S2 Ep 27 - AirSeed

What happens when experts in engineering, agriculture, marine and terrestrial microbiology join forces? They develop a company that drops nutrient encapsulated seed pods from a drone, mapping out their placement using artificial intelligence and monitoring their growth using GPS. The method allows up to 40-thousand seed pods to be planted per drone in a single day. It's an Australian company taking on climate change with simple seeds boosted with bio-technology. CEO and Co-Founder of AirSeed Andrew Walker joins me now to discuss: AirSeed operates in Australia and South Africa and some of the some interesting places he has seen so far. AirSeed's main aim is biodiversity - which has been identified as a critical climate solution as carbon sequestration has increased. By using drone technology and AI, Andrew's system is a lot more efficient than planting seeds by hand or by most machines. The AirSeed Drones and how they work to deliver the seeds. Andrew gives us a deep dive into the three-step process which gives them the capacity to plant over 40,000 seed pods per day vs the 800 which can be done manually. Once planted they return and identify the success, or failure which is monitored between 2-3 years. Plant species are tailored to the location and then encased in everything they need to survive including nutrients, minerals and microbes. Andrew has a background in automotive and aerospace design and shares how he came to be in this space and his passion for the environment. Globally, the largest land owners in agriculture and how AirSeed could be used to restore the land across agriculture both now and into the future. The exciting partnerships developing and, how Andrew is looking for more. The adoption of new technology in the space and how this is helping communities restore the impact of natural disasters. What Andrew loves most about this work is the people he works with, who are starting to see the impact we can have on the land. Unexpected things happen every week and Andrew loves the pioneering aspect. The common misconceptions about what he does. Andrew's ultimate dream for the future is to use this technology on a global scale. We hope to see you back on the road soon, to learn more about how Australia grows on the next episode of Australian Farmers with Angie Asimus. Links: Angie Asimus Connect with @angieasimus on Instagram Partnered with Australian Farmers  Follow @australianfarmers on Instagram  AirSeed   Produced by Pretty Podcasts