Gracie, Juliette, Nicki

Soil Un-earthed!

Edited by: Gracie, Nicki, and Juliette

This is a picture of a classmate birdwatching. On May 26, the seventh grad

learned about a variety of soil-related activities that were harmful and help

activities was bird-watching. At different times, clusters of groups all met w scientist, and located birds with binoculars. For a good chunk of our time, campus and learned a lot about birds just by watching them. - Juliette M.

de split up and

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Wild & Precious Life Poems Population Above me is a cloud-choked sky, filled with a palette of grays and the trilling of songbirds To the farthest north, there is a shadow of beautiful blue against the horizon; the proud California mountains The buzzing of bees in the flowers and the roaring of far-away cars The air is colorful with the fragrance of lavender, and the eraser that I chew thoughtfully smells sterile but sweet; a reminder of my earlier Popsicle The insect attractor of the lavender bush feels like a soft pine cone in my fingers To my right, there are multitudes of bees hovering over a large bush with little baby blue blossoms, their jeweled wings tiny blurs A flower, surrounded by its yellow siblings, has redstained petals that point to the sun, like a bloody golden crown Lying on the ground, I realize most of the flowers are still buds; when summer comes they will greet us, waving their slender stems Yet out of the corner of my eye, there is a rush of cars and the corner of a muddy dwelling What a pity it is, to always be surrounded by ourselves

My Escape Above me is a door to a temple that shall not open.

In the distance I see a portal which leads to the outside world.

My fingers are sticky from the past.

The sweet sweet smell of spring seeps into my nostrils.

The fuel from man attacks my senses.

The green stone sticks out they say he is lonely.

The rose shows her armor it is her only sense of protection.

A car zooms by my escape is over.

Gracie

L'ĂŠtat Sauvage The gray sky still managed to pinch my eyes into a squint On a gloomy day like this, the Crimson Poppies rose out of the ground Above me the bees were spinning circles around each other And the cars across the street seemed non existent.

In a world shaded green Brown Red And beyond, I sat by pots fired blue Humbled to be a miracle Humbled to be amidst so many miracles Where a world of budding flowers, sticky stems, and poppies screaming red Culminate to the biggest miracle of all The Wild Nicki

Juliette

Millard Mulch Experience When the group of about 25 or so of us hopped off the bus, I had no idea what we were about to experience. I thought maybe we were going to go on a little nature hike, examine a few plants, get a little dirty, and leave. Yes, we did some of that, but we also did so much more.

Arriving, I saw two huge piles of what appeared to be dirt. As I stepped inside the gates blocking the nature compound, what I saw amazed me.

Everything looked… dead. Everything except the tall and formidable oak trees, small plants surrounded by chicken wire, and a few cacti. So maybe this place still had a pulse, but it seemed like that pulse was on its way out. “Everybody in, everybody in.” the ranger exclaimed as all of us were herded into a semi-circle. After a long introduction to the canyon and to the people who were going to be working with us that day, we got to work.

Bill, our ranger, explained to us the importance of mulch in a dry place like California, and the proper ways to apply it to an area. Mulch has many benefits, but one of the most important pros of this gardening trick, is it suppresses weeds and retains moisture in the soil. This is very helpful to our Californian soil, because it prevents unwanted or foreign plants from making their way into the area, and reduces wildfires.

We all had a lot of fun spreading the mulch. I used all different kinds of

tools, and we all worked together to haul the heavy material to dry and weedy areas.

Bill explained to us how too much mulch around a plant’s stem can make the plant rot, and how no mulch at all can make it extremely hard for a plant to retain water.

For over three hours we worked hard in the park, trying to make sure we mulched every area in sight. A few people, including myself, ventured off the beaten path to mulch more secluded areas.

We had to carry buckets of mulch to and from the areas, trying to move at a fast pace.

From passing back and forth, I noticed there were so many creatures in this one little area of nature. Ants, centipedes, beetles, lizards, you name it, I saw it. It just made me realize that so many organisms depend on this habitat, and this habitat depends so much on the soil.

Without the soil, large numbers of species wouldn’t be able to survive. It’s just amazing how vast, yet how under acknowledged, yet important the soil is.

-Nicki K.

This is a picture from the mulching trip in Millard Canyon. This is the pile of mulch we used to cover the weeds throughout the preserve.

This picture was taken at the Millard Canyon. Gracie, Nicki, and Juliette were all trying to get up on a rock for a picture!

This is a picture of a plant surrounded by chicken wire. Next to it is a bucket of mulch.

The Ron Finley Project We live in a desert. A desert doesn’t have to necessarily be all sand and have only cacti living there. A desert can be a city, like Los Angeles. A food desert is a geographic area where affordable and nutritious food is difficult to obtain. South Central Los Angeles is a food desert.

