Auburndale High School's Sunflowers Almost in Full Bloom

Monday, August 11th, 2025 -- 8:00 AM

(Bree Bylak, WSAW) It is a sign of the seasons as the fields behind Auburndale High School are nearly in full bloom with sunflowers, taken care of by the school’s FFA and other members of the community.

According to Bree Bylak with WSAW, row by row, 90,000 bright yellow sunflowers that can grow up to seven feet tall stand in three acres in the school’s farm fields.

The rain this past weekend might be enough for them to hit full bloom. “This thing is going to look spectacular for the next two or three weeks,” said Mark Cournoyer, the agriculture science teacher at Auburndale High School.

Cournoyer said the sunflower field started as a campfire idea during the COVID-19 pandemic. At first, they did not succeed. The seeds were planted too early to grow properly.

They tried again a few weeks later and saw their idea bloom in front of their eyes into something more. “We’ve had newborn pictures, we’ve had 65th wedding anniversary pictures, we’ve had engagements, we’ve had wedding pictures,” said Cournoyer.

The field has visitors come from around Wisconsin. Its popularity means a lot to Cournoyer and his students. “Being able to come out here and see people travel over, just to, I mean, you see sunflowers, you put a smile on your face, so seeing other people have a smile on their face is just something really cool,” said Auburndale FFA President Brenna Thiel.

“It’s hard to be unhappy in a sunflower field,” Cournoyer added. The field is open to the public any day or time, but Cournoyer recommended seeing the sunflowers when the sun is shining.

“My personal favorite, I like to bring a cup of coffee and sit on the bridge here and watch the sunrise,” said Cournoyer. “But people really love the golden hour.” The ‘golden hour’ hits between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and is when Cournoyer said most people come to take photos as the sun sets.

You can park at the school shelter, 10704 Park Ave. in Auburndale. There are many photo opportunities throughout the field, including a swing, a truck lent by a community member, a tractor, a big chair, a bridge, and, new this year, butterfly wings, honoring a community member who passed away.

Thiel said making the field takes the whole community. Her family chisel plowed and worked up the dirt to break up the old sunflowers so other people could come in to finish the field before laying the seeds.

“A big thing in our community is that everyone comes out here and puts their time into it,” said Thiel. The field is free to visit, but donations made in the John Deere mailbox at the entrance to the field help support the Auburndale FFA’s donations for Toys for Tots in the winter.

People are urged to donate what they are able to, and professional photographers are asked to donate for each client they bring. “In November, we go shopping for Toys for Tots in North Wood County, and we help support that, and we’ve done $37,000 of support since Toys for Tots in North Wood County in the last five years,” Cournoyer said.

In October, when the sunflowers begin to dry down, Cournoyer said a farmer partner combines the sunflowers. The Auburndale FFA then sells the sunflower seeds during the winter, with high demand from community members.

“The birds prefer them over regular seeds you might get from the store, but that might be biased, but they’re very, it’s a very popular item,” said Cournoyer.

Cournoyer said you can use the hashtag #AuburndaleSunflowers to add to the growing collection of photos posted on social media, and see how the sunflowers are looking each day.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.