Soil Kelsey, Makala, Maya

The Social Soil History of Arlington Gardens

Let’s Dig In!

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History of Arlington Gardens Written by Kelsey

Before the Arlington Gardens there were the most elegant houses,

finish it.

plants that do well in our climates While the idea was growing,

have been planted in the gardens.

known as “Pasadena’s Millionaires’

Cal Poly Pomona students drew up

The garden, “Pasadena’s only dedi-

Row.” In April 1902, John Durand

plans for the gardens look, and Pasa-

cated public garden,” changes

bought the 10 acres of property that

dena, the Mckenneys and Pasadena

along the seasons. In the summer,

was well known as the “Arlington

Water and Power worked together for most of the plants take a break. In

Heights.” On this land he built the Du- the idea to come alive. Both the Pas- the fall, the leaves from pomegranrand home, the so-called biggest

adena Beautiful Foundation and the

ate, sycamore, rape myrtle, Chinese

home in Southern California. Land-

Mediterranean Garden Society

Pistache, and the cottonwood trees,

scape architects made a “tropical

showed their support and neighbors

turn either red or yellow. In the winter

paradise” in front of the house; the

of the property donated fund, plants

many colors disappear, though spring

paradise included palms, cacti, and

and garden furniture. However, even

rain brings color and life to the gar-

century plants such as roses and chry- with all this going, many thought the

dens. Schools including our own

santhemums. This property belonged

school have come to the gardens

to the family until 1960 when John M

idea was only a vision.

With the help of Councilmem-

and helped doing community service.

Durand III passed away. All art pieces bers Steve Madison and Sid Tyler and

In 2010, Mayfield Senior School

and furniture were sold at a public

Mayor Bill Bogaard, all supporting the

helped make a seven circuit laby-

auction and the home was torn

idea, and the partnership with Pasa-

rinth. We use the garden as part of

down.

dena and Pasadena Water and Pow- our soil unit and the summer program.

In 2003, Pasadena began to

er, the idea moved further. The 3

Both Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts have

think about how to use the property

acre space was covered with mulch,

come and helped make the garden

that had been an empty space with

a simple irrigation system was in-

flourish. Visitors are always allowed to

only a few trees. They decided that it stalled, and the garden was separat-

visit the garden anytime and any day

would not be meant for playing fields, ed into sections to make level areas

they would like. Arlington Gardens is

restrooms, or parking lots. Betty

to meet in. Finally in July 2005, reps

always open.

McKenney developed the idea of a

from Pasadena and Pasadena Water

climate garden. Everyone held onto

and Power and neighbors, the first

that idea, but no one started the pro-

plants and trees were planted in Ar-

ject. It was Betty and Kicker who used lington Gardens. Since then practitheir idea and were determined to

cally 400 trees and a huge diversity of

Organism of the Year: The Earthworm Kelsey , Makala , Maya

Thanks to soil, plants are able to grow and produce food.

Soil itself is a household to many organisms. These organisms hold nutrients that plants need and helps make soil. Soil is also part of climate change, for its organic matter holds a large quantity of carbon. Humans depend on plants for wild flowers and forest.

Soil helps trees grow, which provides oxygen for us. We also depend on soil for farming and food production. However, as the world’s population has increased, soil has been used more to make food at a more rapid pace. With the help of fertilizer and improved mechanization, the new rapid production rate has been easier to handle. Still, in places with hardship and poverty, these advanced techniques can’t be used or accessed. Some of the reasons poverty happens in dry, unreliable climate conditions is because the soil is unable to produce enough food to feed the population. Soil is also the foundation to many of our buildings.

Our cities are built on top of soil.

For recreational sports, such as football or soccer, soil is important for a quality foundation.

With soil and good climate locations, major forests of the world have grown and thrived; timber and fuel comes from these rain forests. Also, many plants and animals are able to thrive and live happily in these forests.

Top soil is a mixture of dead plants & animals and dead plants within the soil. There is also occasionally food from people composting. Top soil holds a lot of power over the nutrient cycle.