Ron Finley grew up in a food desert. Growing up it was hard for him to find food that wasn’t full of pesticides.

The amount of vacant lots in Los Angeles can fill up twenty central parks. Ron heard this statistic and decided it was time for a change.

In 2010, Ron Finley created a garden in the curbside area next to his house.

He planted numerous vegetables and plants. His garden was open to the public and he allowed people to take whatever they needed. He chose to put it on the street so everyone could access it. He didn’t want it all for himself he wanted to offer the chance for change to others. Many people living in food deserts don’t have to money or access to a grocery store or place providing healthy foods. If they had the choice to eat healthy many would. By making this garden available and affordable to the public he is giving people that choice.

Over the past few years Ron Finley’s garden has flourished. I had the opportunity to visit this garden. While driving over there I noticed that we were in a food desert. Things looked very similar as they do in Pasadena, but we were in

a food desert.

When we arrived to the garden I noticed how big it was. The garden wasn’t huge, but it really stuck with me how a small patch of vegetables and soil can make such a large impact. In Ron's garden he grows sunflowers. He lives right next to a train so when people on the train drive by they smile. I had the chance to witness this myself.

It was so empowering to known that a little yellow flower could make so many people happy.

Ron Finley is an ambassador for change. He saw a problem and works so hard to change it. He doesn’t do it for himself, he does it for others. When I went to the garden I saw this for myself. He gave out tomato plants to me and my classmates.

My school now has tomato plants scattered around campus. He really wants to help, and tries his best to create change that is needed.

These are the sunflowers in the Ron Finley garden. The garden is right next to where the train goes by so the people on the train see the sunflowers and smile.

This is a picture of Ron’s backyard. In his backyard is an empty swimming pool full of plants and covered with colorful positive graffiti.

-Gracie B.

Students from Westridge School for Girls visited the Ron Finley Garden for their Soil Unit field trip!

2015 has been full of many talented and diverse organisms all working to create a healthy and fertile soil. Soil is a world. A world of bacteria, arthropods, mammals, annelids, plants & more. Without these organisms dedicating their life’s work to this world, this world might not even be able to exist. In this special edition of Soil Unearthed, we would like to honour one particular organism, who has contributed an extraordinary amount of heart and dedication to the soil... Annie Ant! Without the ants’ hard work and dedication, it would be practically impossible to produce nutritious and healthy soil. Ants are arthropods, classified under Phylum Arthropoda.

Arthropods are the most successful animals on the planet due to the fact that they take up over 75% of all living organisms on planet earth.

Ants churn up soil and create air pockets. When it rains, these pockets make it easier for water to absorb into the soil. Without these pockets, the water would just be useless runoff. Ants also regulate the population of other organisms in the soil, making sure the soil food web stays balanced. These arthropods help to change elements in the soil into elements absorbable by plants. This is through consumption, digestion, and excretion of soil organic matter.

When we looked for a organism to honour we looked for an individual with certain qualities. We looked for someone that was dedicated to helping the soil and overcame many obstacles through their work. Our team of soil experts concluded that soil would not be soil without the ant.

Ants contribute a tremendous amount of hard work and dedication to producing healthy soil. They are constantly decomposing, contributing their nutrient-rich waste, and playing a key part in the soil food web. The ant we are honouring today displays those qualities and values all of them greatly. Annie Ant works for hours each day churning the organic matter to create soil. Her remarkable work ethic and inspiring attitude about the earth has not only inspired those close to her, but has inspired people world-wide. continued

Soil is a key element to all life on earth. Without ants there would be no nutritious soil, and without nutritious soil there wouldn’t be a healthy planet. We often forget that soil not only affects us humans, but almost every organism on earth.

Soil erosion is a big issue world wide. This event, is when the topsoil which is a three foot deep layer of soil on the earth's surface, is washed or blown away. When people spray their plants with pesticides, it kills the ants and other organisms who help along the process of creating healthy soil. If the ants are eliminated, the soil will become less aerated, and heavy rainfall will be useless. Ants may be pests at one point or another, but that hardly compares to how much good they do for the soil. Every inch of soil takes thousands of years to make. Humans use up soil ten times faster than it takes nature to produce it. Ants play a huge role in making the soil, despite how little they actually are.

Annie Ant is an amazing organism to honour as our 2015 Organism or the year.

She has demonstrated all the qualities we looked for in a candidate. She has proven to the world that even someone “small” can make a “big” change. We decided to honour Annie Ant not only because she has done so much for the international community, but in the hope that she will inspire adolescents to become upstanders despite what they think their limits are.

Barbaric Yawp Poems O Elements of all earth The mulch under my converse shakes and steams My Barbaric Yawp to the earth sounds itself deep beneath the soil And it sounds itself beyond what’s beyond the soil To the center of the earth where the temperature is over 10,000 degrees and water elephants cry in agreement: “O sea above water, your roof rises taller than I can see, and still...

