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Volume 1, Issue 1
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Soiler Alert!
Volume 1, Issue 1
Cover art by Isabella G
What to read? “One Wild and Precious Life” Poems.........................................................................1 Mulch and me..............................................................................................................2 Life as an Amoeba.......................................................................................................3 Arlington Gardens Photos...........................................................................................4 Inner Yawp Poems......................................................................................................5 It's a Bigger Part of your Life......................................................................................6 "Health=Veggies" Poster.............................................................................................7 Letters from the Editors.........................................................................................8-10
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Volume 1, Issue 1
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One Wild and Precious Life Lovely Things As I look around, sights, scents, sounds, and feelings surround me Why does rosemary have such a lovely smell? Why do the trees group together on the horizon? Why does the sound of a gentle breeze rustling the leaves soothe me? Sometimes things are meant to be questioned and thought about But sometimes all you can do is enjoy them I could sit around wondering why all the lovely things are the way they are Or I could look around, feel the plants, smell the garden, and listen to the sounds And just enjoy these beautiful things instead of questioning why they are - Rosalie L Unprotected The songs of birds surround me. Palm trees and Pine trees grow as far as I can see. The scents of lavender, the sea, and wood perfume the air. A succulent to my left feels like dried juicy mango. To my immediate right is a bush that has lived there since the beginning of time. A mini lamb’s ear sits in the middle of the path. From far, it looks like just a piece of a plant that has broken off. Up close, I feel as if I am on an airplane looking down on a giant bush and some boulders. It’s a whole other universe down there. A dim light seeps through the trees in the distance. The dark clouds are illuminated by the invisible sun. I step away, and a new brighter light reaches my eyes. I no longer have a thick pine tree to block the light in front of me. There is no more umbrella over my head. - Reese O
Nature Above me the luster of the sunlight glowed through the leaves, and through those crevices, I could decipher the faint shadows of my classmates walking along the manicured path. The chitter of the birds could be heard within the noises of the man-made machines and humming of the bees. The flowers held scents hat would hypnotize your senses making you want to stay there forever and savor the aromas. Even the velvety flowers and fuzzy leaves could make anyone want to lay down and get lost in the abyss of nature, whilst drowning yourself in the smells and noises. The quote beside me reads: “Faith is taking the first step, Even if you don’t see the whole staircase.” -Unknown A risk can be each petal of a flower. Each one is created with a risk of surviving, although with each risk comes its natural beauty. A tree holds knowledge and trust, by the permanent marks carved into it. A leaf shows the growth and togetherness of the plant, through its structure. Each part of nature revolves around its society, like Earth revolving around the sun. Each cycle, with its own importance, shines the beauty of life. - Isabella G
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Volume 1, Issue 1
Mulch and Me Rosalie L
I stand on top of a huge pile of mulch as the steam rises and the smell of eucalyptus wafts in the air. We poor the mulch into buckets that are then poured on top of unwanted weeds to kill them. The group runs up hillsides while scattering the mulch on top of the plants. I scoop it as I watch the different decomposing organisms lurking in the soil and doing their job of decomposing. Mulch is a material such as decaying leaves or bark that is spread around a plant to enrich or insulate soil. Bacteria and other decomposing organisms such as rolly pollies work to break down the pile of mulch and turn it into compost that can fertilize the soil. This results in steam that rises from the mulch because the decomposers are releasing energy as they work. By putting two to three inches of mulch on top of weeds, it insulates them, and they do not have enough energy to break through the layer of mulch. This also helps to keep moisture in the soil to save water and prevent fires from happening. Mulch is helpful to the environment in many ways. As we left Millard Canyon, I noticed the drastic change in the landscape around me. Instead of the dry, weed infested area that we arrived to in the morning, it was now a healthier and cleaner looking environment. As time goes on, I know the mulch will fertilize and insulate the soil, and help it to become even healthier so that many more creatures can come to live in.
Rosalie L pouring mulch on weeds
Reese O shoveling mulch.
