Amanda, Anelise, Mackenzie

Table of Contents Pg. 1 Cover Story: Organism of the Year Pgs. 2&3 One Wild and Precious Life Poems Pg. 4 Barbaric Yawp Poems Pgs. 5&6 Letter from the Editors Pg. 7 History of Arlington Garden Pgs. 8 –12 Field Trip Collages Pgs. 13&14 Tree Representations Pg. 15 Propaganda Poster

By Amanda Mackenzie, and Anelise

Cover Story: Organism of the Year "If all the matter in the universe except the nematodes were swept away, our world would still be dimly recognizable, and if, as disembodied spirits, we could then investigate it, we should find its mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes and oceans represented by a thin film of nematodes.” --N.A.Cobb The nematode has been elected soil organism of the year! The nematode is a decomposer that helps the earth obtain nutrients.

They do many things to help the Earth’s ecosystem. These helpful organisms can be found in almost every climate and area on earth helping to enrich the soil everywhere.

They work so hard for the earth we use for a food source, occupations, and for shelter. Since they have a diet of bacteria, fungi, protozoans, and even other nematodes, they play a big part in the cycle of the release of nutrients for plant growth. They also assist in distributing bacteria and fungi through the soil and along roots by carrying microbes on their surface and in their digestive system. They can be helpful indicators of soil quality, as their functions alter in response to changes in the soil food web. Nematodes have a beneficial effect on humans and production. They are considered free-living because they can live in uninhabitable environments.

Nematodes also attack insects to help prevent the pests getting to the food. Some nematodes are even released purposely for pest control.

Nematodes are crucial in releasing nutrients for plant growth. The free-living nematodes are divided into four groups based off of their diet. The bacteria feeders eat bacteria, the fungal feeders suck out the contents inside a cell by puncturing the cell wall, predatory nematodes consume all nematodes as well as protozoa, and the omnivores consume an assortment of organisms or have different diets in each life stage. Having all these different types of organisms in the soil, replenishes it, and provides the nutrients that the other plants need to survive. Plants need soil to live and thrive. If soil didn’t exist, your ancestors might have died thousands of years ago. You might not even exist today! We rely on plants for our food, oxygen, forests, occupations, shelter, and flowers.

In addition, soil also plays an important role in managing what happens to the water due to rain and snow. Some of the water travels along the surface of the soil, eventually reaching streams, rivers, and lakes.

Some of the water enters the soil, and is stored, so plant roots and organisms can use it. Soil can also play an important role in changing the increasing concerns about climate change. The organic matter in the surface layer of the soil contains a lot of carbon. This can increase climate change if it’s released into the atmosphere.

Nematodes help the soil control the amount of carbon that is released. However, if soil continues to store the carbon, then the rate of climate change may slow down.

All our resources and the climate are being affected by the soil loss that has become a major issue that is affecting our daily life as a community. In the past 150 years, at least half of the topsoil has been lost because of erosion as well as different aspects of agriculture. Loss of soil structure, compaction, degradation of the nutrients, and the salt being dissolved in the soil are big contributions to soil loss.

Without nematodes, we would experience foul smells and unpleasant sights due to things that need decomposing, as well as having no crops. We rely upon the nematodes to maintain the soil in order to sustain our lifestyle. They might be small and you might not notice them, but they make a big difference and have an astonishing impact on our everyday lives. The World Wide Fund for Nature says that “Soil is the Earth’s fragile skin that anchors all life on Earth”. Without nematodes that fragile skin would cease to exist, and the Earth as we

One Wild and Precious Life Poems Around Me Everywhere around me, dark clouds layer the sky, with sunlight peeking out.

The wind carries the puffs of water vapor, dark, light.

Far away, the sound of an airplane’s engine in the distant skies, lingers in the back of my head.

Many meters from me, an everyday resonance of a motorcycle rings in my ears.

The palm leaves rustle in the wind some 100 meters away.

And just a few meters away, the chirps of birds singing, some like the sounds of vibrations, others mouse-like, attract my attention.

Above me, the shades of green, brown, and grey hang.

Each leaf on the sprawled branching tree are kitchen knives, and every one made for a different person.

And right in front of me, shoes grind the ant-like rocks and dry ground with every step.

