M ay 2 013

·In this Issue:

·Organism of

the Year!!!

Organism

Page 3

C e n t r a l

Organism of the Year–

P. 3-4

Victory Gardens– P. 5-6

Poems– P. 7-10

Pictures– P. 11-14

T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s

Amoebas

Organism of the

Year

M

Amoebas belong to a group of single celled organ-

isms called protozoa. There are approximately five million

amoebas in one teaspoon of soil. Amoebas can live in

salt water, pond water, topsoil, wet soil, and even inside

of animal’s bodies. They mostly live in the topsoil where

oxygen is is available. Their diet consists of mostly algae,

bacteria, plant cells and other types of protozoa. Once

they have eaten, they move their food to a storage ar-

ea where the soil is healthy and fertile.

Amoebas are also known as the soil recycling or-

ganism. Amoebas are not able to consume all bacteria's

and due to this amoebas give back a large amount of

nutrients. Amoebas keep the soil rich and release nutri-

ents into the soil. This makes the soil very fertile and helps

the plants grow.

The soils ecosystem consists of many different organ-

isms and plants. Each animal and plant has a specific

function and together will make fertile soil and good liv-

ing conditions for the animals inhabiting it. At the very

bottom of the food web are amoebas, nematodes, fun-

gi, arthropods, protozoa, algae, bacteria and other

types of microorganisms. There are also many decom-

posers and organic matter in the soil. These organisms all

help filter the soil, circulate the air, clean the water and

keep the soil moist and the water flowing throughout the

soil. All of these organisms work together to maintain a

healthy ecosystem.

Victory Gardens

A victory garden is a community garden that is created to help people who cannot afford to eat when times are hard. Planting victory gardens helped make food for your soldiers fighting in the war. These gardens grew 40% of the food during WWII. Victory gardens can help our community because it helps produce local, non-toxic food. It also uses no pesticides, no chemicals, has more nutrients and vitamins, and can bring the community together. Victory gardens were first started during World War I when the great depression started. It’s also a fun and healthy way to eat!

Poems Barbaric Yawp

By Isabella

You are the unknown and the known.

My feet sink into your soft, wet soil.

Blades of grass pop up in between my toes.

Lemons burst from their blossom.

The dead flowers seem to revive year after year.

Shoots of asparagus break the soil.

Bees land on the lavender, ready for a new flower.

Everything seems so connected. Such harmo-ny.

But am I part of it?

Or are we separated? Is there a barrier be-tween us?

What do I do for you?

Does it hurt? My feet sinking into you.

Do you feel the same as I?

Do you scream out in pain when I pluck a leaf from your stem?

Do you bruise when I put your fruit in be-tween my fingers?

Do you know when one of your kin has passed?

I see you, but do you see me?

Do you know whether I am here or there?

Or am I mystery just as you are to I?

One Wild and Precious Life

By Isabella

My eye catches something bright orange.

A poppy, five of them actually.

Next to them, one lone tree stands.

Its large, sage trunk bursts from the ground.

Its youth is gone, yet there are flowers upon

its branches.

Heart shaped, burgundy leaves flutter by.

Its delicate branches sway, just for a second it

is quiet.

But loud voices break the silence.

I look over to see irises; their petals are thin

paper.

Woodchips, small then large, soft then hard.

When I look up, I see buds on the elder tree.

Down below, there are dead flower petals.

When the new life starts to sprout the oldest

goes.

How delicate life is.

She

Legs crossed along a

spiraling bench

I feel the suns heat and

brightness burn my

skin

Zzzzmmm eye level I

can see where I am

Flecks of green and

lavender entertain my

eyes as

Her hands fondle with

the velvet rose leaf

Whose hair is blown

by the ruffling of

branches?

And eyes that squint to

see

This

What surrounds her?

Her mind chases

thoughts as she

Is surprised by what

she has yet to see

She who has traveled

around and still

Has not noticed what

has surrounded her

Yet she must discover

her world one her own

Why must soil smell so good yet feel weird?!?!?

Why does it become slimy and disgusting, is it compost I am

think of or am I puzzled about what my likings are.

I am imagine that what I am thinking of is compost, the mix-

ture of our resources.

Soil, must be the slimy and crumbly substance that has always

on the soul of my shoe?

It must be the worm filled mush that I will never enjoy or be

satisfied with.

To think that what I am stepping on could be Lucille ball, Frank

Sinatra, or even my neighbor…it spooks me.

Would you want to stand on your idols or loved ones. It's not

likely that you will, considering they are probably buried in a

grave yard, but you are stepping on a resting soul. A soul that

was living.

I must be stepping on a home. On a home to our small friends.

I am though as a giant to worms and a monster to moles. Am I

a Godzilla to those creatures or am I just a disturbance to their

peaceful lives.

But isn't soil the resource used to grow my favorite fruits and

vegetables?

Is it what make chocolate possible..

Yet somehow I never have been fond of this substance.

Let me tell you a secret....it's basically crap. No it IS crap

What is inside this muck?

Its

Crap

Bugs

Poop

People.....

Isn’t it.

What could ever be pleasant about that!

-Zoya A.

Poems “One wild and precious life”

Above me misty white clouds form in the sky,

Drifting through the wind

Birds fly, as fast as lightning along the blue and green horizon

Singing their song of the wind

The hushed chatter of people talk-ing fills the deep blue sky

So distant that is barely a whisper

Jasmine floating through the breeze filling your nose

Making you lose all of your senses

The satin pedals under your touch

As if they were made of golden cloth

All the tiny details drift away in the wind as if they were blades of grass.

What else have you missed?

-Nicole

Barbaric Yawp My feet firmly planted in the soil, slowly sink into the rugged ground, becoming one. The microscopic organisms, crawling in the soil, clinging to my legs as I slowly begin to sink. I don’t scream or yell as I sink, I simply wait. Once I am completely surrounded by soil, I open my eyes They shift from seeing plain soil to all of the beautiful organisms sur-rounding me. I opened my eyes for the first time. -Nicole

Pictures

This is a photo collection of flowers from the Arlington

Gardens. I chose the color pink because it represents

spring and prosperity for nature. I picked these flowers

because they are a newly boomed and represent spring.

Pictures

I chose to capture the beauty of the trees growing on our campus, in my neigh-

borhood and in the beautiful gardens we visited. My montage includes very old

oak, pine, camphor, willow, olive, and cherry blossom trees. The trees ages vary

from 30 to 125 years old! I also wanted to focus on the light and the sun during

the day and how it reflects off the leaves. There are also many close-ups of the

beautiful bark on these diverse trees.

Nature is what us human beings rely on. We de-

pend on trees to supply use with oxygen, and

hope for flowers to blossom. Nature is one of

the most brilliant and amazing piece of our lives.

These are not just photos from a field trip, its

more than that, its our life. We need nature more

than you can ever imagine. Without it we would-

n’t be here, I wouldn’t be talking to you or even

getting an education. Our world revolves around

nature and to be able to capture it is amazing.

Letter to the Editor Letter to the Editor

By Nicole During the soil unit I experienced many opportunities that I wouldn’t be able to

experience on my own. These experiences allowed me to gain a new understanding about soil and nature, and how they affect society and the world today. Before this unit I hadn’t know that soil had such a big impact on what we rely on today.

I also enjoyed going to the Arlington gardens and taking soil samples to see how much bacteria and fungi were in that type of soil. I also thought that all soil would have the same kind of bacteria and fungi, but I found out that soil in different environ-ments can alter the different types of bacteria. Going to the gardens also altered my perspective on something that the community can build together.

My favorite part of this unit was planting the gardens and making Poppy bombs. Even though I didn’t plant the plants in the rain garden I enjoyed learning about native plants and that every year 7th graders make a rain garden. Planting my own strawberry plant and Poppy bombs were really interesting to make because we got to learn how to properly plant a strawberry plant. My favorite activity out of all of them were making the flower bombs.

Also victory gardens played a huge impact in what I learned during this year. I didn’t know that victory gardens supplied 40% of the food during WWII, but were de-veloped during WWI. Also since WWII the number of victory gardens in the US has decreased by a lot. Being able to be part of the beginning process of the new victory garden in Pasadena has allowed me to experience what a victory garden would have looked like. Also I learned that one vegetable bed could provide enough food for a four person family. I am glad I was able to experience all I could during this unit, and it has changed my perspective on soil. I no longer see soil as dirt, but a living ecosystem that can sus-tain life without any human interaction.

Letter to the Editor

The soil unit was an amazing experience! It is a combi-

nation of crazy, surprising and fun! I definitely learned a lot

from this project and will carry that information with me in

the future.

One of my favorite activities that we preformed was

making a water garden on the Westridge campus behind

the mudd building. This was one of my favorite activities be-

cause it will be there as a reminder that we have been edu-

cated about soil and have taken the time to understand

our earth. It was also one of my favorite activities because it

is there as a reminder to our generation that soil does mat-

ter and that we should take care of our only home, earth.

The Arlington gardens was one experience that I will

never forget! I realized how important our earth is and will

never forget. I noticed the cars zooming by, the birds chirp-

ing and even the lizards climbing on the trees! Before us hu-

mans had come to United States it must have been all

green, just imagine. Disneyland would be a vast land of de-

sert and Westridge school would be muck. We have taken

over we have created streets and cars when before that

our earth was all green. It was a trip that changed my train

of thought.

The soil unit was thought changing. I Still may not enjoy

soil or playing with worms but it has definitely changed my

thought on them. They are not just there to disgust you, bit

they are there to keep you alive.

-Zoya

Letters to the Editor

Dear Readers,

Throughout the soil unit, we have been studying, and learning about soil and the effects it has on humans, microorganisms, plants and the earth. We took many field trips, and had lots of hands-on experi-ences. We walked to Arlington gardens to look at the plants, relax, write and study the life in the soil. My favorite part of this was being able to relax and meditate while walking in the labyrinth. The next day we saw a whole new part of a garden. In the beginning we took part in starting the work of the Pasadena Community Garden. I learned even though the garden has been in the process of designing and planning for 3 years, it still has a long way to go until it is ready for families to use. I helped by shoveling some soil into a raised bed while others helped to pull weeds. I was proud of myself because I was able to really get my hands dirty and be close with nature. About a week later, we took one last field trip to a hiking trail above Descanso Gardens, and then we walked around and took in the beauty of the garden.

In addition to field trips, we also were able to talk to experts who came to our school. Together we planted a California native garden, an herb garden that will help support the Commons, a compost bin to fertilize the soil and got to plant and take home a potted strawberry plant, a newspaper pot with poppy seeds, and a clay seed ball. Almost every day, my group and I worked on our Soil Unit Project, which is making this magazine. We worked hard on making the components of the magazine and made sure it was our best work.

We started our unit by learning about victory gardens. A victory garden is a community garden that helps feed people when there is little food or they cannot afford it. I was also able to learn about how soil relates to math and poetry. We learned about Fibonacci and his numbers relating to nature. We read many poems about our relationship to soil and decomposition. One of the poems we read was called, “The Summer Day” by Mary Oliver, which was talking about becoming aware of her short life and feeling guilty from being idle for so long. Another poem we read was, “from This Compost” by Walt Whitman, which was about this man realizing the creatures in the ground and the organic matter he is walking on every day.

I have discovered that learning in many ways can affect the way you look at things or feel about something. My favorite way to learn is to get some information, and then go do something that will help you understand it. I encourage all of my readers to go out and plant some seeds, visit a local garden, start your own garden, plant a flower bed, go to a farmer’s market, take a walk around your neighborhood, or just sit in your backyard. All you have to do is take a tiny step and I promise it will change the way you think about our world.

Isabella

Editor of Amoeba Weekly Magazine

Meet the Editors...

Nicole, Zoya, and Isabella