The city's Team Green is embarking on a pilot project to beautify two of the city's snow dumps and harvest the seeds for biodiesel.
Often considered an eyesore by area residents and visitors alike, a small portion of the 12 acres of now barren land in the city's east end has been converted into three test plots to see if sunflowers will grow on the sites. One plot will be tested strictly with the natural soil and terrain, the second with a mix of the existing soil and compost and the third plot will be dug out and the soil replaced with several inches of compost.
The compost used on the site has been created by the city from leaf and yard waste collection.
"We're going to monitor the sites and see which grows best," said Team Green spokesperson Amanda Avery.
Avery is one of eight city summer students who make up Team Green.
The team will monitor the project. A second test site will be planted on McDonald Avenue, across from Collegiate Heights Retirement Residence.
While organizers say it may be a little late in the season to expect flowers to grow to maturity on the site, seedlings should form in the next couple of weeks to give an idea about the potential success for future seasons.
"Ideally, we hope that the natural soil grows so that it will be a less expensive project in the coming years," Avery said.
If successful, the pilot project could expand to eventually cover the entire 12-acre site in sunflowers, both to beatify the neighborhood and harvest the seeds for biodiesel.
SITTM Technologies, sponsor of the pilot project, is embarking upon an initiative to establish a biofuel co-operative and sustainable biomass production zone project.
City council recently funded the project with $30,000 from the its economic development fund. "For a sustainable operation you need a sustainable supply of feedstock," said SITTM's Norm Jaehrling.
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