Letter from the Editors-Camille During my two weeks of working in the Soil Unit, I have experienced truly amazing things, such as walking through green gardens bursting with color, seeing wildlife in their natural habitat, or spraying my friends with a hose. This opportunity has been very beneficial to my knowledge because I have learned several new things that I didn’t know before. I studied worms, trees, and got down and dirty to plant in the amphitheater. But as I studied things that were beneficial to the soil, I learned about some unsettling issues. During homework hours, I found out about topsoil degradation, loss of soil, and how it is affecting humans, animals and the environment. It’s like a twoweek science class! Although this unit has taken up the four main subjects (math, language arts, science, history), this lesson is almost like a combination of all of them, and yet including PE. It includes patterns in nature(math), reading and writing poems (language arts), collecting samples in petri dishes (science), learning about the history of the victory gardens (history), and even hiking along a steep trail to experience nature as it is (PE). In the last few days, I have begun to look at the Soil Unit as teaching one topic through four (or five) different topics by the teachers. I would like to thank these teachers for the wonderful opportunity they have given to experience this event and for giving the time to share their knowledge of the earth. I truly appreciate the time spent to educate us about the world. I would also like to thank my partners for assisting each other in this group project, building teamwork and listening skills not only as partners, but as friends. The Soil Unit has definitely impacted my educational path, even if it’s a small effect. -Camille
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Letter from the Editors-Penelope
The Soil unit was…………how else could I describe it? Dirty. But a little dirt doesn’t hurt anyone. In my opinion, the soil unit was a great way to learn about the substance that everything grows on; soil. I also learned more about teamwork, as we all had to collaborate to create this wonderful soil magazine. Each of the members of my group divided the work as equally as we could, and had to try to see from the eyes of another to respect and use each other’s ideas along with our own. Packing a waste free lunch was relatively easy for me, because at my old school it was required to pack a lunch everyday, and I often used recyclable containers. The soil unit also inspired me to plant a garden of my own, with some native and low-water using plants that we learned about in it. This unit opened my eyes in many ways, as I am now more aware of the wonderful details of the world, after laying down in the Arlington Gardens and writing about my surroundings, and how even the smallest organisms, like the creatures in the soil, can impact it. In addition, I noticed how it is almost magic that organisms and animals can work together to create soil for new plants, from the remains of others, and how easy it is to turn a barren urban landscape into a green garden. So basically you can turn anything into a colorful garden, all you really need is water, sun and of course, the perfect soil.
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Letter from the Editors-Sofia F-R Dear Readers, Thank you so much for reading this issue of The Daily Decomposer. This has always been my favorite issue because we get to name organism of the year and describe its contributions to the Soil world. Soil has a special place in my heart and this whole experience that led up to this magazine has been amazing. My fellow editors and I have been involved in a week long experience called the Soil unit. The soil unit taught me that soil plays a huge part in the world we live in. This experience has been a huge eye opener and before this, I did not really understand soil like I do now. We did many things in this unit but my favorite by far was a series of rotations on Tuesday. People were brought in to help teach us about soil. We got really hands on. Some of the things we did were planting an herb garden, planting and garden in front of MUDD and making seed balls and newspaper pots. I got to be really hands on and help people at the same time. We planted an herb garden which the cafeteria will now use for fresh herbs and vegetables. We also helped plant a native gardens and make the grounds beautiful. Lastly I got to take home a strawberry plant and poppy plants. This will help me make my house beautiful and learn about gardening at the same time. In the beginning of the unit we walked to the Arlington gardens and helped plant a community garden near the Ronald McDonald house. I realized that many people take nature for granted and that is what is hurting our planet. In the community garden I thought about how planting and gardening brings people together. It also makes a difference in the world. Soon people are going to be relying on this garden for their nutrition and to keep healthy, I’m glad I could be a part of making a difference in people’s lives. We accomplished all this while learning about soil and what it does for us. Thank You Again, Sofia F-R Page 4
Table of Contents Letter from the Editors
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The Base of Our World
Page 6-
Fern’s Inspiring Speech
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Bloomers of the Huntington Gardens
Page 8–
Nature in the Descango
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Poems
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Westridge Green Propaganda Poster Jokes for laughs
NEW!
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Soil: The Base of our world Soil is necessary for us to survive. It provides a platform for us to walk, live and build on. It gives us jobs, like archaeology while regulating carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases. Many other organisms besides us rely on the soil. It shelters many organisms and animals such as the mole and worms. Soil absorbs water which is later transferred to plants. It houses all our forests, trees and plants. Not only does it provide us with all these things, it houses plants which provide oxygen for us. The plants, which cannot live without soil, provide us with food. In essence without soil, we would cease to live. Soil plays a huge factor in our lives. It helps us to survive and provides us with what we need to live.
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Fungi: The Organism of the Year
Fern’s Inspiring Speech “You don’t know how much of an honor this is!” exclaims Fern when she receives the good news. “I’m just so proud to be Organism of the Year.” Last night, Fern was named The Daily Decomposer’s Organism of the Year for her numerous contributions to the soil world. (See page ) “I’m glad that this could be published,” Fern says solemnly, “not only for the award, but so I can get the word out about the problems concerning our soil loss.” All over the world, soil is being eroded by powerful water and wind. Our source of food, forests, and wildlife are gradually being taken away. “Homes are being destroyed! It’s just so sad!!!” Fern says tearfully. Fortunately, there are solutions to helping prevent soil loss and degradation. The first step is making everybody aware, as Fern has done. This will be most effective in people who work with soil. Another is to keep soil in good condition, attracting more organisms to form a good structure. To get involved, go to soil-net.com for more details. Help the environment, whether it’s breaking down matter to form compost like Fern, or just spreading the word to the world. Without decomposition, organisms would have an overload of nitrogen in them, and would not pass it down to future generations, so no new plants/organisms will grow. The ground would be completely buried in plant material, as they would not decompose without the necessary enzymes needed to break down lignin, which is found in trees. The helpful fungus chews through material, and turns it into the rich soil that we live in. Another reason that we nominated Decomposing fungi for the Daily Decomposer’s organism of the year is because they can break down material more easily than fungi can, resulting in faster decomposition and better soil.
