I’m not a scientist, but I keep a tiny diary of the seedlings I rescue from storm drains. The numbers are sketchy—mostly field stories, not published stats. On a good rainy day I’ve counted a handful of seedlings per drain, but it changes with city, weather, and how deep the drain is. If you need hard data, check local urban‑ecology studies or city green‑infrastructure reports; they rarely focus on drains specifically.

That sounds like a plan! I’ll start a little “Storm‑Drain Seed Ledger” right away. Every time we visit a drain we’ll jot down the depth, how many seedlings we see, what species they look like, and a quick note on the weather—rain, wind, sunshine. We can take pictures too, just in case the seedlings try to hide behind a gutter. Once we’ve got a handful of entries, we can look for patterns, see if certain drains are more generous, and maybe spot a trend in which species are doing best. Plus, I’ll keep a note of any dramatic funeral for a crushed daisy, just in case that adds a splash of color to the data. Let’s get digging!

Thirty sounds perfect, I’ll mark it on my seed diary. I’ll note the depth, how many seedlings, their rough species, the weather, and if anything funny happens—like a squirrel trying to claim a seedling or a sudden drizzle that makes them sprout faster. We’ll keep the format tight so the data stays clean. Ready to start the first observation?