The Great Sunflower Project in Sonoma Valley

Last month a good friend of mine invited me to come to a meeting with the Cittaslow Sonoma Pollinator Pals group. The topic was The Great Sunflower Project here in Sonoma Valley, the following is the press release with the details of this very exciting project. My participation to this point has been limited to donating barrels for the sunflowers to be planted in. We are still looking for help, there is contact information at the bottom of the press release or let me know and I will point you in the right direction to be a part of this great project. Check it out…

Cheers
Bart

 

 

 

Pollinator Pals Gearing Up for The Great Sunflower Project in Sonoma Valley

 

Sonoma, CA, June 26, 2012 – The Cittaslow Pollinator Pals are gearing up to bring The Great Sunflower Project to Sonoma Valley this August.
 
It’s not just the bees that are a’buzzin’ in Craig Scarborough’s backyard vineyard in Glen Ellen these days. Craig’s skill saw is also buzzing as it cuts 30 donated wine barrels into the 60 half-barrel planters that will soon be the focal points of a bee-related project sponsored by Cittaslow (literally, slow city) in the Sonoma Valley. By early September they will be in place, full of yellow and black sunflowers, at 20 sites from Oakmont to Carneros. 
 
“It’s all part of a collaborative project that draws attention to the importance of pollinators to our food crops and to our daily diet here in Sonoma Valley and elsewhere in the United States,” said Alana Coburn, one of the project’s co-Chairs. “For the past two years our Pollinator Pals team has worked to educate valley residents about bees and other pollinators.  We have put on workshops and trainings, sold honey ice cream, and even featured performances by our own local bee dancers. This year, as one of several activities focusing on bees, Pollinator Pals is partnering with The Great Sunflower Project, a 4 year old bee count initiated and led by scientists at San Francisco State University. Barrels full of sunflowers will be placed at key locations to promote awareness of the importance of bees to our ecosystem. The sites will also be the locations for the project’s late-season bee counts that will occur in September when the ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflowers bloom most profusely.”  
 
“Sunflowers and late blooming plants are very important to the bees,” says Shelley Arrowsmith, a local beekeeper and one of the organizers of the project. “Once the blackberry bloom is over in June, there is very little native forage for bees in Sonoma Valley. That is when the sunflowers and other late blooming plants in private gardens become vital to the survival of many species of pollinators. Last year we showed people how to plant their gardens in a bee-friendly way. This year we will invite them to also participate in our sunflower bee counts, and to see first-hand how the bees harvest nectar and pollen from sunflowers and other garden plants.”
 
“So far the project has been a classic grass roots effort, which is typical of a Cittaslow project,” said Sonoma Valley founder, Virginia Hubbell. “Building community through volunteerism, a concern for the food chain, and working sustainably through re-use and recycling, are all part of the ethic that is promoted by Cittaslow.”
 
The project is already up and running. Over a dozen volunteers from all over the valley meet weekly. All of the project’s 30 wine barrels have been donated, as have the 200 five-gallon pots needed for planting and the raw materials for innovative, low-tech watering systems that will be used at each site. The project’s sunflower seeds are  germinating in a greenhouse at Arrowsmith Farms in East Schellville, and will soon be moved to shade-houses at Sonoma Ecology Center’s Garden Park on 7th Street East in Sonoma. There they will grow and mature until transferred to display sites around the valley.
 
The Great Sunflower Project’s public activities will be held through September. In addition to the sunflower displays and local bee counts, the Pollinator Pals will also have a booth at the Vintage Festival, September 28-30, where they will once again feature “Cittaslow Honey Ice Cream!” This delicious ice cream is custom made by Three Twins Ice Cream from locally sourced organic dairy products. 
 
Now that should be something to look forward to!
 
If you are interested in learning more, or want to join the Cittaslow Pollinator Pals Garden Group, email TheBuzz@CittaslowUSA.org.  And, while they last, ‘Lemon Queen’ sunflower seeds are also available free to backyard gardeners who request them — but move fast because there is a limited supply and they should be planted before June 30!
 
 
About Pollinator Pals
 
The mission of Cittaslow Pollinator Pals is to bring public attention to the importance of bees and other pollinators to our supply of fresh food in the Sonoma Valley, and to educate the public about the rapid decline that has been occurring in bee populations in recent years. 

 

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Jessica Glatt
Education and Outreach Program Manager
Sonoma Ecology Center
P.O. Box 1486, Eldridge, CA 95431
p: 707 996-0712 x110  f: 707 996-2452
 
Over 20 years working for Sonoma Valley!
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