Organism of the Year The annual organism of the year is the Amoeba, thanks to her amazing work in supporting our soil. The soil on this earth is slowly declining but the Amoeba is hard at work trying to keep it alive. Even the food you eat wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for soil. That gooey warm chocolate cupcake you get at your local bakery wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for soil. The food we eat comes from plants which are supported by soil. So this year, we’re taking the time to thank the Amoeba for supporting our soil, which in turn supports all of our yummy desserts and more importantly, ourselves. The amoeba plays an important role in mineralizing nutrients and making them available for plants to use. Protozoans eat bacteria and release the extra nitrogen in way of ammonium. This process usually happens near the plant’s roots. The bacteria and other organisms usually take up most of the nitrogen, but some is taken by the plant. Nitrogen helps the plant grow in a healthier condition and helps it survive the summer conditions.
Soil is one of the most important things in the world but is generally overlooked. It supports farming and even the buildings that make up Pasadena. That delicious hamburger is there because a cow was eating grass, and that grass is there because of the soil. The beautiful flowers that scour the countryside grow in rich soil. We depend on soil to live. Our food is made in the soil; trees are made in soil to; Our soil supports many different types of flowering plants, and shrubs. Soil is important for forests and lawns. The soil is why we have many of the things we have. This is the same soil the Amoeba supports Soil loss is a big issue. It takes one hundred years for the earth to produce one inch of topsoil. The US is losing soil ten times faster than it can be produced naturally. Most of the soil washes into the rivers, streams, and lakes. We are also losing soil by covering so much of it with concrete. We have damaged the soil by putting chemical fertilizers and pesticides to help grow plants. Soil loss also creates a bigger chance of floods.
One Wild and Precious Life Poem Arlington Garden Poem Chirp, chirp The birds fly among purples and greens Bees buzz by the flowers Purple pastel flowers pile on the ground Colored papers float on the bushes Light in the sun Dark in the shadows Above me, the bright blue billowing wind Cottony clouds clinging to the sky The chair next to me is covered with crevices Yet still silky smooth This beauty covers the Earth Yet so few see it -Olivia MK
Barbaric Yawp Poem Connected Through Dirt My hand runs through the dirt The dirt that consumed my ancestors That turned them back into earth My hand runs through the dirt The dirt that grows my food The dirt that holds more organisms than the universe holds stars My hand runs through the dirt The dirt that will one day consume me The dirt that will one day be my home My hand leaves the dirt As I shovel it onto the ground The ground that will bear new food The ground that keeps us alive -Olivia MK
One Wild and Precious Life Poem Alone…or not? The Jacaranda blooms; Its flowers cascading above my head. The cracked grooved branches, block the blazing sun. The cloudy blue sky, barely revealed. Crisp lavender flowers crunching beneath my feet. The flowers are soft like velvet on my favorite sweater. A field of cloves hiding the streets; And green faded bushes blocking my path. The white roses and trees far in the distance. No street lights, no cars; Just the sound of birds chirping above me. No sign of human life; But I am not alone; I am loved, By Nature. -Sarah B.
Barbaric Yawp Poem Connections Dirt? Soil? Why should we care? The stereotype of dirt is harsh: Gross, useless, unnecessary. That is all wrong, all too wrong, But even I have thought some of those things about dirt. Never once have I said soil is useless. Sure, I have said it’s gross, But who hasn't? I see soil all the time, The trees in my yard, The flowers in the garden. Soil is everywhere. As a kid I would always go and play in the mud. Dirt was my toy. At the same time, my mom would be gardening. My dad would be reading on a lounge chair. Food. Houses. Plants. You name it. Everything goes back to the soil. -Sarah B.
One Wild and Precious Life Poem Arlington Garden Poem Overhead, I see the thick canvas of the patio umbrella Patterned with leaves of different viridescent tones Shading my eyes from the radiant fire glowing in the sky The eerie silhouettes of the oak trees scar the dirt Fragrant lavender blossoms tracing the wounds I hear the distant blank chatter of my classmates The wind softly rustling the leafy branches awake from their siesta And the light tread of feet on gravel Causing the birds in the treetops to flutter uneasily in their nests As they chirp out a restless tune The dusty perfume of the old wooden deck chairs lingers in the air And the spicy aroma of crushed peppercorns tickles my nose I sigh Why haven’t I met nature before? -Katie L.