Plant remains are torn apart by animals and other organisms to form organic matter; the nutrients in the organic matter are taken by organisms and chemical happenings within the soil. After that, the nutrients are sucked in by the roots of the plants growing in the soil and the plants continues its growth. Organic matter happens at a reasonable rate where the nutrients cycle is unbroken. It is usually wellmaintained as long as it has a natural conditions. However in the past 60 years, there has been a big decline in organic matter. In places where humans have gotten in the way and interviewed, you need to modify the topsoil because the nutrient cycle is being interrupted. Farmers have tried to maintain it, but many arms are unable to get farmyard manure. If you use farmyard manure, it increases the organic matter. There are ways to make sure organic matter can be increased in soils. Organic soil is very fragile. It can shrink from the loss of water, and dry out on the surface since they are light. Soil erosion is washing away or blowing away the top part of the soil cover. However, it is a major concern all around the world. India and China are two countries that are losing soil 30 times faster than new soil is forming. We rely on soil for food and wildlife. Without it, we could lose important components of our ecosystem, such as the two listed above. This year, the annelid is the Organism of the Year. You may have heard

or seen them before as they are known as the earthworm or night crawlers. The earthworm is responsible for many things these help our soil stay healthy in order to grow healthy plants. There are about 2700 species of earthworms around the world. Earthworms have a soft brown, pink, or red body. They are covered with chemoreceptors, which are sense organs that find chemicals in the soil. These organs help earthworms taste things.

Earthworms dig large burrows that allow water and air to get in the soil. When water and air are let into the soil, it helps stops erosion and brings water and air to the roots of plants. The burrows also make it easier for the plant roots to move around easier in the soil. The earthworms drag leaves and bits of plants into the soil. While they burrow, earthworms swallow soil to eat the plant matter. Earthworms help turn the soil and bring organic matter down to mix with the soil.

The swallowed soil then goes through it’s body and is left in piles on the top of the ground.

This process is called castings.

Casting is responsible for part of the soils structure. It is great fertilizer and people who farm worms collect the castings and sell it to gardeners.

As you can see, worms are a huge help to keeping soil healthy. They create their own fertilizer by just doing what they normally do. The earthworm contributes a lot to soil, as they change the structure of our environment. It’s contributions to the soil are the reasons why the earthworm is the Organism of the Year.

Written by Maya

Soil is made up of a lot of things The list goes on just like a string Rocks, humus, water, and air They're all part of the soil cycle which I’m going to share The first step starts with the Earth’s crust Which can be broken down by a single gust This process, does have name Weathering or erosion, it’s all the same When contact is made with the atmosphere And things break down there’s no need to fear This is called weathering and weathering is good Because sometimes this step is misunderstood Then there’s erosion which makes rocks move It makes them shift and fall, don’t worry this is all approved Thanks to weathering, and erosion The rocks break down to pieces, like there was an explosion Smaller plants can grow in these pieces of rock Which slowly start to smell like a dirty sock Over time the rocks start to break down And humus takes away the soil’s frown When the soil is more livable and organisms come Organisms make the soil more fertile and less glum This process can take up to more than 1,000 years Which makes this message pretty clear Soil helps us and this proves There is no need for the Soil Cycle to be removed

POEMS by

At the Garden

Our Beloved Soil

I hear animal noises They are different, yet They mean the same Calling to those near them I see tall green figures They surround me everywhere I turn I watch families Explore the garden Admiring everything that is in their sight Pink flowers, yellow bees, green plants They appear everywhere I turn I feel the breeze Creating shadows As it blows across the city I smell a variety Rosemary, mysterious stenches, nothing I touch rocks That have journeyed Through many stages To get to where they are There, it’s an entirely different world

It scares me; the first thought comes to mind I am sickened by what has become of us I see our world in a different state I see the destruction of our beloved soil I see nothing but what we created Why is it that what is beneath our feet Be what we need most We destroy The key to our lives And we just sit there Watching us ruin our beloved soil With applying cement on the top How do we expect herbs, orchards, and us To grow without nutrition Our growing communities mean Houses are built above our beloved soil Every crumb is a privilege Every seed is valued We begin to stop caring We begin to stop caring about our home

POEMS by Barbaric Yawp I’m inside, protected from the outside world Outside my window, I see the bright foggy blue sky I see four different kinds of trees each with a different history I wonder how each one got here There’s a tall tree floating in the wind right in front of me I don’t know what kind of tree it is All I know is that it’s thriving The soil underneath it must be healthy I see a huge hill cover in shrubs and grass A little house sits at the base of the hill A farmer steps out of the house shovel in hand He walks to a garden which is covered in beautiful majestic flowers He shovels all the flowers out and over time the soil becomes unhealthy Organism leave the soil and the nutrient cycle is out of balance There is vast open space at the base of a hill The ground has not been watered or touched for decades The only plants in eyesight are desert bushes Even the bushes are dying The roots of the bushes are slowly breaking up the hard soil A slightly fertile land is untended A woman lays compost all along the dirt In one year the land is already swarming with microorganisms The soil is thriving I wonder if this tree or any tree lived in one of these soil climates I wonder if animals have come and gone because of how the soil changed The soil always lives As humans, animals, and plants come and go the soil lives Soil is filled with memories of our past and present and soon to be future How lucky the soil is!