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Life as an Amoeba Rosalie L, Isabella G and Reese O
The most known reason why soil is important to us is food production. It’s simple: without soil, we have no food. Food is the main source of energy for heterotrophs, so we need soil for that reason. Soil is also necessary for forests around the world and flowering plants to grow. The forests are home to many animals that would lose their homes without the soil. Not only does soil provide nutrients for other living things, it also is a home to many organisms. These organisms help support the plants in the soil. Soil guides what happens to the rain and the snow. It distributes the water to the plants, water sources or sediments. Soil can also play a huge role in reducing the impact of climate change and global warming because it can store large amounts of carbon in its organic matter. The foundation of a lot of the infrastructure in our civilizations is built on a base of soil. Soil is also something we depend on for leisure. A lot of sports we play are on fields of grass that depend on soil or courts that are built in buildings built on soil. It can also preserve places and things of archaeological value. These are a few of many of the reasons why soil matters. Soil loss is one of the world’s most prominent environmental problems. This is caused by erosion. Soil erosion is a gradual destruction of soil by water and winds. This is a problem because soil is one of the world’s most treasured resources and we are slowly but drastically losing it. When people use farming practices that don’t return nutrients back to the soil, it is more vulnerable to erosion. To help stop this process, we need to put carbon back into the soil by stopping bad farming practices such as pesticides. It is necessary that we stop this problem before it is too late and we lose this extremely important resource. Amoebae are made of single cells, and they are protozoans. Due to their shapeless bodies, they can resemble blobs of jelly with no hard parts. In order to move, an amoeba can use very flexible pseudopods, and sometimes there can be two or more. With these pseudopods, you can tell the difference between different types of amoebas. Another part of an amoeba is the contractile vacuole, which expels excess water out of the cell. The rest of the parts of an amoeba are the endoplasm, ectoplasm, membrane, nucleus, and its food vacuole. Missing one of these parts could kill the amoeba. Amoebae help our soil by returning the extra nutrients that they could not hold in their bodies. With these nutrients, plants can grow and flourish. Since amoeba and other protozoa breathe in oxygen, it is also good for the top layers of soil and the plants’ roots. Without amoebae, our plants wouldn’t be as well off, and our soil wouldn’t be as rich. For these reasons, we chose the amoeba as our organism of the year.
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Volume 1, Issue 1
Arlington Gardens Photos Photos taken by Isabella G
Through this photo essay, I tried to show the beauty of the smallest of things. Some people do not stop to look at the way flowers, plants, and people are made and how they hold such personality. I tried to convey the smallest of beautifications in everything in Arlington Gardens. For example the small details that make up the Nigella, the vibrant colors, the stringy stems, and the technique that the carver used for the angel statue, and how it has been worn down over the years. Break time with popsicles
Yellow Yarrow
Arrow Setosa Succulent
Angel statue
“Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
White Bougainvillea
Nigella or Devil or Love in a Mist Flower
Volume 1, Issue 1
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Inner Yawp Poems Forests The forest invites my hidden feelings to come and play. It tells them myths and stories. The forest discovered new personalities and thoughts, that I never knew had existed. The wind whispers the hidden secrets, and the dandelions answer back. My bare feet softened the ground as I treaded throughout the ivy. My lungs breathed in the moist air, collecting every concealed water droplet. Nature’s music drifts through the air, luring my eyes to drift closed. -Isabella G Our Home, Our Life The wind, the water, the plants, and the soil! The wind carries the sounds and the seeds that fertilize the plants The water gives life to all things on earth The plants give food and oxygen for all creatures And the soil grows things, and is home to the decomposing bacteria that makes the soil The wind, the water, the plants, and the soil! They all come together to form the earth The magnificent earth where things are born and things die! We come from the earth and go back to the earth The earth is our home and our life -Rosalie L
The Cycle Bushes beside me sway in the wind. I walk. The dirt beneath me crunches. I walk. An apple core to my left sits beneath a succulent. Decomposers and microorganisms feed on it. Someday, I will be that apple, decaying in the soil. Until then, I will do what I can to give back to that dirt. Until then, I walk on. We will all die, we will return our chemicals to the soil. It’s our thank you to the Earth. We live for 85 years, and we return our carbon to our planet. Our planet recycles our nutrients; to the plants, to the soil. We may eat those nutrients, and pass them down to children. It’s a never-ending cycle: Living, Dying, Decomposing, Returning. -Reese O
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Volume 1, Issue 1
It’s a Bigger Part of your Life Reese O
My Song This song was written to discuss how important soil is, because not many of us know about it. It mentions food production that soil helps provide, the fact the soil is a home that microorganisms live in, the buildings that are supported by soil, the fact that it guides water, and many more reasons why soil matters. We don't really understand the importance of soil because it's not too well known or thought about. This is an original song sung by Reese O with accompaniment by Zellie O on the cello, and Kristen B-O on the piano. The vocal and cello parts were written by Reese O and the piano part was written by Kristen B-O. Enjoy!
