Vision and Mission

Flowering Sun Ecology Center was born out of a communal vision to offer our family and community beyond organic nutrient dense food grown in harmony with the Earth. We are a land based organization with our hands in the soil and our eyes on the stars.

We believe that working in cooperation with the land is the best way to learn and continually improve our growing practices. As such, our land is the experimental grounds for the creation of future offerings and educational research.

We want to create a meeting ground for our plants, trees, employees, and community to learn and grow together. We are focused on supporting the health and vitality of humanity and the earth through our growing practices.

Through the disciplines of research, experimentation and seed saving, we are committed to preserving sacred traditions and biodiversity to benefit future generations and to be in service to a healthy, sustainable humanity.

History

Flowering Sun Ecology Center is the culmination of many years of studying and searching for a natural way of living. While looking for a place to connect to the earth and community, we landed here in Ellenville, NY and purchased a home with a large open lawn ripe for transformation. It took a lot of work and many hands picking rocks, turning soil, adding amendments, and planting the beautiful seedlings to get to where we are today.

Starting in 2017, we began to grow produce for our family and community. As we grew, we began to expand our team and our vision. We began a tree nursery in 2019, and initiated a mushroom growing business the same year. Both have continued to flourish and grow. We are now entering our fifth year of production as a farm, and are continuing to deepen our roots and blossom.

Meet the Team

  • Daniel Kanda

    One day while walking around the pristine nature of the Vipassana Meditation Center, he started to notice the magical fungi all around him. The beauty of the mushroom kingdom along with his interest in the culinary arts sparked and ignited into a passion which caused him to start following the mycelial golden thread. Three years ago, this golden thread led him to the Golden Drum community, where he currently resides as one of the co-owners of Flowering Sun Ecology, an oasis in the heart of the Catskills, dedicated to sacred ecology, farming, and education.

  • Alexander (Z) Hackney

    Z is a co-founder of Flowering Sun Ecology. He is married to Sara Philkill with three children who love to help on the farm. He is a member of the Golden Drum community and a devoted student of Maestro Manuel Rufino. He loves designing and creating using the natural elements nature provides. For nearly a decade, Z has been living in community and practicing natural healing, building and farming techniques. Z’s previous experience includes managing permaculture gardens at the Paititi Institute in Peru, tending to tropical species in Waipio Valley botanical garden in Hawaii, and studying in a monastery in Vermont.

  • Sara Philkill

    Sara's love of home grown food began at a young age, while playing in her mother’s garden. Her appreciation for the natural world continued to expand through her studies in biology in college, and her years working on organic farms all over the US and Peru. Sara is studying to be a midwife, and provides high quality education and support on holistic pregnancy and birth with Maible, at Catskills Birth Collective. Her studies have been strengthened by the growth of her own family and her time shared with her elder and teacher, Maestro Manuel Rufino.

  • Sam Newman-Plotnick

    Sam has always had a capacity for talking up select products and bringing out their magic and charm. He tapped into this while practicing the art of radio producing and hosting, and as fate would have, he has stumbled upon the world of culinary mushrooms. It goes without saying that mushrooms are not only ‘products’, but nourishing medicines and building blocks to healthier diets. Their great taste immediately caught his attention; just ask anyone who knows Sam if he has a voracious appetite for food and a sincere interest in communicating this to the world... His goal is to infuse the Flowering Sun with a truly creative spirit, by developing educational content in an entertaining way that encourages and supports interactive food education. Sam has been operating the sales arm of the business and always strive to show each client the value of our mushrooms and to make sure they always have what they need.