My idea began with a family camping trip in Northern California.  Our campsite was in a circle of maple trees and we noticed thousands of the pods littered all over the ground. I picked one up and threw it up in the air, and my idea was born. My family and I spent the rest of the week brainstorming and thinking about the possibilities of an anemochorous seed pod engineered to make a seed grow faster and better than it would naturally. This idea took root in my brain and I continued to develop it throughout freshman year. I spent freshman focusing mostly on research and idea development. I spent months researching different seeds and the biology of plant germination and the physics of wind dispersal and vortices.

    Sophomore year I evolved my idea to focus more on education, and on developing a product that anyone can make easily and affordably. To achieve this, I experimented with different recipes and methods for making seed paper and researched the physics behind paper helicopters. I made many paper helicopters to find the measurements for optimal flight. Because of my design's simplicity, I hope that many teachers will choose to teach my lessons to their student and inspire them to take action and to appreciate science and nature. 

   To get this idea off the ground, I am now developing classroom kits and party favors that have everything one would need to successfully grow the native California plants and include information or lesson plans(for the classroom kits) that teach about the importance of bees and highlight other scientific aspects of the project. 

   I will continue to work on this project for the next 4+ years and hopefully, by the end, my project will have made an impact.