Song Lyrics: You wake up in the mornin’ and you eat your breakfast. But you never stop to wonder where it comes from; the wheat and the sugar, all those nutrients. You can trace them back to plants, or the seeds they sprout from, but where they really come from is the soil! Open your front door, look at your front yard; the green grass that grows, and the soil underneath. It’s home to several microorganisms. It’s a bigger part of your life than you think. You’re headin’ out the door and you look back at your house. You realize your home is all built on soil! It distributes the water from the snow and rainfall. Your life really depends on the soil! Open your front door, look at your front yard; the green grass that grows, and the soil underneath. It’s home to several microorganisms. It’s a bigger part of your life than you think. The food you eat, the sports you play. Flowers surround. Trees they grow all around you. The buildings you live in, and the water that pours everywhere. All of these things and more depend on the soil! Open your front door, look at your front yard; the green grass that grows, and the soil underneath. It’s home to several microorganisms. It’s a bigger part of your life than you think. It’s a bigger part of your life than you think. The soil (x7).
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Volume 1, Issue 1
Letters from Editors Dear readers, The soil unit was an eight day series of lessons about soil, things related to soil or plants, and the importance of it. These lessons combined components from the core subjects of history, English, science, and math. In this unit, we did a mix of lessons, field trips, work, and projects to learn about and experience the importance of soil. We learned about many important things as well as experiencing them ourselves by taking trips to different places. We learned about food deserts, which are places where there is no easy access to fresh produce in the area. This can lead to unhealthy eating, which leads to health problems such as obesity. Then, we were able to experience this by going to South Los Angeles, a food desert, and seeing someone's neighborhood food garden that gives people the option to eat healthy in the area. We then learned about the importance of soil and how it can affect a community. To show this, our groups created propaganda posters to promote healthy eating. Another experience we were able to have was at Mallard Canyon in Altadena where we helped the soil and the environment by pouring decomposing mulch on weeds to insulate the soil and kill invasive species. Along the way, we have written poems that reflect the importance of soil and praise the earth as well as reflecting on our experiences each day with nightly reflections. To wrap up the Soil Unit and show what we learned, our groups wrote online soil magazines about our experiences, our knowledge, and an important organism for the soil. These experiences that we had in the soil unit were educational and important, and opened up my eyes to different issues and importances. I have faced many challenges and had many surprises, as well as many great experiences. These lessons and experiences helped me to feel more connected to the earth and soil and made me aware of the effects of our actions. Thanks, Rosalie L
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Dear readers, These past two weeks have created some of my favorite memories of 7th grade. Together we have gardened, watched birds, weeded the rain garden, and mulched the ground. We have also have participated in many fun field trips such as trips to Ron Finley’s house and Arlington Gardens. My favorite was meeting Ron Finley who showed me that wherever you are you can help your environment, and the surrounding people in your neighborhood. During the soil unit, I feel like I have really gotten to know each one of my classmates because of the many fabulous projects that we’ve created together. I also know that I wouldn't be able to do any of this unit without Reese and Rosalie. Even though we didn't have many subjects with each other, and we didn't hang out as much, I feel like the soil unit brought us together and we created such a wonderful magazine. This unit has really showed me all the different ways we can improve our environment and how much soil does for us and how we should save it. I also learned so much more on amoebae and their life. All together, I think that this project was a great way to learn fun facts about soil and work as a team. Thanks, Isabella G
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Dear readers, Over the past eight days, my 7th grade class and I have been studying soil in an indepth unit. We’ve participated in a variety of field trips, from mulching at Millard Canyon to learning about food deserts with Ron Finley at his house. During this unit we’ve explored the impact of soil in communities, how soil is formed, what factors make up the soil ecosystem, what topsoil degradation is, and what we can do to help our local community’s soil be as healthy as possible. At Millard Canyon, we started out carrying buckets up the hill and pouring the mulch down, but we were eventually able to create an assembly line that went up the hill with buckets of mulch. It turned out to be much more effective, and it made mulching easier. We were able to move to all parts of the hill to mulch. Not only have I learned about soil and its effects, but I’ve also learned about teamwork and perseverance in this unit. We were told by Ron Finley and many other environmental specialists that not many 7 th graders in the world learn about soil and what it does. We learned at Ron Finley’s house that just that just planting a garden in the grassy area between the sidewalk and the street in front of your house can affect so many people. Simple sunflowers can attract bees, provide sunflower seeds and make you smile as well. So go out into the world and spread the word! Coming into this unit, I barely knew anything about soil. I thought that soil was just another name for dirt, but there is so much more to it than that. This magazine is the culminating project for this unit. We hope you learned something new in this e-zine, and we hope that you can now appreciate soil in a different way. And remember, grow your food and eat healthy! Thanks, Reese O