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Grow sunflowers

Sow some sunflower seeds and learn about the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.

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You’ll need

  • Permanent markers
  • Access to water
  • Sticky labels
  • A4 paper
  • Sticky tack
  • Plant pots (or clean used yoghurt pots)
  • Garden sunflower seeds
  • Scissors or secateurs
  • Soil or peat-free compost
  • Paper bags to collect seeds (optional)

Produced in collaboration with Hidden Disabilities Sunflower. 

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There’s also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.   
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity 

  • If anyone in the group has lived experience of disability, they could share their story if they feel comfortable to. It’s important that no one’s made to share anything they don’t want to, and no one should talk about someone else’s disability unless that person says it’s okay. All discussions should respect people’s privacy, and a person’s disability should never be disclosed without their direct consent.
  • The best time to plant sunflower seeds indoors is in the spring, from around March. You’ll want to wait a bit longer if you want to plant seeds directly outside. Sunflowers usually take around 10 to 14 weeks to flower.  
  • You could keep costs down by asking local garden centres or allotments if they can donate spare seeds compost or soil.
  • If you’re planning to keep the plants in your meeting place, make sure you’ll be able to water them as often as needed. 
  • You may wish to tell everyone about the topic in advance of the session.
  • You may need to offer reassurance to anyone who may find this topic difficult. Remember to always follow the Yellow Card.
  • Find out more about young carers and disability inclusion in Scouts.

The Hidden Disabilities Sunflower is a discreet sign that someone has a disability that is not immediately apparent and may need additional support, understanding, empathy, patience and kindness.

Some people use the phrase "hidden disability" to describe conditions that may be non-visible or less visible than others. People might also use phrases such as "non-visible disability" or "invisible disability". 

Conditions that may be non-visible or less visible than others include but are not limited to:

  • sensory, including difficulty seeing, hearing or speaking
  • physical disability that may not be obvious, like arthritis
  • neurodivergence, which includes autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia and dyscalculia
  • neurological, like Parkinson's
  • cognitive, such as dementia and Alzheimer's disease
  • mental health, such as anxiety and depression
  • rare diseases, illness and recovery, and respiratory 

You can find more examples on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website. 

Disabled people can choose to wear the Sunflower to let people know that they might need an offer of help, understanding, or just more time. The Sunflower is there to support disabled people in public places such as shops, at work or on transport.

The Sunflower was launched at Gatwick Airport in 2016 to support passengers with additional needs.

At Scouts, we follow the social model of disability. The social model of disability is a way of viewing the world, developed by disabled people. The model says that people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, such as buildings not having accessible toilets or not having access to an BSL interpreter. Or they can be caused by people's attitudes to difference, such as people assuming disabled people can't do certain things. 

The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control. 

You can find out more about the social model of disability on Scope's website. 

Remember, although we'll use certain wording, in-line with the social model, it'll vary from person to person on how people view or describe their own disabilities. It's important to take the person's lead, and use the words that they use if you're having a conversation about disability.

 

Running this activity

Learn about the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower

  1. Ask if anyone knows what the sunflower symbol on a green background means. It represents non-visible disabilities. Disabled people may choose wear a sunflower lanyard, wristband, or badge to quietly show they’re disabled and let people or places know they might need support, patience, understanding or help.
  2. Ask what ‘disability’ means and if they can think of different ways people might be disabled. A disability is a condition (such as cerebral palsy, depression, or Down syndrome) and they face challenges because of how the world around them is set up. It can make it harder or impossible for them to do something or to be included.For example, some people might not be kind, places like buses or buildings might be hard to use because they can't easily access them, or there might not be enough help or support. (definition sourced from the World Health Organisation).
  3. Explain that sometimes it’s easier to tell that someone will have challenges – for example, if they’re using a wheelchair or have a guide dog. But there are lots of things you can’t see, for example, if some has difficulties with reading, hearing, seeing, walking for a long time, or staying focused. These may be called hidden or invisible disabilities. 
  4. Ask if anyone can think of a condition that might be thought of as a non-visible disability. Some examples include autism, diabetes, chronic pain, dyslexia, epilepsy, asthma, hearing loss, or mental health conditions. There’s some more examples of invisible disabilities on the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower website.
  5. Now, try to think of the barriers in the world that people with non-visible disabilities might face. One example is being unfairly challenged for using accessible facilities (such as accessible toilets and parking) even though you might need them. Another is someone who might not understand something if they don’t have access a BSL interpreter or subtitles, and another person may struggle to walk a long way if they don’t have somewhere to regularly rest. 

