"Old Forest or Young Meadow -The Marvel of Seeds" film event

 

Have you ever noticed that when someone dumps a truckload of soil, or bulldozes the ground, in no time at all that bare soil suddenly starts sprouting green plant growth? How does that happen? Yes, it's typically because there were seeds in the soil that now germinate and grow. Have you thought about how those seeds got in that soil in the first place? Where did they originate? 

Plants have evolved over eons to do some pretty amazing things. They can't move from the place where they're rooted, so (if they're spore- or seed-producing plants) in order to propagate, they must disperse their propagules to a suitable place where they can grow to be new offspring. There are a number of methods whereby plants can accomplish that dispersal. Some are commonplace, such as when seeds just fall to the ground, or are carried by the wind. Others are a bit more involved, as when seeds have hooks that attach them to passing animals (or us!), to be taken some distance away. 

A lupine seed pod explodes

Wind-dispersed clematis seed

 

 

 

 

 

 

But there are even more "ingenious" ways some plants get their kids out of the house. That's what spurred us to make the film Old Forest or Young Meadow -The Marvel of Seeds. There are some really fascinating things to see in the variety of seed dispersal schemes, and we thoroughly enjoyed finding and witnessing many of them. We'd like you to see them as well. We guarantee you'll see some things you've likely never witnessed, even from common plants found near home.    

And you can do that on Saturday evening, January 3, 2026, when we'll present the premiere theater screening of the film at the Real Art Ways theater in Hartford, CT.  Screen time is 5pm. (This date and time are tentative as of this writing). 

The theater is in the historic Underwood Typewriter Offices building in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford, at 56 Arbor Street. See the Real Art Ways website for details.

We'll hold a Q&A session following the film.