Students make pinwheels in honor of International Day of Peace Posted On: Monday, Sep. 21 2009 02:13 AM Special to the Daily Herald

BELTON – In support of the International Day of Peace, nearly 300 hand-painted pinwheels were created by University of Mary Hardin-Baylor students and faculty, as part of the "Pinwheels for Peace" Project.

The pinwheels have been installed in the garden area in front of the Townsend Library, and at 11 a.m. today the public is invited to attend a prayer service in front of the installation to commemorate International Day of Peace.

Pinwheels for Peace is an art installation project started in 2005 by two art teachers, Ann Ayers and Ellen McMillan, who teach at Monarch High School in Coconut Creek, Fla., as a way for their students to express their feelings about what was going on in the world and in their lives. The project was quickly embraced by their students, the entire school community and by millions of teachers, parents, children and adults who desire peace in our world.

The first Pinwheels for Peace were installed on Sept. 21, 2005. Since then, it has grown from 500,000 pinwheels planted the first year, to 2 million pinwheels in 2008 planted in many parts of the world including United States, Great Britain, South America, Australia, the Middle East, Canada, Africa, Europe and Asia.

"It is our hope that through the Pinwheels for Peace project, we can make a public visual statement about our feelings about war/ peace/tolerance/cooperation/ harmony/unity and, in some way, maybe, awaken the public and let them know what we are thinking. This is not political. Peace doesn't necessarily have to be associated with the conflict of war, it can be related to violence/intolerance in our daily lives, to peace of mind," according to pinwheelsforpeace.com.