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Table of Contents Page 3
Organism of the Year
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Poems about Soil
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Poems about Soil (continued)
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Poems about Soil (continued)
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Poems about Soil (continued)
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History about Arlington Garden
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Urban Farming
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Profile of a Plant
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Propaganda Poster
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Letter from the Editor
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Letter from the Editor (continued)
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Letter from the Editor (continued)
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THE ORGANISM OF THE YEAR by Paloma, Ava, Lauren
Soil is very important to everyone. It provides plants with the ability to grow, and it is a home to many different organisms. Plants are important to our lives because they provide us with the majority of our oxygen and crops. Soil is formed when weathering or erosion breaks down rocks with wind/air and or water. Over time, the hard rock surface will turn into fertile ground which can support the life of a plant. Although, this process can take a long time to happen, around 10,000 years. Another important part of soil is humus which is dead or decomposing material that enriches the soil. Because soil is so important, it is necessary that we have a lot of it. Humans are a large reason why there have been a recent loss of soil. This happens by erosion and weathering. We have put strain on soil to help produce many crops in crop fields, which weakens it. So when water or winds comes by, it disperses the soil, and sometimes takes it to unwanted places, like urban communities. To help we can stop intensive farming, also we can give organic matter to our plants. Most of you think of nematodes as roundworms that infect humans, animals, and plants. But, what if we told you that nematodes are important to the agricultural world. Much more is known about plant-parasitic nematodes versus the nematodes that parasitize mammals. First of all, free-living nematodes don’t parasitize plants, and they also benefit the decomposition of organic matter. These nematodes are known as free-living nematodes. They feed on decaying material, insects, or other nematodes, rather than the cell material of plants and humans. Think of the police, nematodes are your very own plant pest-killers. Upon finding a pest, they enter into it through a body opening, and into the body wall. As they approach the inside, they release an extremely toxic bacterium, which immediately starts to kill the larva within 48 hours. After the bacteria fades away, the nematode repeats the process. The nematodes can also reproduce in these pests. Nematodes reproduce through sexual reproduction. Some nematodes are transparent, they are usually around 1/500 of an inch. Nematodes can live all over the place, such as marine habitats, freshwater habitats, and, the ones we are focusing on, soil nematodes. Nematodes are abundant in the soil around plant roots, because that is rich in other insects. Plant-parasitic nematodes are able to get a large amount of food from the soil habitat. . 90% of nematodes live in the top 15cm of soil. They do not decompose, but rather are either parasitic or free-living organisms, that feed on living organisms. They can regulate populations of bacteria, and may eat up to 5,000 bacteria per minute. 5
Poems about Soil
Earth’s complicated Characteristics By Paloma Above me I hear the birds chirping, but when I look up, all I can see is the bright blue sky. From far away, I can listen to the echo of cars and the rumble of construction. As I take notes, a leaf falls onto my table after the wind blows it from its tree. I take a closer look and I notice the leaf has lost most of its color. It must be dying. Beneath my feet the dirt rubs against my shoes. The dirt of the walking path is exposed to the scorching sun while a section of it is untouched and protected by the shade of the greenery . To my left is a power line pole and to my right is a flourishing tree. The tree is free and sways in the wind, but the pole is stationary and really it has no life. Why does everything have to be so complicated?
Landslide by Paloma Something made me plant two seedlings yesterday, and that something was my dad. I dug up the rough dirt by softening it with water. After I placed the plants in the hole, the youngsters were struck by a foul storm of damp mud!
The mud slid down the small hill smacking the plants down. My crane-like hands swooped down and grabbed the plants, before further damage. Although I was forced to plant the seedlings, I ended up enjoying saving the young plants.
