Postgraduate Student of the NSU Faculty of Economics Develops Eco-Friendly Saline Solution for Greening Siberian Cities

Second-year graduate student Faculty of Economics of Novosibirsk State University (FE NSU) Anastasia Trutneva with the support of the NSU Startup Studio, became the winner of the “Student Startup” competition with the project “Seyu Tsvet”, which is based on the development of a designer salt shaker filled with ready-to-plant seeds adapted to the climatic conditions of Siberia. The project aims to address the greening of cities and reduce the area of open ground in public spaces.

The essence of the project is to create a product that allows anyone to literally “scatter” seeds on an open plot and watch the plants emerge. The salt shaker body will be made using 3D printing technology from biodegradable PLA plastic. Inside is a set of seeds selected taking into account the Siberian climate, and based on test results, the addition of separate soil packets is planned. A feature of the project is the adaptation of the salt shaker’s composition to a specific region: in the future, the composition can be changed depending on the soil type and the purpose of the plot.

— When selecting plants, preference will be given to species that are well adapted to local conditions and can be beneficial for pollinators. Flowering plants will create an additional food base for bees, bumblebees, and other pollinating insects, and increasing the number of such areas helps support biodiversity., — Anastasia Trutneva said.

The idea for the project arose last year under the influence of foreign solutions for landscaping. However, according to Anastasia, foreign counterparts are primarily oriented towards their own climatic conditions. A different approach is needed for Siberia: plants must be able to withstand the local climate, and the seed composition must be selected taking into account regional characteristics. This is how the idea to adapt the concept to Siberian conditions appeared.

At the moment, Anastasia is independently developing the project: researching the market, shaping the product concept, and working on the technology for creating the salt shaker. At the next stages, it is planned to involve specialists in botany, plant cultivation, and breeding for scientifically grounded plant selection. The team may expand by including experts in manufacturing, design, and promotion.

The main area of application is urban and public landscaping. The salt shakers are planned to be used in territory improvement, as well as within collective environmental actions, where the city’s residents themselves will green the spaces. A separate direction is the ecological effect: the use of regionally appropriate flowering plants creates an additional food base for pollinators and helps maintain biodiversity.

The product may potentially be of interest to companies engaged in landscaping and greening. Discussions have already been held with the company “Facilicom,” which is interested in possible cooperation.

The grant funds are planned to be used for the development and creation of a prototype of the salt shaker, selection and testing of seed material, research of various compositions, and conducting tests. Also planned is the development of several product options for different usage scenarios: for urban greening, private plots, and environmental events.

— In the future, I want to create a line of salt shakers adapted not only for Siberia but also for different regions of Russia. This will allow accounting for differences in climate and soils. A separate direction is holding mass greening events together with municipalities, universities, companies, and environmental organizations., — shared Anastasia Trutneva.

The project is supported by the Foundation for Assistance to Innovations within the framework of the “Student Startup” program of the event “University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform” of the federal project “Technologies.”