Sophia Liza Jenna

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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ORGANISM OF THE YEAR………………………………………………………..2 POEM PAGE……………………………………………………………….………….3-4 “LETS TALK” WITH MS. MARCUS BY: JENNA …………………………...5 FREE RIP OUT POSTER……………………………………………………………..6 PICTURE COLLAGE BY: LIZA …………………………………………………7-8 PICTURE COLLAGE BY: SOPHIA……………………….………………….9-10 LETTERS FROM THE EDITORS……………………………………………11-13

ORGANISM OF THE YEAR!!!!!

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Soil is one of the most important elements to life on earth. One of the major building blocks of civilization is agriculture. Without soil, the human race would have probably died out from lack of food. Soil is home to trees which make the oxygen we breathe. Soil is the home to billions of species. A lot of those are decomposers. Decomposers create healthy nutrients for the soil. The plants use those nutrients and we eat a lot of those plants. Without decomposers, we would be eating less healthy food.

Thousands of species of bacteria fill the soil. Most are decomposers.

They recycle the energy stored in dead organic matter back into plant food.

Other bacteria make nutrients with the help of host plants. For example, bacteria living in the roots of plants like peas and clover turn nitrogen from the air into fertilizer. A few bacteria can get energy from minerals instead of organic matter. Some of these can even feed on chemical pollution. Bacterial colonies make slime that helps them stick to soil particles. The slime also sticks soil particles to each other. These gooey clumps help hold water in the soil. Plant roots can easily grow through the spaces between these clumps. Bacteria are vital in the recycling of nutrients, and many steps in nutrient cycles depend on these organisms.

Soil Loss is a very big problem for humans, animals and plants. Soil loss does not only affect fertile land, but also increases pollution that goes into streams and kills fish and other animals. Soil is the earth’s skin that holds down all life on earth. Erosion is also a big problem, many plants actually increase erosion causing it to be a bigger problem. In addition to erosion, soil quality is majorly affected, Impacts like these include compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation, and soil salinity. These impacts can cause major problems for the earth. The health of the soil is one of the major concerns in farmers lives. Many communities of people, plants and animals are being affected by this issue, as it continues to grow as a problem.

POEM PAGE

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BARBARIC YAWPS: Still Here

Journeys I am disrupted

Some say that when you die Your body passes And your spirit stays But that’s not true The body never really goes away

The cool grass on my bare feet calls to me Pulling me down closer to its roots The humming bird zooms by Eager to see what is at the end of its journey The daisies brush my ankles

When your are missing me

I am urged to pick one

Lift your foot

I now know not to

Eat a vegetable Then I will be in your company again —Jenna

Not to break the connection of the roots and the petals Not to spend moments of my short life stopping another Why Should I pick one?

To display the flower that could have done so much?

Rooted

To stop the bees from their job?

Grounded you stand Unable to move Entrenched in the soil below Unearthing life and introducing moist darkness to the sky.

Kissed, the life underneath blossoms at your pant leg.

Stopping another Butterfly to land delicately on the petals?

Striving up your body, rooting you to the ground with it.

Something so simple, and subject to change, The Earth itself crumbles.

—Sophia

Their journey?

No, I will carry on My journey awaits me The endless dirt path beckons me Whispering to me Telling me to go forth and follow its path to the end —Liza

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POEM PAGE WILD AND PRECIOUS LIFE POEMS: What is Nature

Just Like Home

What is Nature?

Above me- grey skies like hurricanes

The foreign songs that birds sing

Broken bush

The bloodstained petals of a rose Rosemary that leaves the long lasting scent on my hand I sit here, surrounded by various plants With different shapes and sizes, attracting a little bee or a beautiful butterfly

Broken homes.

Bench like home Cold Arcadia Where a legacy has lasted

Where will he go to next?

Smells like rosemary

Will I see him again?