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Moments
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A butterfly dances through the leaves Leaving whispers of its past White irises seem to speak But their voices are caught in their petals Muffled steps of a small creature call to me Asking me to investigate further Leaves are ruffled by the breeze’s shadow Traces of what the wind once was One tree stands solitary The blossoms it carry’s like a mother, are delicate yet powerful Colors flash through my mind as I hold this flower It seems so vulnerable yet at peace Purple, velvety, light But when I open my eyes all I see is red Sounds of distant laughter haunt my past Yet they make no mark on my future I lay down my mind revolving gears turning Wondering what I will do with my last moments The sky is at its bluest peak for me To everyone else around me, it seems to be a dull gray They see in time As I rock back and forth all I hear is the faint squeaking of unoiled hinges Suddenly a creature lands on my finger One touch and the moment will shatter lost forever, like its wings Its feet flit across my hand A noise distracts me I look back and it’s gone I close my eyes for what maybe the last time Wondering if I will ever see the clouds again A moment doesn’t last forever neither did I I blink open my eyes, A butterfly Gone. -Sofia F-R
One Wild and Precious Life By Penelope Above me, the sprawling grey oak spreads its branches across my piece of the sky Rolling April thunderheads shatter the warm silence of the clear Los Angeles blue One lonely innocent palm withers and grows tall against the rest, With only the chaparral on the mountains to compete Overpowering is the buzzing sound of a swarm of bees navigating the maze of poppies In the distance, some type of woodpecker mindlessly drills Camphor’s trunk A hazy sweet scent of purple flowers wafts over the garden, while the thick and musty smell of gravel lurks around my ankles A crusted old flower petal lays rejected against the pathway sand Silken red and velveteen Valley poppies glint as I brush my hand across the shining crimson On my right a crew of yellow daises is scattered across the green A green sycamore’s leaves dwindling when an unfathomable cold breeze churns up the winter Now standing tall, an orange and purple Monarch soars in between the lavender I had just been sitting in A vivid green oasis in the center of a gridlock This is the world as I know it best
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One Wild and Precious Life As I scribble with my head bowed over a journal, I run my fingers through the soft threads tumbling down from my ponytail. Above me, two trees overlap, Forming a roof over my head. I shift in my seat, and the sun glints high in the sky, flashing through the leaves that shade me from this orb of heat. The shrubs that make up the sea of light green are speckled with bright orange poppies, whose smell is wafted by the movement of the laughing and shrieking girls who approach me on my right. When I lift my head, I attempt to look far but my gaze is ended by a neighboring house. I realize, This is a getaway island in the middle of the commotion of the city; a place of peace. Camille
From the structure supporting me beneath my feet, From the soft, fuzzy grass that I run my rough hands over, Sprouts green life from which animals subsist. From which I subsist. In the brown clay that spreads far beyond, In the dark mass that sinks into the earth, Lie discarded cadavers in the fertile soil, From which the green life I exist from grows. From the discarded remains of the dead Rises the fresh, animate living. -Camille
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Barbaric Yawp Penelope When we walk on the shallow ground Do you think of all the creatures past decomposed? Don’t be ashamed if you don’t, as it is a sickening topic Honestly, I didn’t………….. Until now When I realized how delicate the world is when every cycle impacts it We are the soil Our strong voices, eager to make change compose back into the beginnings Even as the soil contains mites, bacteria and fatality of the world as we know it They must come back from the banished shadowy quarters of our mind, along with our greatest fears, to being new life into the scene. You see- Mother Nature has her own way of working magic Turning a new leaf on what is unpresentable There is a reason that we have the process of decomposition, where organisms take the darkness and turn it into the light of new soil Where the earth is reborn again The circle is endless, as we pass on; we turn into a source of new life When we scream our last goodbye With the help of the smallest of creatures, that live in the darkest of places A fresh green life can sprout and grow And we watch it begin again.
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BARBARIC YAWP As I lay down I wonder what will become of me When I close my eyes for the last time When I have no breath left in me because it was stolen by time Will the earthworms find delight in something to live in Will the vultures take me Will the grass wrap me in a blanket Soft as a bird’s feather and then swallow me whole Or will I become part of the earth Part of the ground that produces the very things to make us live The one who hears the crunches of our footsteps everyday and doesn’t complain The one who holds all our weight? Whom we live, breathe and walk on but care nothing about But yet still I will live my life on this things called soil I will live on it and off of it When I do close my eyes I will become part of the soil Plants will sprout through me I will create shelter to the millions of organisms I will continue the circle of life and leave my mark on the world Without the soil there would be no life And I will help it create new life -Sofia F-R
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She dug the plot on Monday, the soil was rich and fine But she forgot to put the dinner on, so out we went to dine. She planted roses Tuesday, she says they are a must. They really were quite lovely, but she forgot to dust. On Wednesday it was daisies they opened with the sun, All pinks and whites and yellows, but the laundry wasn't done. The poppies came on Thursday all bright and cherry red, I guess she really was engrossed, she never made the bed. It was violets here on Friday in colours she adores, It never bothered her at all, the dirt upon our floors. Saturday I hired a maid, I'd not admit defeat, She can garden all she wants now and the house
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