O aliens that stand among me, the chefs aboard your spaceship amaze me, and still...

O ghosts that walk among me in solid, your deadly beauties are imaginations from my dreams and nightmares, and still...

O elements of all earth, sing with me as I praise the world and the soil it’s given me.”

Nicki K.

I am the Soil He was found by the dog.

His body still together.

Mother never thought that he would be buried on his own turf.

But he was and now you can’t tell who the soil is and who he is.

They are now one.

I don’t know who I am anymore.

I have lost my identity and dignity.

I asked her who I was and all she said, was that I was her.

But I thought I was myself?

Now I am lost, and don’t know how to change.

Nobody remembers me.

I am now just soil I am now the soil and the soil is now me.

And someday you will be the soil, and the soil will be you.

Gracie B.

Where We Shall Go

Defiance (Flower Perspective)

I watch the hobbling crow, the flittering hummingbird, the anxious squirrel So different in looks and ways, but they are similar somewhat Their ancestors were like ours; crawling from the desolate depths of the ocean, stumbling onto the sun-warmed earth And when the weakest collapsed and moved no more, their bodies decayed and broke down, sinking into the dirt From the beautiful nutrients that were held in their flesh, a sapling sprouts; then a forest rises from death I watch the crow and the squirrel, jousting like our ancestors, the Knights The crow flies down, pecking and pecking again, and the squirrel scrabbles for cover Should the crow wound him in the neck, the squirrel would slump over, shuddering and twitching And after the squirrel goes still, his body becomes a home for white maggots and fungus, and he is given to the soil like his ancestors have been and his descendants will have been And so it goes I have never appreciated soil; never liked the fact that when I pass on they will bury me under many feet of dirt For I have run too quickly through life to understand or realize the value of earth, realize how I am alive I went too quickly, and did not know what sacrifice that my great-great-grandparents gave when they let their bodies benefit the dirt Because of them there are plants, and there is fruit, and there is oxygen Because of the death and decay, we are alive in this instant I had no knowledge of dirt But now I shall be happy to go wherever with a treasure hoard in my brain Knowing that wherever I go, eventually we all go where I shall go after my time is up

I fly in the breeze and shout “No more!

I will not tolerate this inhumanity I will no longer watch my brothers and sisters be mowed down and clipped and mutilated I shall no longer watch my mother plant be ripped apart by malicious human hands.”

“I can imagine it now; flowers will be respected, taken care of We shall be free as birds, and as valuable as horses Flowers will be amazing individuals, and we will belong only to the soil Even the soil will admire us for our beauty and resilience, and they will be all too happy to rot us when we die, and take our precious nutrients We will be glorious!”

But at that instant I see the gardener with his shears, and the wife with scissors, and the human child grasping with his chubby fingers And though the spark did not flee from my heart, I felt daunted in my task It is never easy to rally in the world that fights and destroys And it is a hard task to save a species that is thought to be nothing more than a supply But it shall be my task For if I will not do it, then I can never be sure that it will ever happen

Juliette M.

Juliette M.

To sum up my experience...

The soil unit has covered so much in just a little less than a fortnight. We have explored the soil through literature, science, history, art, and now I get to explore this multifaceted topic through my eyes and what I’ve learned. My hope, is that you have enjoyed reading the magazine article me and my fellow editors have put together in honor of the soil, and that you learn something about my experience in the soil unit through this soil & soil unit reflection...

I always knew about soil. Well, of course I always knew about soil, but I never knew what soil was. Dirt? Brown stuff? The things plants grown out of? First of all, soil is NOT dirt, much more than just brown stuff, and offers way more to a plant than just a home for its roots.

The Arlington Garden field trip gave me a much better understanding of what soil was. This was the day when we covered almost everything. We talked about the history of Arlington Gardens, explored the great literature pieces composed about the soil, and set up a science experiment involving soil from different flowers. Yes, many facts were thrown around during this field trip, but I found this day was more about experiencing the amazing beauty the soil had brought us, and then thinking about how, why, and what it needs to bring us that beauty.

Unfortunately, I was unable to be there when the whole class took a field trip to Ron Finley’s “Gangsta Gardens.” Although I was not able to “Plant some stuff” that day, I did watch the Ted Talk and learned about what kind of upstander Ron Finley is. I learned Ron Finley’s mission is to turn food deserts into sustainable communities with access to healthy food. This is through gardening, which, not only helps the soil, but can help a community.

Soil is a subject that asserts itself under so many different topics. Soil is political, scientific, artistic, etc. We didn’t nearly have as much time as we needed to cover all of these complex topics, but I feel like this was an excellent way to end the school year. It involved math, science, history, English, and the earth, all subjects Westridge values. This soil unit brought this year to a smooth closing, not making me feel empty and sad the year is over, but happy and motivated to be an up-stander for nature in my community.