Spring Day Up, the cloudless blue sky is covered by a cloth made of forest green cotton In the distance, the dark grey paneling of an old house Listen closely, the sound of cars rushing down the street It steals the sweet escape of a serene and peaceful jungle the garden gives In my ear, I hear the sound of birds happily chirping A powerful scent fills the air as a delicate lavender leaf skims my nose Turn around; I notice the grand maple tree providing shade for me Look forward, the olive trees glisten and shine dancing in the wind A vine made of light purple wisteria arches over a bench, spring Some things seem as if they don’t belong, I know they’re meant to be there Everything has a purpose

POEMS by Yawp You and I are the same The heat, wind, and rain break us down to create something new We soak up sun every day Water nourishes us everyday Without water we would dry out and be blown away by the wind People have misconceptions about soil People have misconceptions about me We help others thrive Overtime we both change into different things We both change to help others and become stronger to help the earth LLLLLARRRGGMMMMMMTTT!!!

Above me a luminous shape fills the never ending blue sky filled with wisps of white cotton candy clouds Above I hear wing rushing through big tree branches In the distance if I look closely I see a tiny red and white creature pecking its way through thick tree bark The strong scent of sweet lavender fills my nose as the wind sweeps it around me Ever so often does the aroma of soil and lavender mix and make a fragrance that tickles my senses After a short time the smell of fresh cut grass overwhelms both whiffs and it makes me wrinkle my nose I feel something that is soft like the inside of freshly cooked baguette It smell reminds me of an exotic island filled with many bizarre birds and colorful flowers When I open my eyes. All it is, is an orange flower petal Right of me I see a girl my age As she gracefully looks back and forth from writing and taking in her surroundings Her curious eyes darting all around the garden Her face serious but I still see that she is happy Together we are looking around and quickly looking down to our notebook to record what we see there.

Vivid pink and blue flowers are sprouting everywhere around my feet These flowers, giving me a new perspective on how vivid life is and how vivid nature is to

MMK recently visited different gardens in Pasadena! They visited Arlington Gardens, a local garden near Huntington Hospital, and Westridge School during their trip. Pictures were leaked of the band planting flowers and working with worms during their visit. They matched in Ollie Organism’s new line of khaki skirts and sweatshirts for their first day and continued to match the next day with Sabrina Soil yoga pants and Frances Fungi shoes.

Letter From Editor Dear Readers, The Soil Unit was a great experience and I had a fun time. For the past 7 days, I have learned about soil in different ways. From field trips to classes, we learned all things soil, all which we used to create our soil magazines.

In the first week of the unit, we visited the Arlington Gardens. The Arlington Gardens is “Pasadena’s only committed Garden”. Many schools including ours have helped take care of the garden. There I found inspiration for my “One Wild and Precious Life” poem, learned about the labyrinth, and gathered soil samples to later compare microorganisms. It was there where I learned how to appreciate nature. I’ve never thought nature was important, but after sitting down and observing what surrounds me, I realized how nice it is to have wildlife in our environment.

We also visited the Pasadena Community Garden, where we helped pull out the weeds and mix soil with manure. I learned about the kinds of soil there are: sand, silt, and clay. We were shown regular soil and composted soil. I was very surprised how different they look from each other. The composted soil looked somewhat “cleaner” than the regular soil. We did projects on campus as well. Gardeners came to Westridge and assisted us in planting our addition to the rain garden and herb garden, build a worm bin, study the trees on campus, and make our own seed bombs and strawberry plants to take home for our own gardens. It was a day that I will never forget.

Ms. Lukens taught us the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers with each number the quantity of the two numbers before. Ms. Lukens gave us a rabbit problem for us to solve; we had to find the sequence, which is the Fibonacci sequence. It was challenging since I thought of many ideas, but they never worked. Finally, after many tries, I was able to figure it out. I am proud of that because I was able to figure it out myself. After learning the Fibonacci sequence, we took pictures of the sequence in nature. I was surprised by how many things have the numbers in the sequence!

The 7th grade was split into groups of 3 and each group was to create their own soil magazine.

We used these experiences to create our magazines, spending multiple blocks only focusing on them.

There have been many instances were it was hard to work in groups because people sometimes don’t focus, dilly-dally, or don’t even work and have the rest of the group do it. However my group, Maya, Makala, and myself worked extremely well together. We stayed focused the entire time, never argued, and even finished half of the magazine in just one day! When writing the organism of the year paper was much simpler than we imagined, only because we all answered the homework questions well. By just adding all our effort and work together, we became closer and closer to finishing every minute.