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One Small Moment By Ava
Above me An open canvas Covered in blue A leaf brushes my head A flower floats into reach Far off Songbirds fly on Singing their songs And the wind blows Rustling the leaves Of the olive trees Reminding me of cars driving by At midnight When all is quiet My view of the world Tainted By us The smell of spices, sage, flowers, Muffled a bit By the smell of exhaust The sun burns my legs And I shield my arms I hide in man-made shade Though I know I must leave in a while I lose myself in the Silence And for the first time in a while I breathe easy I breathe fully And for the first time in a while Life is peaceful Life goes on
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Time By Ava Looking at the tree For a moment You might mistake it for a flock of birds Taking flight Then look down See a group of young children falling in the mud One by one The birds take flight You step on the soil Tracing the paths Of millions of feet Slightly older Sneaker prints Tracing the paths Of what walked Centuries ago Look under the earth Watch the flowers grow And feel the earth shake Under light footsteps Midnight laughs Howling winds I cannot walk away On this earth You may see A silhouette Or two Trying to walk on So You look down And you see the girls again And you see me And you wave I feel it In the earth
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Soil Unit Poem By Lauren
Above dark, elegant, crows biker bitterly Greenery vivid and alive Flowers with vibrant pearly pink petals Fountains releasing water like a birds’ song Stems so long like a rope twisting around each root Branches growing in every direction Like dancers arms flowing within the air Insects spooking around hidden within the wonderland A huge vast space filled with living things UN interrupted Except for my footsteps leaving a noticeable trace in the grey dirt The day peaceful except for a howl in the wind of drifting trees Are you in your inner peace?
Barbaric Yawp By Lauren
Shredded dark charcoal dusted amongst the floor My shuffling feet pound over it rubbing the a wash of black over my feet I never respected you yet you hold what I eat You are the underworld I never thought of you as anything to do with me Yet you're everywhere and apart of most things
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The History of Arlington Garden By Paloma Arlington Garden is a three acre home to a Mediterranean style garden. It is also the only devoted public garden in Pasadena. This garden is open to the public and open every single day of the year, with no entry fee needed. It is a great place for relaxing, education, and recreation. The garden was built at an empty lot that was awaiting the construction of the 710 freeway but it was never built. In 2003, the city had to make use of the lot so they had a discussion of how they could use that space. A woman named Betty McKenny had a suggestion. She proposed that the empty space should be turned into a Mediterranean garden that would be open to the public. The City looked more into the idea and soon started drawing blue prints and visuals of what the garden might look like. Finally, in July 2005, the first couple of trees were planted. Lots of people contributed to the garden to get it started. Some donated money, plants, furniture, and other things to help. To this day there are over 400 trees planted, thanks to help from the community of Pasadena.
An example of some of the beau ful plants at Arlington Garden
Some girls walking through a labyrinth at the garden.
Just some of the furniture that is surrounded by nature.
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Urban Farms By Ava S. Greensgrow Farms is an urban farm, located in the heart of Philadelphia. They grow over 20 types of vegetables, and produce about 2,000 pounds of vegetables. Greensgrow Farms was once a toxic slab of concrete, but it has been turned into a flourishing farm. Greensgrow Farms started as a hydroponic lettuce farm. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in water with minerals. It grew 13 different types of lettuce and mustard greens for restaurants in the area. With lots of effort, it is no longer a hydroponics farm, and has been replaced with other forms of technology. They sell their produce to local restaurants, producing less CO2 for the atmosphere. This is just one benefit of an urban farm. They also have a farm stand, which is just what it sounds like, a stand selling farm produce. So Greensgrow is improving the environment in many ways. Exposing this new generation to healthy foods grown locally is the right idea. And many people are trying it too. All over the country, and not just in the USA, people are starting urban farms. Greensgrow is a very successful urban farm, and is something that all urban farms should aspire to be.