Barbaric Yawp Poem Barbaric Yawp I am everything I am the bed you rest your head on I am the house you inhabit I am the ground you stand on Look for me everywhere I live anywhere your eyes wander to and more You can find me under the creaky boards of your porch deck Wedged between the gray tiles on the roof I yell my barbaric yawp and watch it echo I nourish you and aid you We together are a cycle A circle of life -Katie L.
History of Arlington Gardens Arlington Gardens is located in Pasadena and is home to many different plants. All the plants come together forming the beautiful public garden. Inside there are many succulent and cactus gardens. Arroyo Secco like pathways lead to a Verna pool. There are orange groves laid out to resemble historical California orange groves. Benches and paths are placed throughout the scenic gardens. To truly understand the beauty one must go and take in the serene gardens. Arlington Gardens is open every day of the year for people to come and visit free of charge. The plants found throughout the gardens are examples of plants that live in harmony with the climate. Many animals and insects are sheltered within the depths of the garden. It is also a good example of sustainable land use. The garden uses 20 tons of reclaimed concrete and a swale found along the parkway in partner with beams placed around the garden capture thousands of gallons of water after each rain. This 3 acre lot is owned by Caltrans and leased to the City of Pasadena. The lot was meant to be a staging area for the 710 freeway but due to its vacancy a council member decided to start a project for this lot. He had Betty and Charles “Kicker� McKenney to determine the best use of the vacant lot. The neighbors were interested in passive development so they decided to turn it into a garden. The garden was designed by Mayita Dinos who was inspired by the book Sun Drenched Gardens: The Mediterranean Style. The garden received much support and supported the community in turn. It is completely ecofriendly and allows schools to come so they can learn horticulture. -Olivia MK
History Continued... Arlington Garden is known as the only dedicated public garden in Pasadena and is located on 275 Arlington Drive. Over a hundred years ago, in the April of 1902, John Durand bought ten acres – which is half a block of property – known as ‘Arlington Heights’ where the garden is today. After three years of work remaking a French chateau Mr. Durand admired, a charming mansion had been built. It was said to be the largest home in Southern California, with 17,000 square feet of floor space and fifty rooms in three stories. The property stayed with his family until Durand passed away in 1960. John’s furnishings and art were sold at a public auction, but his home was unfortunately destroyed. In 2003, the city of Pasadena began to suggest uses for the empty estate, which at that time only had two mature oaks, a jacaranda, a California pepper, and five different varieties of palms. After a city council member named Steve Madison asked the community what they’d like to see on the vacant property, they were unsure about what they wanted until Betty McKenney suggested that they develop a water-wise Mediterranean climate garden. The idea was approved by the city and its residents and with that, Betty and her husband, Kicker, began on the project. Today, gardens and orchards are once more being grown on the remaining three acres of the native property. Nearly four hundred trees have been planted since then, as well as a diverse arrangement of plants that do well in the Californian weather. The McKenneys created paths that ran all over the garden and built a labyrinth with the help of the sophomores from Mayfield Senior School in October of 2010. Many residents still enjoy themselves at the Arlington Garden, whether it’s taking a walk there or having a small picnic with their families, and will continue to cherish the beautiful garden for a long time. -Katie L.
Soil
By: Sarah B.
Letters from the Editors Dear Reader, In the past week of the Soil Unit, I learned a lot about our environment and I also had a lot of fun doing all the different activities! The first outdoor activity we did was when we went to the Arlington Garden, which was only a short walk away. There were different stations there and I started with the poem station, where we wrote our ‘A Wild and Precious Life’ poem. I found it really peaceful and relaxing while I was writing and taking note of the scenery around me and I’d love to do it again. At the next station, my group and I went through the labyrinth and it took a lot longer than I thought it would to get in and out, but it was really calming and it helped me take my mind off things. At the last station, Sarah B, Olivia MK, and I put different types of bacteria in petri dishes. Four had different dirt samples, which included ‘topsoil’, ‘path soil’, ‘under topsoil’, and ‘under path soil’. The last three included one petri dish with the bacteria from air, one petri dish with the bacteria from our fingers, and one with the bacteria from the bottom of Sarah’s water bottle. The two petri dishes that had the most different types of bacteria were the finger one and the air one, which both had four different types. The next day, we learned about community gardens and how important they were to people that lived in urban areas and couldn’t get to organic and homegrown foods easily. The day after that, we went to the Millard and Rubio canyons in Altadena and my group mulched the whole morning and I never actually thought it would be that fun. Time passed by really quickly as I spent the morning filling wheelbarrows with mulch and raking the mulch over the weeds to prevent them from growing and to collect water for the tree roots. When we got back from Memorial weekend on Tuesday, we got straight into the dirt and worked on our campus and planted flowers, created seed balls and newspaper pots, made worm bins, and found out more about our trees at Westridge. Overall, I really enjoyed the Soil Unit and I wish we had more time to enjoy this great experience! Sincerely, Katie L.