There were a few challenges throughout the unit. First of all, all of our field trips were outdoors and in the middle of the day. It was very hot outside and many of us ran out of water before we were finished. There were also many, many bugs flying around us. Every Time we pulled out a weed a bug would fly out. One tree at the Arlington Gardens held a beehive and there were a numerous amount of bees flying around next to the labyrinth. The last challenge was having to work where people were running around. Many girls were chasing each other while we worked on our magazines. That made it challenging to stay focused, but we were able to ignore most of it.

I am very proud of what I accomplished and what my group accomplished. I myself get distracted very easily. I loose focus all the time and that does not help with finishing within a certain time. Surprisingly I was able to do just the opposite this time, barely loosing focus when working in our groups. I was also able to make an entirely waste free lunch, twice! I packed and used everything that was reusable and never had to throw anything away. I find that very impressive considering that I rarely bring my own lunch to school. Like I had said before, I am proud of my group for how much of our magazine we were able to complete. We all succeeded in finishing our parts of the project by the due dates we created. The three of us worked extraordinarily well together and since we are all great friends, we had fun through it all.

— Kelsey

Letter to the Editor Dear Readers, Lately I’ve been part of an interesting unit having to do with this magazine. It’s called the Soil Unit. Prior to the Soil Unit, I was also part of something called the Water Unit which was interesting as well. During the Soil Unit, I’ve got to know soil in all different kinds of ways. I visited soil from a math, English, science, and history perspective. I never knew you could incorporate soil and teach it through so many subjects.

For the English part of this unit, we did wrote poems and read stories. For the first poem we had to write, we visited a community garden in Pasadena. This garden is filled with plants that can live in hot weather and waterless situations. Because this is a community garden, it can’t always be tended to and watered. As we walked around this beautiful garden, we were asked to notice the things around us. We looked up, in the distance, and right in front of us. We were also asked to hear and smell the things around us. Once we gathered all this information, we wrote a poem about it. Another thing that helped us write the poem was reading other similar poems.

We read The Summer Day by Mary Oliver and Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota by James Wright.

We also did another poem, the “One Wild and Precious Life” poem. The assignment was to make a poem that could possibly take someone's breath away. This turned out to be a lot harder and a lot more confusing than expected. For our inspiration we read a story called Clyde’s Pickup. This story was about a man who was away from his car for so long that soil formed and plants blossomed. We also read a story called Saint Phocas as Fertilizer. This story was about a man who used his body to make the soil more fertile. I noticed that in both these stories, there’s some type of sacrifice which really made me think what my poem should be about.

For history, we learned about a labyrinth in Arlington Gardens. This kind of labyrinth is a lot different from what I thought it would be. Apparently when you’re walking to the center you think about stressful things, on the way back, you release those things. It’s supposed to be a form of meditation. My classmates and I did this and it was a really cool experience.

For math, we did a cool exercise called the Golden Ratio. It showed how math is s woven in with nature all around you. Also, we learned about something called the Fibonacci sequence. My classmates and I went outside and searched for things in the natural world that had one of the Fibonacci numbers. It was incredible how many things did. From the petals of a flower to the number of leaves on a branch, they showed up everywhere.

For science, we did a really cool lab at Arlington Gardens. We took samples of soil, petals, and even spit and put them in petri dishes. After about 5 days we opened them again. It was really interesting to see all the organism that had grown in these petri dishes in only 5 days. There were some downsides though. When some natural things sit for a while untended too, they can get moldy. Mold is an organism though, so its appearance was expected. What wasn’t expected was how much the mold and other organisms were going to smell. After studying each dish we cataloged our information in our packets.

Speaking of cataloged, another thing we’ve been doing is working on soil magazines.

And if you haven’t figured it out yet, this is the soil magazine I’m talking about! The other editors (my classmates) in my group, have been really awesome to work with and I think we’ve made an AMAZING magazine and I hope you do too! Thanks for reading!

Sincerely, Maya

Letter From the Editor Dear Reader, This week has been crazy! My fellow editors and I have learned a lot about soil, and how it helps the earth. I learned a lot about myself while taking field trips Descanso gardens, Pasadena community garden and Arlington garden. At the beginning I had a hard time getting into it because of the bugs but when we got into it I started to warm up to the nature as we did many rotations at Westridge doing tree walks, planting strawberries, and tending to the rain gardens at school. While I conquered some of my fears I had to face my fear of spiders, worms and other creatures that make their home tin gardens. In finish I had a great time learning to breaking through my comfort zone while learning about the thing that helps nourish our world, soil.

-Makala