Like the memories of older days

Even for a small second A small moment of time that I will probably not remember Looking out to the silhouettes of long branches in the distance Surrounded I look up at the arc of vines and the soft leaves hanging Vast colonies of green On through every breath of wind

Every droplet of water that falls from the cloudy sky While the chilled wood of this bench presses against my bare legs Leaving a mark that will soon vanish These small things Although they don’t last I will always remember —Liza

interrupted by yellow concealed by brown bordering on all sides except the sky who has no circumference.

Red fruits enlarge, feeding as a tree above lets go another one collects, constant motion.

To the rhythm I tap.

—Sophia

Eat more she said You’ve only had one serving she said Laugh and sing On the darkest of days Just like home My eyes are now open To the past that is somehow now —Jenna

“Let’s Talk” with Ms. Marcus, Service Learning Teacher

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By Jenna Q: What does your job have to do with soil?

A: “The seventh grade students work on environmental projects and some have to do with gardening and soil so they have to know about it” Q: What is your favorite kind of garden?

A: “Vegetable gardens are my favorite.”

Q: What is your favorite gardening tool?

A: “My favorite tool has to be a rake” Q: What is your “spirit plant”?

A: “My spirit plant has to be a sunflower” Q: Why do you like to garden?

A: “I like to get dirty and you get to see the fruits of labor (figuratively and physically). You get out of it what you put into it.”

Q: What is your vegetable of choice?

A: “My favorite vegetable has to be a spaghetti squash”

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Picture #1

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Many things are key elements in gardens, even flowers. Many people think that flowers are just for show. What they do not realize is that the life of a flower is very important. Bees and butterflies along with other insects go to the flower. They pollinate and then go and spread the pollen somewhere else to grow more flowers. This system keeps bugs alive along with creating CO2 when in the process of photosynthesis. This sunflower is not just pretty, but a key source to our environment.

Picture #2 A lot of the things that we grow, we can eat too! Eating the food that you grow is extremely healthy! This is because you know where it came from, you did not put any pesticides, and it is a whole food! When the 7th grade class went to Ron Finley’s garden, we found that most of the things that he grew were food! One of the many things that he grew was pomegranates. Pomegranates grow on trees. They are very healthy and delicious!

Picture #3 In the Soil Unit, We are learning how important soil is for the world. Not only does it provide for plants, but it also provides for us! Soil is the thing that is keeping everything alive! It is full of nutrients for the plants and animals, if we did not have plants, then we would not have CO2!

If we did not have animals, than a lot of our food product would be cut down. We cannot have plants without animals! Soil is very often underestimated, without soil, most of the beautiful things on this planet would not exist!

Picture #4

Bees are a major part in the cycle of life, not only do they provide us with the sweet honey that we all love they also are pollinators! They go from flower to flower, spreading the pollen seeds of that plant, and distributing it all over! They help flowers and us live, they are small, but mighty!

Picture #5

You can get Lettuce from a lot of places, but the best place to get it from is your garden!

Whole foods that you grow yourself are the best foods! If you grow your own food, you will get to see life in your garden. Gardens will attract lots of helpful critters that will help your garden thrive!

There is nothing better that fresh lettuce in your salad and cute creatures in your garden.

Picture #6 California is in a drought so you will see a lot of people re-planting their gardens with drought tolerant plants. Succulents are the best plant that you can put in your garden! They are drought tolerant so they need barely any water, and they are the very pretty to look at! Succulents are all over the place and they are amazing plants that can help us save water!

Picture #7 Growing your own food is great, not only do you get fresh produce like tomatoes, but also you get an incredible garden of your own! Tomatoes are yummy, and very easy to grow! Instead of spending money on tomatoes, why not grow your own! “Growing a tomato is like growing money” – Ron Finley

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10 The Ron Finley Project By: Sophia When we went to Mr. Finley’s street garden, I was inspired. We were immediately talked to about the garden (how it began etc.)

Being at the garden motivational. I took pictures of the best looking plants I could find, but that was hard because it all looked so good. Mostly what I snapshot was colorful things, I have some really good pictures of some Swiss chard that I really like.

