humans are strong and can cause great change, but nature is more important and needs to be stronger to build a better world.

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International Seed Federation. (n.d.). International Seed Federation. Retrieved from https://www.worldseed.org/our-work/seed-treatment/

Kleyheeg, E., Van Leeuwen, C., Morison, M., Nolet, B., & Soons, M. (2015). Bird‐mediated seed dispersal: reduced digestive efficiency in active birds modulates the dispersal capacity of plant seeds. Oikos, 124(7), 899–907. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01894