Soon, below me, it’s my own steps that are rubbing the rocks against the dirt.

Against me, the rosemary bushes embrace each other, and the needle-like rosemary leaves pierce my skin.

While still being glued together, A sweet scent has been left on my fingertips, and my nose is filled with ice.

Next to me, the dirt massages my hand, a woody smell remaining.

The air is filled with a fresh, clean scent, My chest is cooled as I inhale.

Around me, the beautiful world thrives.

-Amanda Tse

One Wild and Precious Life Poems We are the future The world has been discovered, But what do I want to see?

Looking in the distance, Far far away; The gloom blocking the ominous mountains above.

The smell of herbs whisking the air Right above me.

Feeling small as the brims touch my nose, What else is in the world?

Long branch, sharp thin needles puncturing my skin; Leaving what seems like the surrounding universe stuck with me forever.

Conjoint branches, then to branch into their separate ways in the world.

The lumps all engaging in discussion as the green tips sway; Things waiting.

Just waiting.

For what?

A chance.

A chance to be discovered, By someone new.

We are the future.

Surroundings Be what you are looking for?

Above me I see the cloudy grey sky -Mackenzie Bowlen Before me I see a wall of green Around me I hear birds calling Beyond me I hear airplanes flying My hand now smells of rosemary Tiny pebbles smell like metal Fresh pine needles smell as clean as the evergreen The succulent is made of rubber A bendable, manipulatable material A watermelon, green and pink and sweet with juice An arms length away I see a packet just like mine A white luminous flower lurks alone in the distance The sky is my ground and the ground is my sky The sharp sun is screaming through the dark green leaves of the nearest tree Is this what nature is?

-Anelise Pardo

Barbaric Yawp Poems A Body of Life What is the mushy substance under the flesh of our feet?

I lift up the bottoms of my feet, specks of brown fall down to the ground.

With each step, my feet slowly enter the Earth’s skin.

What is this matter layering the world?

It is where corpses are left.

What allows the human race to thrive?

The place where plants perish and flourish.

A resource, a shelter.

Where worms squirm in paradise.

It is a shoulder you can lean on, A body of liveliness made of the blues.

- Amanda Tse

The Earth’s Energy

Me and You

Oh, soil, rich moisture beneath my feet, Am I not to wish to go?

Casting a gaze from the vulture’s nest, Am I not to remember the longing past?

The soil, my ground, gives my roots a place to grow Is the soil where your roots live?

My feet feel the ground beneath them and dig into the roots of the nearest tree Do your feet feel the ground beneath them too?

The whole world beneath me, Enriching the earth.

Breaking down into infinite minerals, To nurture Mother Nature’s growth.

Oh, soil, rich moisture beneath my feet, Am I not to wish to go?

-Mackenzie Bowlen

The grass between my toes makes them itch like a fresh mosquito bite Do you feel the grass between your toes?

Does it itch just like the mosquito bite you got yesterday?

You cannot see the life underneath but you see the world through gaping holes, I can see the life but I see the world through cracks We see differently in the same world.

-Anelise Pardo

Letter from the Editors The Soil Unit was an eye opening experience that I will take with me throughout my academic career as well as into life in general. I learned how everything goes back into the soil as a cycle of life. Before experiencing the soil unit, I never really gave that much thought to where my food comes from, and how lucky I am to have access to organic food.

Other people do not have the resources we have, and live in a food desert where the only food they have access to is fast food that has probably been processed. When we looked through the microscopes at the different soil specimens, I realized how important it is for other people to have access to the rich soil and how not everyone knows how to prepare food. This really stood out when we visited Ron Finley and his garden.

Ron Finley is a great example of an upstander in his community. He planted a garden in front of his house for everyone to enjoy. He is an activist who wants to share the amazing products soil creates. This man gives Ted Talks to educate people about soil, gives people food and seeds, and cares for the people living in food deserts so they can get the organic food that is necessary for a healthy lifestyle.

Throughout my time here, I learned that humans do not have to do anything for the soil-making process, and we are here to help it along the way. We learned different ways to protect the soil so all life on earth can strive. We went to Millard Canyon to cover the dead grass with mulch, so if there is a forest fire, it will not burn down easily. It turns out that the mulch we spread slowed down the water so the plants can absorb it instead of just running off into the ocean. It felt good to be able to help out the environment, and to know that it will be better off with the simple gift.

