A vacant lot in downtown Phoenix will transform into a vibrant field of sunflowers this fall thanks to a local volunteer initiative.
Valley of the Sunflowers, a joint effort by the City of Phoenix, Intel, Phoenix Union Bioscience High School and the Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation, will plant and harvest sunflowers twice a year on a parcel of land bordered by North Fifth and North Sixth streets, and by East Garfield and East McKinley streets.
The project took root in the mind of Kenny Barrett, project manager for the Roosevelt Row CDC.
“Kenny Barrett was standing around a dirt lot with other volunteers and thought, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be great if we planted sunflowers on one of these lots?’” said Cindy Dach, interim executive director for the Roosevelt Row CDC. “A lot of people were thinking about starting gardens. Kenny Barrett just fixed on a very specific goal.”
This goal has bloomed into a viable project for the downtown community, in part because Bioscience High School has incorporated it into its curriculum. This semester, students will participate in harvesting the sunflower seeds and pressing them for oil, which will then be converted into biodiesel fuel. These students are also engineering a biodiesel car that will run off of the sunflower byproduct.
“(We) are supportive of the project and think it’s good interim use of the land because it’s turning an empty block into something fun and interesting for the community,” said Dan Klocke, director of planning and economic development of the Downtown Phoenix Partnership.
Sean Sweat, a supply chain engineer for Intel Corporation and downtown community advocate, assisted the Roosevelt Row CDC in securing two Intel grants for the project. Other sponsors include Hensel Phelps Construction Co., which is donating construction equipment and providing staff for the project, and the University of Arizona, along with community donors.
Waiting only for the City of Phoenix to approve the lease for the land, Valley of the Sunflowers is itching to get started.
“What everybody wants to know is when they can sign up to volunteer, but until we have the lease we don’t know,” Dach said.
When the project does finally begin, volunteers will plant Sudan grass to restore nutrients into the soil before sowing sunflowers.
Organizers know the project will be a learning experience. Dach said one goal is to create a database of how much manpower, money, time and other logistical factors it will require to create similar projects, so that it can be replicated in other areas with each lot assigned its own byproduct and specialized application.
Vaughn Hillyard, a journalism junior and founder of Downtown Alive!, a student organization dedicated to connecting students to the downtown Phoenix community, said the project would benefit nearby residents, including ASU’s Downtown campus.
“Valley of the Sunflowers is the epitome of a local grassroots initiative that is a partnership in which the City of Phoenix and the neighbors are able to work together,” Hillyard said. “As a student I am excited to be living right down the street from an awesome oasis of sunflowers.”
Contact the reporter at kristen.hwang@asu.edu
