Help Support the 10,000 Suns Community Project

10,000 Suns is a summer-long botanical project started in 2016, led by PAYETTE Landscape Architect Adam Anderson. Over 10,000 sunflower seeds were planted during the course of the summer months on land that until recently sat under a highway with high compaction, low-organic material and embedded with toxicity in Providence, Rhode Island. Adam and a team of volunteers took on this feat with no other motive then developing a garden/park for everyone to enjoy.

Last Year’s Results
After a long hot and dry couple of months, the first sunflower bloomed and soon after others joined like a slow fireworks display. The new sunflower landscape became activated with a flurry of people inhabiting the space for a variety of unplanned intentions, including yoga, picnics and music. The response was incredible.

The simple joy that a flower could bring to people was the most consistent of comments I received, and one of my favorites, a young girl out with her mother on their evening stroll always insisted they go “the sunflower way.”

The 2017 Campaign:
The 10,000 Suns project team has organized a fundraising campaign to help improve the growth and health of the sunflowers based on lessons learned last season. Below are details on what the donated funds will go towards.

Water
Help the project team put in temporary irrigation so the team can sleep at night, rather than water.

Picture taken at 2:30am

Watering was an issue in 2016 and the hours spent keeping the project going will be reduced this year by implementing a necessary, temporary and simple irrigation system.

New Features:

It was evident that the soil quality of the parcel was not conducive to optimal growth so we are looking for considerable addition of compost.

The added layers aim to make the field not only aesthetically significant but a place for respite. The team hopes to relocate the border of granite curbs and repurposing them for seating amongst the sunflowers, seating was the most common request from the community. To add shaded areas, a series of scattered Lombardy Poplar trees will be planted. Another feature the group is exploring is adding a unique item in the center of the circles, whether it be a painted red piano or a set of dining or chess table.

This year, the group is also looking to expand the project to the adjacent parcel. The addition creates a “river of meadow and sunflowers” and constructs a 10’ high landform with a winding grass path to the top, creating a unique perspective to the city and sunflower field. Two smaller landforms create more intimate seating spaces. This “River of Flowers” would be composed of both sunflowers and wildflower meadow mix.

If you are interested in donating to this wonderful community project, please visit the 10,000 Suns: Highway to Park Project page for more information.