The topic that really stood out for me was the compost discussion. I knew what compost was, but didn’t know how much it affected the environment. Since the soil is a really important part to the environmental cycle, compost helps the soil by enriching the earth.

Compost is when you place newspaper scraps, food, and a type of worm called a red wiggler in a bin, and the worms will decompose the substances to produce castings that enrich the earth. The worms also release worm tea which is a natural fertilizer that will also help the plants drastically when exposed to the plant and the soil.

Overall, I learned more than I could ever imagine about soil, and how much it affects our daily lives. Without soil, we wouldn't have a food source, certain jobs, nor decomposers that break down the deceased organisms. People impact the soil in both negative ways and positive ways. It is better to have the soil do most things on its own, but we should do what we can to preserve it as well as educate others to do the same.

-Mackenzie

Letter from the Editors Going into the first day of the soil unit, I thought we would just be planting things and learning facts about soil. I never realized all the things the ground below our feet could offer us. The soil unit gave me a new perspective on soil, and it’s not just where plants grow.

I learned that soil is a cycle, and I never thought about where my food comes from. When coming into the soil unit, it never came to my mind that I would discover the effect of soil on food deserts, to be able to experience and appreciate a beautiful garden around me. I liked that our four core subjects were integrated into the soil unit. I loved that we could use our scientific knowledge and write poems in a garden.

I had never given thought to the fact that obesity might be linked to the lack of grocery stores, farmers markets, or healthy soil. Where people live can determine a person’s quality of life. On one field trip, we visited the Ron Finley Project. Ron is an incredible man. He lives in South Los Angeles, which is a food desert. A food desert is a community which doesn’t have easy access to fresh food. Ron is an upstander, and built a garden with plants, fresh fruits, and vegetables, which is open to the community. Those who don’t have the privilege of obtaining healthy food, can get it from this garden Ron built. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

When we went to Arlington Garden on the first day, I was surprised about how much a garden can offer. We were able to walk in a labyrinth and find our peace, admire the nature around us in a calm environment, and test bacteria samples of different dirt substances.

Throughout the soil unit, I’ve learned so much, and will take everything with me. Each day we discovered new things, not just about soil, but about the world around us. This experience was amazing, and I will think of soil in a different way now.

-Amanda

During the soil unit, I was able to dive into the different aspects of soil and why it is important to us.

The first day of the soil unit was highly awaited by many students and the ones that were skeptical quickly changed their minds. From bird watching, to making bacteria samples, to making propaganda posters, we all had tons of fun. I thought going into this unit that it would be planting stuff everyday, but we were shown a new side of our ground and what it does for us. We were challenged to use our new scientific knowledge, unusual adjectives, making tough decisions, and telling the difference between bacteria species’. Everyday there was something that we didn’t expect whether it was how many plants are edible, how dedicated people are to composting, or how much water impacts our environment. Knowing that we are in a drought we think about how under-watering plants is killing them but we never think about over-watering them. When you over-water a plant you are flooding the soil with water, roots need air to thrive and help its plant, and when they are drowned by water they can’t do their job to help the plant so the it dies. Some of my favorite parts about the soil unit were writing poems in nature, hearing about and seeing how one man turned his home and his patio into a garden, working with my friends on an digital magazine, and feeling my feet hit the soil when I did cartwheels on the quad. there was never a day we didn’t learn anything new, whether we were learning about things on our own campus or in other parts of our city we always learned something. As we finish up the soil unit, I think that we will all take at least one thing with us and carry it with us throughout our lives.

One thing I will remember is that we take so many things for granted but soil provides most of them for us.

They don’t know it but when people are clearing out great soil to create new establishments, it hurts us in the long run. If we are clearing forests out to make room for landmarks why don’t we just make the forest the landmark.

-Anelise

History of Arlington Garden This 3 acre site began development in 2005 and had been unoccupied since 1961. One of the most elegant Victorian homes used to occupy this site at 275 Arlington Drive. In 1902, 10 acres of property was purchased by John Durand. The area was known as “Arlington Heights.” The home was demolished, and a chateau was built upon Durand’s request. At 17,000 square feet, the home was the largest in Southern California. In front of the mansion a “tropical paradise” was created. The Durand family owned the property until John M. Durand III passed away in 1960. The home was removed the following year.

