tHe sunflOwer ProjEct
Sunflowers are an international symbol of peace. Here is where I first discovered the sunflower project I started the project in New Paltz with some friends and the EnCC in 2005. If you have questions or are interested in participating you can contact me at rlagodka@bestweb.net
Read about 06 sunflower project in New Paltz here http://www.newpaltznation.com/sunflowerblog.htm
Some websites of interest:
If you want to do something really cool, try building a sunflower house! http://www.rain.org/~philfear/sunflowerhouse.html Of all crops harvested for seed around the world, only one was domesticated in America: the sunflower. Sunflower: An American Native Check out the National Sunflower Association http://www.sunflowernsa.com/ How to grow them: http://mt.essortment.com/growingsunflowe_rkty.htm You can roast your sunflower seeds in a solar oven made from a pizza box! http://www.solarnow.org/pizzabx.htm Some people in the city have planted them to remember the stateside victims of 9-11 http://www.sunflowersnyc.com/ And here is a special story about the Sunflower from the Ukraine http://www.spaceformusic.com/symposium2000/nuclear.html
History and characteristics of the Sunflower: • Sunflowers have been around for 8,000 years and were just domesticated 1,000 years ago. They are the only flower domesticated in America. There are over 2,000 varieties of Sunflowers identified to date, but the largest, strongest, and most striking Sunflowers are the variety we plant developed in Russia called the "Mammoth Russians" which grow 6 to 12 feet tall. They are also known as "Russian Giants," "Tall Russians," "Russian Greystripes," or simply "Mammoths" These sunflowers are known, not only for their height, but for their large seed heads. The largest sunflower head, grown in Canada measured 32 - 1/2 inches, and the tallest sunflower, grown in the Netherlands, was 25 feet tall. Since 2005 they have been blooming every summer by Smiley, behind CSB, at Murphy's, and in front of Village Hall. We encourage you to take pictures of the sunflowers and to enjoy them • The sunflower has become a symbol of peace and nuclear disarmament because on June 4, 1996, the defense ministers of the U.S., Russia, and Ukraine gathered at the Pervomaisk missile base after the destruction of an ICBM missile silo to celebrate the dismantling of the warhead in accordance with provisions of the START I disarmament treaty. The defense ministers planted sunflowers where missiles once were buried. U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry stated, "Sunflowers instead of missiles in the soil would ensure peace for future generations." http://www.ukrweekly.com/Archive/1996/529609.shtml • The Sunflower Project is dedicated to taking the 1996 Ukrainian missile gesture and fostering a worldwide campaign to encourage people everywhere to plant Sunflowers throughout their cities, towns, communities, and countrysides as living symbols of peace and to celebrate our connection to nature. • The Sunflower Project vision is to see all people in every corner of the globe who are concerned about nuclear war, pollution, violence, injustice, and/or threats to the balance of nature, to plant at least one sunflower seed in a sunny place where it will be noticed. Additional interesting items to note about the sunflower: Sunflowers are among the top nuts to contain the highest levels of phytosterols, a compound that reduces cholesterol levels and improves heart health, according to this study http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1324066.cms Sunflower oil has been researched as a potential diesel fuel substitute, since sunflower oil has an energy content equivalent to 93 percent of no. 2 U.S. diesel fuel. Sunflowers are the legal crop that gives you the most bang for your buck. Planting a seed gives you the greatest return on your investment.