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Profile of a Plant By Lauren
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Propaganda Poster
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Letters From the Editors Dear Readers,
For the past two weeks, I got the opportunity to expand my knowledge on soil and the importance of it. I also tackled on many challenges as well. I learned that everyone depends on soil to survive, plants are grown in soil and it is a home to many different organisms. Soil is made by weathering and erosion which break down rock and make the ground an area that can support the life of a plant. Because food is so involved with soil I got the chance to be able to figure out where our food comes from, and the difference between an organic plant and a plant grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizer. Every day we would meet in Mudd, and rotate around different rotations, learning and interacting with soil. One day we got went on field trip to the Arroyo Foothills to spread mulch on invasive plants and used it to bring nutrients to the soil. The mulch came from one single tree and we used shovel to put the mulch in wheelbarrows. We then pushed the wheelbarrow up a small hill, and dumped it on invasive grass. When we were running out of mulch, I got a large load, and it was very hard to push the wheelbarrow up the hill which now seemed like a steep mountain. Part of my mulch managed to fall out but I was still able to get up the hill. At the end I was surprised and proud of everyone. We all worked hard and we were able to finish thirty minutes early by working together and making the everything into games. For example we scored people on how well they dumped out their mulch and tried to see who could go up the hill the fastest with a wheelbarrow. I think that was the day where I learned the most, faced the most challenges, and had the most fun. On the last academic day of the soil unit we had special guests that specialized with soil and we got to plant fresh vegetables in our own school community. Overall, I was glad that I got the opportunity to learn more about something that I encounter every single day and that is an important part of everyone’s survival.
Sincerely, Paloma (Co-Editor )
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Dear Reader,
The soil unit has been such a great experience. I have loved getting my hands dirty and making clay balls all the way to planting an herb garden. There have been several challenging points as well. We tackled many different topics involving soil like the importance of it for little things like supporting our houses. Soil is the upper layer of earth, which is where plants grow. It usually consists of organic remains, clay, and rock sediments. Soil is also one of the main components in our food; as well we are fortunate to have such fresh ripe vegetables. This was also a common topic; we learned the difference between a mono crop and an organic crop. On certain days we went on cool field trips or did interactive activities on campus. One day we went to a garden close by to learn about the world around us. We explored the grounds and learned about different plants, we also entered labyrinth. Which opened our minds to think about all the living things around us. Another day we went to Arroyo Foothills and spread mulch amongst unwanted grass. This mulch came from one tree, I believe it was grinded up. We learned how mulch is good for the soil and how it can prevent droughts and floods. We took large wheelbarrows rolled them up a hill and dumped the mulch all over the wild grass and repeated. This was one of the largest challenges for me to be honest I am not the best worker in the outdoors. Yet this was a blast. Plus, this was learning about something in a different way vs. just sitting in a desk chair for hours and staring at a screen. In conclusion, I thought this was so much fun. I expanded more awareness towards soil instead of thinking of it as dirt. I would love to do more units involving outdoor learning and hands on activities
Best, Lauren G. (Co-Editor )
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Dear Reader, Over the Soil Unit, we have had many experiences. Some were fun, others, a step far out of our comfort zones. For example, the day we mulched, I felt a bit worried about it, however, once we started to mulch, I found that it was actually really fun. Part of it may have been due to the fact that we were surrounded by friends, and could not see any clocks, so we didn’t have anything to look to. But aside from that, I actually did have a lot of fun raking, shoveling, and wheel barrowing. On May 27th, master gardeners came in to teach us about gardening. We created seed-balls, which involved molding mud-like substances into balls, which I personally was not exactly ecstatic about. Some people even had to shovel worms into dirt, and I know that I would not have looked forward to doing that, but people said it wasn’t bad, and it was actually fun. We did a tree walk, where we walked around and learned about the trees on campus and their benefits to the environment, and we also weeded, which was fun, regardless of the fact that I nearly got my hand amputated by someone wielding a garden tool. Over all, the Soil Unit really opened my eyes to the environment, and all the organisms living in it. I realized that soil really does matter in more ways than just growing the plants. Soil is it’s own ecosystem, it helps humans and animals to live, and it contains CO2. Soil is a very complex part of the environment, and I wish I had learned about it sooner. I really enjoyed the Soil Unit as a whole, and I hope that in future years this continues, and those students enjoy it.
Thanks, Ava (Co-Editor )
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