Arlington Garden stands at the corner of Arlington Drive and Pasadena Ave, and it is a non-profit organization. It had been vacant for 40 years, while waiting for the 710 freeway to be built. In 2003, talks were held regarding the use of the site by the City and Caltrans.

Betty McKenney suggested a Mediterranean climate garden to be built. Betty and her husband, Kicker took their idea and began the steps of developing a garden. Along the way, more and more people joined in. Students from Cal Poly Pomona created conceptual drawings, and the City and Pasadena Water and Power along with the McKenneys collaborated to move along. Neighbors also pitched in by donating funds, plants, and garden furniture, and Pasadena Beautiful Foundation and the Mediterranean Garden Society provided support. With all these people assisting, including Mayor Bill Bogaard and Councilmember Sid Tyler, the project continued to progress.

The first trees and plants were planted in the Arlington Garden in July of 2005. Since that day, the McKenneys have planted just about 400 trees, and a broad variety of plants, which all adapt to our unpredictable weather.

The Arlington Garden is now thriving, having received benches and a birdbath from friends and neighbors, and furniture from stores and Ken Colburn. Also with the help of Sequoyah School, Pasadena High School Interact Club, Mayfield Senior School, and Westridge School performing community service, the garden continues to grow. The labyrinth was built in 2010 by a sophomore class from Mayfield Senior School, allowing people to find peace.

"Gardens help sustain us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually," Betty McKenney says.

-Amanda

On the first day of the soil unit, we went to Arlington Gardens and circulated through three stations. Each station helped us to connect with the earth in a different way. We wrote poems while sitting on old wooden chairs, walked the labyrinth at a very slow pace, and made bacteria samples. This was important to include and show how you can still have fun in a peaceful environment.

-Anelise

While with Ron Finley, we earned about how everyone can make a difference in the world no matter how big or how small. I chose these pictures because they show the beauty in what a garden really is. You can turn any part of your home into a garden no matter what it later looks like. Ron Finley provides fresh food to his community by allowing anyone to try some of what he has grown.

-Anelise

One of the first things we did when we started the soil unit was we made bacteria samples with our groups. This was an important event to showcase because it was one of the first ways that we became closer to the earth these last two weeks. The pairs are: top left: soil from under a tree, top center: spit, top right: a flower, bottom left: air, bottom center: soil that had been walked on, bottom right: soil form a planter.

-Anelise

There are so many things that are connected to each other through soil. We discovered how different life forms live inside various types of soil, how to tell if a tree is dying, what weeds look like, how to compost, and what kinds of birds we have on campus. It was necessary to include these fun activities because, they were the last few activities we did during the soil unit.

-Anelise

I wasn’t able to attend the field trip to Millard Canyon, but I wondered what I had missed, so I asked one of my friends who had gone what they did, and this is what she said. “When we first got to Millard Canyon we met a man who worked with the canyon and he told them some safety rules, what to do if there was a safety hazard, and what they would be doing. They then moved to where there was a giant pile of woodchips that they would be spreading on the canyon.

They were given shovel, buckets, and other tools to help them mulch the canyon.” Now I really wish I had been able to visit the canyon.

-Anelise

Tree Representations: Compost Tree

The first picture is a before image of a growing tree. It is made out of compost to signify that growth is a process and a cycle. Everything on the collage that forms the tree’s figure is compostable. Compost is when you take food that you are done with (excluding meats and dairy), and put them in a bin of newspaper with a type of worm called a Red Wiggler. The Red Wiggler breaks down the substances and forms worm castings which are used as fertilizer. The tree symbolizes the formation of life on earth, and how everything has a meaning as well as a purpose.

-Mackenzie

Tree Representations: Made out of Soil

My second picture is the silhouette of a tree. I painted it with soil from my backyard, to symbolize how the cycle helps to enrich another organism’s life and wellbeing. The soil helps to give the plants nutrients, so I decided to show the product the soil helps to create and to sustain. Soil is the result and the start of a cycle. Compost, soil, plants, animals, and humans all work together to create a cycle relying on soil.

-Mackenzie

Propaganda Poster