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Nicki K.

To all you readers...

The soil unit has been two weeks full of many memorable experiences. I have learned so much about soil and myself in general. I have been inspired by many people.

When the soil unit started I didn’t know a lot about soil. I didn’t even know that there was a difference between soil and dirt.

Everyday I learned something new about soil. I have felt inspired to help out around my campus and be grateful for the food I have. Everyday I not only learned a new fact about soil, but I learned a new thing about myself. I combined everything I had learned this year to make my soil unit experience most meaningful and successful.

The main memory I am going to take from the soil unit is visiting Ron Finley’s garden. He was so inspiring and showed me that not all role models have to create something huge. It isn’t about what they create, but what impact it has on others. His presence gave you a sense of gratitude for everything you have. I had bought a bag of kettle corn at the Commons and while eating it on the bus ride home felt grateful for everything I have. It got me thinking about all those mushy gushy things like how I am so fortunate to go to the amazing school and go to. It got me thinking that all those mushy gushy things are true and I really am lucky. I don’t know what is was about visiting the garden that put me into this mindset, but it helped me put my life into perspective in that moment.

The soil unit has been a learning experience for me. I never had a passion for nature. I never enjoyed gardening. The soil unit didn’t change that, but what the soil unit did change is my appreciation for the earth. I am never going to be one of those people who loves getting dirty and the outdoors and that doesn’t matter. I now appreciate mother nature. If you think about every living thing on earth is remarkable. The goal of the soil unit wasn’t to make me love the outdoors. The goal of the soil unit was to change my perspective. I am not going to force myself to be someone that I am not. I am not an outdoorsy person and that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I am more appreciative of the natural world. Now, next time I see a fly zoom by my face I won’t swat at it, but instead appreciate its own individual beauty.

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Gracie B.

When I heard about the Soil Unit... ‌.I didn't expect anything special. I thought it would just be another Water Unit, and that lowered my expectations. What could you learn from soil? I was drastically wrong. There were things that I had not even imagined about soil, and I am so amazed by everything that I have experienced. It was quite a long journey, but it was certainly a fun one.

The first day, we went to the Arlington Gardens, and it played a big part in my interest in the unit. Though it was not incredibly illuminating in the subject of soil, it was intriguing to find out the history of the garden, and it so peaceful and strangely cleansing to be in the garden. The poem we were instructed to write came easily to me as I sat in the beautiful landscape. I enjoyed getting things for the Petri dishes, mostly because of the choices and variety. The garden was the most relaxing field trip I had had all year.

The next one was anything but relaxing. The very next day, the seventh grade took a bus trip to Ron Finley, a man who had a great idea to help the neighborhood he lived in obtain fresh, good food. The grocery store was usually too far away and too expensive, so the people who experienced this just ate at fast foods. These places were called 'food deserts' and Ron wanted to change that. So to stop the problems of obesity and diabetes, he took a empty spot of land and planted a garden. The garden was a huge success, and everyone found hope and fresh food easily. When Ron talked to us, it was plain to see how much he loved doing this. He wanted nothing more than to support his community, and he clearly loved working with soil. I was so engaged by his words. It was so amazing to hear Ron talk about how he made art by gardening as an artist. Ron Finley was really the key to me appreciating soil and respecting it as much as I do right now.

The last field trip was the best, in my opinion, because it was so entertaining to work and learn at the same time. The seventh grade split up again and headed to different locations. My group headed to Millard Canyon, and when we arrived the first thing we saw was a gigantic pile of wood chips. We were confused, but then it was explained that the canyon had a weed problem, and that it was a fire hazard. We came to an understanding that we would be shoveling and carrying buckets of the stuff to dump on weeds.

The rotting wood would smother the weeds, and the moisture would rot the stem of the plant. That didn't sound very fun at first, but I soon discovered an almost magical element of the work; the wood pile started smoking! I was so surprised and confused, yet it was so enjoyable, as the heat made the day instantly better. The runner of the operation told me what made it hot, and I was fascinated. The mini organisms and fungi rotting the wood basically sent off energy, and heated up the wood. I didn't understand it completely, but it was amazing to think about. At the end of the day, we had almost leveled the pile with the ground, and we were all proud of the work we had done.

All in all, I was surprised to enjoy the Soil Unit as much as I did. It was a good time to practice my art skills with the magazine we were required to make, and it was nice to wrap up the year with poems and drawings. The knowledge I have obtained is a new foreground for me, and I was so enthusiastic to learn as much as I did. It was enjoyable to find the uses for soil, and how we could learn from it and save it from extinction. This was a good way to say goodbye to my teachers, and to the experience of seventh grade.

Co-Editor-in-Chief, Juliette M.