Letters from the Editors Dear Reader, The soil unit was an unforgettable experience. It was definitely more fun than I thought it would be. When kids like me hear that we are going to be learning about dirt, it is a little strange. No one really thinks about the soil, and to think that we were going to spend a full two weeks on it, surprised me. Now I realize that there is so much to learn about soil. I wish that everyone could have the chance to do this. This unit brought daily challenges and learning experiences. On the first day I realized how out of touch we are with nature. We spent most of our day in Arlington Garden. Being in nature allows us to relax our minds, and forget about everything that is happening. I could hold the tree pose without falling. You couldn’t even see the street. It may have been a very relaxing day, but it isn’t possible to have a day without any challenges. It was hard to relax when we were walking in the labyrinth, there were too many people. That is a problem with our life. We are always surrounded by people and electronics, our mind doesn’t have a chance to relax. This day was a very mind opening day. I opened my mind to learning more about our earth. This helped us in the next few days. We learned many things during the next two days. It was mostly rotations where we watched videos, filled out worksheets, and learned about the basics of soil. We learned that community garden are important to sustaining our planet. We learned that there is a pattern commonly used in nature. We learned to always read the labels. We learned that things can decompose anywhere (including in a truck). These days were very informative. Some of it was fun, but I wish there were more hands on activities. The next day made up for that. We worked shoveling mulch into wheelbarrows then distributing it onto the grass. It was a very labor filled day, but fun nevertheless. We learned that mulch absorbs water, and can lower the risk of floods. Mulch can also, if layered thick enough, kill the invasive grasses growing. On the other days we worked on our magazine, which seems very fun. We have to make propaganda posters, and I really liked coming up with a slogan and drawing the picture. We did have to research a lot of information,
and that wasn’t as fun to do, but I enjoyed learning about what Amoeba do to help the soil. The soil unit was a great experience. I liked it much better than the water unit. We hear about water issues all of the time; we never hear about soil. Soil needs to be paid attention to, and it's our job to spread the word. Help the soil. Stop hurting it. We need to work together to inform people about soil. Give everyone the experience that we got. It was a great two weeks, but let’s pass on our knowledge. Let the people know that they can make a change. Sincerely, Sarah B.
Letters from the Editors Dear Reader, The soil unit has been a truly enriching experience. It has connected me to my food and nature in a whole new way. I now better understand the process through which I receive my food and how much soil is involved in my everyday life. The soil unit has taught me how soil is formed and given me hands-on experience with nature. I had a tremendous amount of fun planting in the rain gardens, making seed balls and learning about plants. My favorite day would have to be today, the day we planted plants, made seed bombs and learned about the trees that surround our campus. I have also learned a great deal about the challenges our generation and all future generations will face. The soil unit has inspired me to try to save the earth and plant my own foods. Today after learning about the trees on campus I went home and told my mom about a tree that will enrich the soil making it healthier for our fruit trees. Along with these hands-on experiences, I got to learn about the science behind soil, such as how soil forms and how many organisms there are in soil. We dug deeper than just soil. We got into the life supported by soil, poems written about soil, our connection to nature and why we have to take care of the earth. I also got to know more about people in our class through this experience. During our trip to Arlington gardens, I feel like I bonded with nature. While sitting in the serene gardens surrounded by the chirping of birds and green plants, I really enjoyed myself, which actually surprised me. The garden was beautiful. I especially enjoyed the orange grove, and I had fun collecting soil samples to see how many organisms grew in the soil. I grew my love and connection with nature through poems, science, hands -on activities and art/creativity. The propaganda posters made me think about how we can reach out to people and have them help too. Not only are these things healthier for people as individuals they are healthier for the planet.
Learning about the victory gardens made me smile. It seems like such an awesome thing to develop a sense of community around something that benefits the earth. It’s hard to imagine that 40% of fruits and vegetables came from community gardens during World War I. Through this experience I’ve really thought about what I can do to help; what we all can do. I have learned and lived the experiences that will guide me as I try to help the earth and deepen my connection to nature. I’ve really experienced nature’s beauty and I feel that change is coming. The soil unit is helping us learn the necessary skills we need to guide that change and support it. Sincerely, Olivia MK
That’s it for this weeks issue of Protist Paper.
Written By: Sarah B, Olivia MK, and Katie L.