Branching Out!

 Happy Solstice, everyone!

...please follow our school garden adventures on Instagram at: missgardenersarah

Happy New Year!

Theme: The Solstice!

 Hello Everyone, everywhere!

I have really been noticing the daylight and darkness lately, have you? 

*The day with the least amount of sunlight (in the Northern Hemisphere) is soon, on December 21st - it's the Winter Solstice! 

When I wake up, it's still dark outside and when I finish school, it's already starting to get dark.

*We learned about the Earth's tilt, changing seasons, and how the amount of sunlight affects our garden. 

You may have also been noticing how animals are getting ready for Winter...

*Some animals migrate - they move to another place to find food more easily:

Canada Geese (and many birds) migrate. 

*Some animals hibernate - they sleep through the cold season, living off of body fat and food stores until warmer weather arrives:

*In Berkeley, because our weather is so mild, and it doesn't get very cold, many of our animals brumate - they sleep and their metabolism slows WAY down:

San Francisco Garter Snakes go into brumation in the winter!

*And some animals stay the same - they continue to go out and look for food, eating more, and putting on some extra weight to keep them warm:

Squirrels and deer remain active throughout the year, unfortunately eating plants out of the garden!

Activity: Keep a checklist of all of the wildlife you see during break.

Divide it up by type of animal: 

Reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals.

What animals would you like to see outside?

Where do you need to go to see those animals?

Theme: Once Upon a Food Chain

 Greetings Gardeners!

We've been studying soil, cycles, and seasons for much of the Fall.

These are essential themes in our garden...and in life!

Energy moves from the sun, to plants, to animals, and back into the soil through the NUTRIENT CYCLE (compost, rot, decomposition).

*We can observe how energy moves through ecosystems in food chains and food webs!

"Predator and prey, producers and decay are in the food chain, CHAIN CHAIN!"

What role do YOU play in the food chain?

Where have you seen decomposition and decay?

Activity: Draw the organisms of a garden (or other ecosystem!) on a piece of paper. 

How are they connected? 

Connect them together with arrows!

*Everything is connected!*

Please enjoy this story, "Once Upon a Jungle," by Laura Knowels and James Boast

*How are you interdependent on the plants and animals around you?

Theme: Digging Deeper into Decomposers

 Hi Gardeners, everywhere!

We are deep into the Fall season.

How can you tell?

(...The sunlight hours are shorter, the darkness is getting longer, the temperature is colder, and the soil is damp!)

*In the school garden, mulch (straw) is helping to keep the soil moist and build nutrients. The cover crop was planted to add even more nutrients to the soil. I added a net to keep birds and squirrels from eating all the clovers and peas. 

*Clovers, peas, and fava beans have special roots that help put nitrogen back into the soil:

Getting ready for Winter means taking care of our soil and building a nice home for our 3 decomposer friends: Fungus, bacteria, and invertebrates!

We can add compost to our soil to help it stay healthy!

We can also look for decomposers like worms in the garden:

Activity: Divide your paper into 3 columns. 

If you can, go outside to look for a mushroom and/or an invertebrate. (Bacteria is everywhere, but we can't see it!)

Draw a picture of each of the decomposers (Fungus, bacteria, invertebrates) either from what you found or look for pictures online!