High School-Led ReSeed Initiative Utilizes Drones for Reforestation in Fire-Affected Greece

A groundbreaking initiative, ReSeed, spearheaded by high school students in Greece, is employing advanced drone technology and artificial intelligence to reforest areas devastated by wildfires across the country. The project aims to provide a faster, more scalable, and effective solution to ecological restoration, addressing the significant environmental damage caused by annual forest fires.

Innovation Born from Necessity

The concept for ReSeed emerged from the direct experience of its founders, high school students Alex Leontaridis and Dimitris Orfanidis, who witnessed the extensive damage from Greek wildfires. Since 2018, Greece has faced devastating fires each summer, with traditional reforestation methods proving to be labor-intensive, slow, and often limited by inaccessible terrain. Leontaridis, a senior at Dodonea Lyceum in Ioannina, noted that volunteering in reforestation efforts highlighted the need for a more efficient approach.

High-Tech Reforestation Methods

ReSeed's core strategy involves the use of custom-built hexacopter drones. These drones are equipped to map terrain, identify optimal planting zones using satellite imagery and AI analysis, and then deploy specially designed seed pods. These small seed pods contain native seeds and are released during flights based on pre-programmed GPS applications. This high-tech approach allows for the rapid planting of seeds in areas that are often unsafe or inaccessible for manual planting. The initiative can plant approximately a thousand seeds per hour, significantly accelerating the reforestation process.

Impact and Future Goals

To date, ReSeed has successfully planted over 13,600 trees and flowering plants, contributing to the restoration of 650,000 square meters of land and sequestering an estimated 27 tons of CO2. For the 2025-2026 season, ReSeed has set an ambitious goal to plant 15,000 trees, building on their previous year's focus on prototyping and testing various seed types and deployment systems. Beyond forest restoration, ReSeed has also expanded its efforts with 'ReSeed Bees,' an initiative focused on replanting flowers to protect and rebuild pollinator habitats, addressing the decline in bee populations in Greece.

Addressing Greece's Wildfire Crisis

Greece has been particularly hard-hit by natural disasters, with forest fires destroying an average of 500,000 acres annually over the past two decades. The year 2023 was notably severe, with hundreds of fires leading to the destruction of 1.8 million acres. Initiatives like ReSeed are crucial in mitigating the long-term environmental impact of these fires, offering a modern, technology-driven solution to a persistent ecological challenge. The student-led effort demonstrates how innovation can be harnessed to foster environmental recovery and resilience.