Seed Balls with American Express
April 17th , 2018 – American Express hosts Seed Ball events in Phoenix, Miami, Salt Lake City and New York City and helps create thousands of Seed Balls.
I made my way through the TSA security check point hoping that the quarter pound satchel of Native Western Wildflower Seeds stuffed in my backpack wouldn’t cause for alarm. As the TSA agent grabbed my bright green bag they asked “is there anything in here that we should know about” my answer was “no, just some seeds” – to that they shot over a puzzled glance and silently judged me while they unpacked my bag. Little did they know I was en route to the American Express office in Salt Lake City where I would meet some of the hardest working and fun loving groups of people who I would have the pleasure of turning into “Seed BALLERS”.
I arrived in Salt Lake City around 3am and got a solid 3 hours of sleep before heading out to the American Express corporate office. Waking up to the mountains will always be my favorite part of Utah – they simply make everything look better. Once I arrived I parked and decided to be overly ambitious and carry 20 lbs of clay, 5 pounds soil, brochures and just about everything else I had carefully packed into my compact rental car. I waddled to the front door and was greeted by the sweetest woman I have probably ever met, she informed me that she loved to garden and we gushed about pollinators, wildflowers as well as our shared passion for hiking.
Once set up, I made just a handful of seed balls to “pique” some interest. I had a few folks do the standard — walk by in one direction, give my table a side eye only to cross and walk back, then FINALLY seal the deal and come over. The only issue is that most of these people assume that I had some sort of tasty food item but to that I responded “you CAN’T eat it, but you CAN plant it”.
As the groups of American Express employees began to trickle in, it was then that I heard the elevator open behind me…a group of 15 people made their way out and beelined for my tables. In quick order I gave them the run down– clay, seeds, soil and roll. Over the course of the next hour this American Express crew made over 200 seed balls all while sharing laughs, stories and their new found excitement for conservation.
While I packed up my now clay-covered table skirt I realized that seed balls as simple as they might be are almost magic. Three ingredients that not only bring people together, but connect them to their planet. As I left the mountains for my next adventure I knew that there would always be a little seed ball magic in Salt Lake City.
To host a Seed Ball event at your company please contact Kelly at [email protected]
Alexis Acar
Corporate and Community Engagement Coordinator