Downtown Phoenix is about to get a little brighter thanks to Roosevelt Row.
The Roosevelt Row Community Development Corporation (CDC) has leased a vacant parcel in the Evans Churchill neighborhood in downtown Phoenix from the City of Phoenix to grow a two-acre field of sunflowers. The sunflowers will not only temporarily activate and beautify an empty lot, but the sunflowers will be harvested and pressed for seed oil to produce biodiesel fuel to power the Bioscience High School’s hybrid solar-biofuel vehicle, which is currently in its construction phase.
Additional seeds and flowers will be sold at the Phoenix Public Market to fund additional biodiesel projects at the Bioscience High School.
Valley of the Sunflowers (VOS) is part of Roosevelt Rows A.R.T.S. (Adaptive Reuse of Temporary Space) Garden program. It will be located on the vacant city block between Fifth and Sixth Streets and Garfield and McKinley Streets. VOS has two planting seasons.The first planting will take place this month, with the harvest in January 2012. The second planting will take place in late February 2012 with harvest in May 2012.
Kenny Barrett, artist and project manager for Roosevelt Row developed the idea for the Valley of the Sunflowers while living at the corner of Sixth Street and Garfield. Barrett co-founded the Growhouse, the Roosevelt Row community garden at Sixth Street and Garfield.
“The idea came from a living-fence of sunflowers that we grew at the Growhouse,” Barrett said. “I used to stare out my kitchen window at the vacant field and think it would be beautiful to just see sunflowers. Sunflowers make people happy.”
ASU Global Institute of Sustainability Fellow Braden Kay brought in the Bioscience High School for the partnership. The schools northern windows face the vacant parcel and they had a biodiesel car in production.