I took all of these pictures at Ron Finley’s garden. Being there was really fun, I could not believe that he had so much growing out of the sidewalk. Then when we went into his backyard, I was stunned. I loved how he drained his pool and filled it with all sorts of plants that I had never seen before. He utilized every square inch of space he had. I saw some succulents growing off the wall!

Who wore it best?

Mackenzie Mango?

OR Amanda Apple?

A: Mackenzie Mango

Dear readers of Mulch Magazine,

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The soil unit was inspiring and motivational. It was an experience that I think everyone should have. My favorite part was the field trip to Ron Finley’s garden. It was so cool that he went out of his way to do something that no one else wanted to do, even though everyone knew the problem they faced. I loved how generous he was. He let anyone come and pick his garden if they were hungry. When we listened to his Ted Talk, I didn’t really understand how a garden could grow out of the sidewalk. I also did not get what a food desert was. Ron Finley did a great job of explaining everything, and I was motivated to replant the garden in my backyard.

The field trip to Arlington Gardens was also super fun. My favorite part of that trip was the peaceful sanctuary in which I got to write a poem. Writing poems really relaxes me. I also loved the labyrinth. Before I went in it, I was skeptical that it would completely clear my mind. But it actually worked! I really have never had that feeling before, of complete emptiness.

For the third field trip I went to Rubio Canyon where I got to pull weeds and mulch. That was really fun. I had never realized how fun getting dirty can be. Usually when I garden in my backyard, I have to wear gloves or I get disgusted and have to stop immediately. Now I have seen it all.

The Soil Unit was a great experience and I will never forget how much I learned.

Sincerely, Sophia

Dear Readers,

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The soil unit was an amazing experience for me. I loved the fun projects, field trips and lessons that I will never forget. Going to Ron Finley’s garden was one of the many highlights for me. Seeing how much pride he shows in his garden is inspiring, and how one person has changed so many lives was fascinating to me. Seeing so many different gardens and meeting people who are creating gardens and natural habitats to help the world save water and animals is an awesome thing to experience. I have been so inspired to create water reduction gardens and help the world save water. The projects and field trips has been so much fun for me and I have learned so much. Another highlight in the soil unit is on Tuesday when we had rotations through different things that helped us learned how we can help make our own gardens that can help the earth. These different rotations have helped me see different ways to help the earth and inspired me to create water saving gardens at my house and at Westridge. Having the experience of going to see so many people who are making an impact on this world is amazing, and I will forever remember my experience in the soil unit.

Sincerely, Liza

13 Dear Reader, Over the course of the past couple weeks I have learned a lot about soil and all of the components to it. I didn’t realize until this experience how much of our lives depend on soil. I learned that soil is the home to billions of species and a lot of them help us. Soil is the home to trees which supply our oxygen. Soil is where most of our food grows. Agriculture is one of the larger building blocks of society. I always knew these facts in the back of my mind but I am only now realizing the power that soil has.

During the soil unit we took a couple field trips, but my favorite was the one to Ron Finley’s house. When we got there I was surprised to see how large the garden was. I was expecting a small patch of dirt, a couple trees, and some bushes. The actual garden is very large and all of the plants are thriving. The inside of his house was even more surprising. His empty pool didn’t only look cool, but was a home to lots of gardening supplies and smaller plants. This entire field trip taught me that you don’t need a lot to get a large outcome. Ron told us that he has no idea how much it costs to run his garden. He gets all of his supplies through donations. With the help of a community, you can make something that makes a difference to everyone.

Throughout the soil unit, we have had to really think hard about things that seem basic. Some examples of questions are “how is soil made?” and “why does soil matter?” We also had to find peace and reflect upon ourselves. These caused us to really delve deep and question everything we know about the topic. That really helped me understand the importance of putting healthy things in the soil , and the importance of soil in a whole.

Sincerely, Jenna

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