Plant your seeds

  1. Explain that you’re going to plant sunflowers to help remind us to be kind and to treat everyone with understanding, care and respect.  
  2. Give out the small plant pots, labels and marker pens.
  3. Decorate or paint the pots. 
  4. Make sure to add names to the pots.
  5. Next, fill the plant pot with damp soil. It needs to be almost to the top.  
  6. Use a pencil to poke a hole in the middle of the soil, then put the seed into the hole and cover it with soil. 
  7. Pour a small amount of water onto the seed.  
  8. Place plant pots or in a spot that gets lots of sunlight, such as on a windowsill. This is ideal for sunflowers. 
  9. Always water your plants regularly. Sunflower seed packets will have watering instructions. Small plants need watering near the base, and larger plants may need repotting. You could also label them.
  10. If planting outside, wait until the plants are strong and the risk of frost has passed.
  11. Once the sunflower heads turn brown, cut them off to dry. You can harvest the seeds or feed them to birds.
  12. If you're doing this to learn about the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, you could give some sunflowers to a Sunflower-friendly business or charity. You can use the Discover Sunflower-friendly places map to find one.

Reflection

This activity was all about caring. You learned about invisible disabilities. Why do you think a sunflower was chosen as the symbol? What makes it a good symbol? The Sunflower is a discreet symbol that’s clearly visible from a distance, as well as being distinctive, joyful and dynamic. It was chosen as it suggests happiness, positivity, strength, as well as growth and confidence. It’s also universally known. Why do you think someone might choose to wear the Sunflower? They may choose to wear it because they need assistance in public, or because they want people to understand why they may be using some facilities or needing some extra time.  

Why’s it important that people learn about Hidden Disabilities Sunflower and what it means? It can help people to be more caring and thoughtful towards other people, as well as develop understanding and prevent people from being unkind or judgemental.   

You also had to plant a sunflower. What was it like? What did you enjoy about this activity? What do you think will happen? How will you care for this sunflower? What will it remind you of? It might remind you to have extra patience, understanding or kindness towards others, as you can't tell what barriers or challenges someone may be facing. 

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Gardening and nature

Everyone must wash their hands after the activity has finished. Wear gloves if needed. Explain how to safely use equipment and set clear boundaries so everyone knows what’s allowed.

Scissors

Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

Heavy and awkward objects

Never lift or move heavy or awkward items alone. Ask for help or, if possible, break them down into smaller parts.

Food

Remember to check for allergies, eating problems, fasting or dietary requirements and adjust the recipe as needed. Make sure you’ve suitable areas for storing and preparing food and avoid cross contamination of different foods. Take a look at our guidance on food safety and hygiene.

Cooking

Teach young people how to use cooking equipment safely. Supervise them appropriately throughout. Make sure it’s safe to use and follow manufacturers’ guidelines for use.

  • Have accessible tools for gardening are available, such as left-handed tools, funnels for pouring soil or seeds, and raised planters. 
  • People could work with a friend, an adult or with a group. For example, if they may need someone to hold the plant pot while they pour soil in.  
  • Some people might not like how it feels to touch some materials or the different textures, such as toil. They could wear gloves, work with someone else or use tools to help them, such as trowels.  
  • Always check for allergies when gardening, such as peanut shells in compost, then adapt what you use as needed. This may include making sure no-one at home has a relevant allergy if the item will be taken home. 

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

Beavers Disability Awareness Activity Badge

If you'd like to harvest your seeds, hang the sunflower heads somewhere to dry. Then you can carefully brush off the seeds from the centre of the flower into a paper bag. Sunflowers can contain as many as 2,000 seeds!

If you'd try some of the seeds, they should be washed before they are eaten. Sunflower seeds taste great when they are lightly toasted and seasoned with salt, pepper or paprika. Return them to their bag or add them to a trail mix and enjoy. 

If you enjoyed growing sunflowers, you could work together as a group and grow a beautiful wildflower space. You could share information by running an event, or displaying posters or signs to teach people about the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower.