Hi Everyone, If it's safe wherever you are, go outside! ...this could mean sitting on the front steps, opening a window, sitting in the backyard or on the deck, standing on the sidewalk, or going for a walk in your neighborhood, if that's possible. *Be sure to follow all of the safety guidelines for your area while you're outside. But, whatever your access to the outdoors is, do whatever you can to get some fresh air and sun!!! We have to take very good care of our bodies and minds right now. Drinking water and getting in nature helps this in a BIG way!
I love this video from Farmer Rivka about making sun tea!
*If you don't have access to a garden, you can put fruit in your water like apples, berries, oranges, or cucumbers to keep yourself excited about staying hydrated. I like to put ginger in my water, too!
We'll do a virtual tour of other Berkeley Public School gardens today - so you can see what's happening out there, in the big green world...
*If you picked up one of our seed kits or if you have some seeds to plant of your own, you can find even more seed planting information here, from Farmer Marlee!
Everyone, everywhere - get outside if you can and take care!
Things have been above average busy in the garden and packing up our classrooms at school. I know many of us are adapting to new schedules, timelines, and we have tasks that need to be done before the official end of the school year. (Tangent) *The toughest thing for me to manage right now is what to do with student work. We keep beautiful journals in the school garden! Kids work so thoughtfully and take so much time to journal, write, and draw many garden activities. Calm, quiet, and careful moments are often captured in student work in the garden, and now, our box of journal pages needs to somehow be handed back to students for summer reflection (or recycling). *Elsa from Frozen would say, "Let it go," but there's just something so scientific and perfect about student art. Anyways, the BUG BOARDS! Upon careful inspection, I noticed my bug board was very dry, even though we had rain last week. I wonder if the creepy crawlies need more moisture to thrive? It reminds me of crunchy granola!
Let's look underneath:
Hmmm, it doesn't look like anyone is home that can be seen with just our eyes. Maybe we need a microscope!
*That RED stuff is actually flower petals from the Bottle Brush tree that grows over where I placed my bug board.
I moved the leaf litter around a little and it was very dry. I didn't find any creepy crawlies, but, I did see some fungus growing on a piece of mulch!
See the white moldy stuff? That's part of fungus called "mycelium" and it's like the roots of the fungus!
*Looking under my bug board led me to another thought - I wonder if my bug board hasn't been there long enough to attract some friends...
I now have to do a science experiment using the scientific method:
Purpose - What if I look under something that has been on the ground for a longer time?
Research - Creepy crawlies like dark, damp places like old logs, rocks, and places that have been on the ground for a long time.
Hypothesis - I think more critters will be under an object that has been on the ground for a longer amount of time.
Procedure/Experiment - Go look under something more established!
Data/Analysis - I decided to look under some tiles that I use as a pathway and sure enough:
...there is a small millipede friend living under this tile!
Conclusion - I'd have to run a few more tests, but, I bet the longer you leave your bug board, the more time will pass and more creepy crawlies will come visit!
Great job today scientists and remember, even if no one is living underneath your bug board YET, the important thing is to stay curious, check on it, and continue to ask questions!
Alright Artists, Students, Scientists, and Creepy Crawly Allies EVERYWHERE - have a calm weekend! ...and get outside if you can!
Berkeley Public Schools are on holiday today to honor the life, contributions, and legacy of Malcolm X. We have an elementary school named after him and their garden is HUGE and wonderful - one of the oldest in the district. The garden teacher has been teaching garden education there for over 20 years! Here is her spring video:
You'll notice that Farmer Rivka makes a "weedo," which is a term they've coined for when students walk around the garden and make a "burrito" out of whatever they can find.
They use favorite plants like kale, nasturtium (hot cheetos), broccoli flowers, herbs, and other tasty edibles like miner's lettuce (full of vitamin C!) to make a healthy, filling meal or recess time snack.
Providing access to healthy, filling meals at school is part of the legacy of Malcom X - who became an activist to fight against the injustices affecting his community.
He influenced the Black Panther Party, who started numerous community programs, including providing free breakfast for school kids. This program still exists today.
We know that malnutrition, inequitable access to healthy food, and the subsequent health issues that arise because of diet, disproportionately affect People of Color and other marginalized groups in our society.
We can make schools more equitable by making sure that all children have access to healthy food, learn about growing their own food, and share their food knowledge with their communities.
In the city of Berkeley, the school garden program staff are passionate about food, access, and education.
Farmer Jesse says, "With this plant sale, our goals are to support local food security, encourage students and their families to garden at home, inspire curiosity about science and the natural world, and empower everyone in our school community to nourish themselves and their families. The way I see it, this is food justice in action."
Willard Middle School also teaches a class called "Growing Leaders" where students grow, cook, and sell their own food to learn about nutrition, science, and business.
And of course, the Edible Schoolyard at Martin Luther King Jr Middle School, started by Alice Waters, furthers The Black Panther's work by feeding kids at school.
Growing food and sharing it with our communities is a great way to take a stand against racism, other injustices, and, in the words of Malcom X to build a more equitable society.
"Revolution is based on land. Land is the basis of all independence. Land is the basis of freedom, justice, and equality." -Malcom X
Well, we made it to another Friday, Friends! And in the Bay Area, we had some rain, which is ALWAYS a good thing. More in the forecast! (My gratitude for the day is done - what are you grateful for today?)
Now that the sun's out, let's get outside and look for some bugs! I just looked out of my window and saw a fly go past, so, if you are inside, you can still look for bugs. *Let's stretch, get to a window, or step outside if it is safe! ...Maybe this isn't comforting, but those bugs, they are EVERYWHERE!!! So if you're an inside entomologist, maybe get close to the ground, or check around the compost bin, or look up in a corner to see if some bug friends are hiding out. (Draw or photo journal what you find!) Activity: Make a Bug Board 1. Use a rock, log, piece of wood, or cardboard box to make a "safe zone" for some bugs (or creepy crawlies) 2. Place this item on the ground in a safe place (put a weight on top of it if you're using a cardboard box so it doesn't blow away) 3. Wait a few days! 4. Predict - who might be living under your Bug Board? 5. Look underneath to see who's there! I wonder if the placement of the Bug Board matters? I put my Bug Board under a tree, near the compost bin.
What happens if you put yours in the middle of a sunny place? We'll check our Bug Boards on Monday to see if anyone has moved in! In the meantime, you might want to join "The Outside Every Day Challenge" from the folks at Thorne Nature Experience!
I am super into podcasts right now and my favorite is called "Sidedoor," from the Smithsonian Institute. This week's was all about Monarch butterflies and since we've been focusing on adaptations, pollination, and the "essential workers" who help our garden, I thought it would be good to do an introduction to bugs. Butterflies are definitely essential to our garden. And again, if you eat, then you are depending on insects like butterflies and bees to make your food, too. You can listen to the podcast here: The People's Insect Okay, side note on Sidedoor over! ...What's an insect?
Be careful not to confuse our insect friends with our spider friends!
The critter on the left, the green one, is an insect.
It has 6 legs, antennae, 3 body parts, and wings.
The critter on the right is a black widow spider.
*Spiders have 8 legs, no antennae, 2 body parts, and no wings.
*Sure, I wouldn't want a black widow in my house, but I accept that they are important parts of the ecosystem and they can live safely outside!
*I respect the partnership we share with our invertebrate brothers and sisters.
*Actually, I have a house spider living in the corner of my apartment! We have a mutual arrangement...you eat the bugs and stay up there, it's all good.
Insects are amazing and whether or not they are cute, scary, colorful, or a boring old ant, they all deserve to live:
What insects have you seen lately?
Someone who studies insects is called an Entomologist.
...on Friday we'll do some insect activities that you can do with anyone, anywhere!
For every 3 bites of food you take, 1 of those bites was touched by a bee! *That's right - 1 out of every 3 bites of food is completely bee-dependent. *That's why bees are SO important to our existence. *Bees, and other pollinators like butterflies, hummingbirds, moths, bats, flies, and some small mammals, are the ESSENTIAL WORKERS of life!
Without pollinators, we won't have enough food and in fact, some pollinators worldwide are dying off, so people now have to use tools to hand-pollinate crops. In our school garden, we have MANY plants that are completely dependent on bee pollination:
*Actually, plums, almonds, and cherries are in the same family of plants and they are entirely pollinated by bees!
*Special thanks to Farmer Jesse at Longfellow Middle School for gifting us these strawberry plants last year!
Our minds might be wandering away right now and maybe you're even a little bored at home. I want to share with you one of my favorite songs about dreaming, wondering, and wandering...
I also wanted to share with you an excerpt from a TED Talk about the benefits of boredom. That's right! Being bored is actually good for you!
Alright Everyone, Everywhere...have a very boring weekend! *Bonus Follow-up on birds from Audubon Society: Renown naturalist, artist, and teacher, John Muir Laws, is offering FREE bird drawing lessons via prerecorded classes: paper and pencil are all you need!
We are learning about the "superpowers" that plants and animals have to help them survive. Those superpowers are their adaptations, and every living thing has them. *Adaptations can be part of a living thing's physical body or a characteristic or trait. Plant adaptations are super rad and diverse! Plants are RIDICULOUSLY good at surviving, thriving, and they are super resilient - despite the difficult environments that they often live in. I mean, they will grow up through a crack in the sidewalk, persist in deserts, and can even grow under water! *Plants will find a way to make it and I respect them. Have you ever tasted an artichoke leaf (probably not because that's the part you're not supposed to eat!)?
The leaves are formidable, pointy, hairy, and don't look delicious. They look a little scary!
Nevertheless, I tasted one and...BLECH! Trust me, you'll do it once and you'll never do it again!
Artichokes, and all other thistles, are well protected from being munched by mammals.
This makes sense, because we eat the flower of the artichoke, which we have to cook!
The leaf remains protected, so the plant can make its food.
I walked through the garden yesterday and took some photos of amazing plant adaptations:
This rose is well protected, with thorns.
Eek...look at the hairy spines on that pumpkin stem!
These "bear's breeches" have shiny and pointy leaves. The leaves are also HUGE to act like a giant solar panel for catching the sun!
Over millions of years, the adaptations that work the best to help the plant survive, stick around, from generation to generation!
This jade plant, like many plants that live in hot, dry, climates, have thick leaves that hold water. It's like a built-in water bottle!
Sugar snap peas have curly tendrils that act like hands to help their vines hold on and support them.
Even the way plants display their flowers is a helpful adaptation and survival technique.
This gorgeous larkspur puts its flower on the end of a tall, vertical spike.
The flowers stick up and reach up to attract pollinators, like raising your hand in class!
...Speaking of pollinators and adaptations:
The bee-fly is an amazing mimic, or is it an amazing actor?
It totally fooled me into thinking it was a bee so I gave it plenty of personal-space in the garden!
We'll learn more about pollinators and pollination next week.
For now, look for amazing plant adaptations wherever you are and keep an eye out for pollinators!
We're all trying to survive, all living things. We use our bodies, our physical characteristics, our personality traits, our brains, and LOTS of other tools to help us survive. Those tools (EVERY living thing has them) are called, in science - ...ADAPTATIONS!
Adaptations are like superpowers that animals and plants (and all other living things) have to help them survive in their habitats. * It takes thousands of years for adaptations to develop and over time, the most "successful" superpowers get passed down from generation to generation. For example, if birds eat seeds, fruit, and other animals, what's the BEST way for that bird to get its food with its beak? ...it doesn't have hands like we do! ...it doesn't have teeth like squirrels do! ...it doesn't have a long sticky tongue like a frog does! So how can birds get their food? Look out the window, or if it's safe, go outside and look for some birds... *Their beaks are different shapes and act like different tools! These different shapes and tools are their adaptations. ...maybe it cracks seeds open? like a finch:
...maybe it stabs a fish? like a heron:
...maybe it rips apart a mouse? like a hawk:
...or maybe it slurps nectar from a flower? ...like a hummingbird:
*Think about different bird beak adaptations. What tools do you have on your body to help you get your food? What tools do you have to help you eat? Maybe you've used a knife to cut meat, your teeth to munch vegetables, or a straw to drink some water. *Plants have adaptations, too, and a really important one is having flowers that look and smell AMAZING to attract different animals:
*Why would a flower want to attract an animal to it? *There's pollen and nectar inside the flower. *When pollen moves around from flower to flower, we call that pollination. The different critters that help with pollination are called pollinators. *Why do we need pollination and pollinators? We'll learn more about pollination this week!
I've been reading a lot about the concept of "resilience," that is - the reality of experiencing challenges and working through them. One expert, named Rick Hanson, says that for humans specifically, "It's not about the survival of the fittest, it's about the survival of the kindest." Humans are unique because our brains are wired to experience difficulties and then to learn from those experiences. Building resilience is one of our adaptations that has helped us survive for thousands of years!
