helpful to human beings but also is

home to billions of organisms. Did

you know there’re over a billion

organisms in a teaspoon of soil?

Soil also regulates carbon and

greenhouse gasses. Soil is one of

the things that we need to survive.

One of the world’s main problem

is topsoil degradation. Soil loss is

the wearing away of the ground

surface as a result of the move-

ment of wind water or ice

The implications of this are terri-

fying topsoil loss could mean the

end of the human race, because

our source of food would be gone.

In the future a huge food source

would be cut out, and we wouldn't

be able to eat; so we would even-

tually die out

Many studies now show that top-

soil degradation is happening due

to human activities. This following

information that is going to be

shared is a secret in the Soil Pre-

servers Association. One of the

ways to prevent topsoil degrada-

tion is to compost and add organic

matter.

Root Fungus is a type of fungi that

live in the roots of plants. They

This year’s organism of the year is

Root Fungus! When you think of

fungus you probably think of

fuzzy mold. Little do people know

that fungus, specifically root fun-

gus, mycorrhizae, is one of the

most important organisms to keep

soil healthy. Why is this a big deal,

it’s just dirt you might ask? The

incipient to everything is soil. Why

is soil important to the life on

earth? Soil sustains life; it grows

food for almost every organism on

earth. If there was no soil the food

webs would collapse because

there wouldn't be nutrients for

plants, which would later affect

the animals. Soil is home to plants,

if we didn't have plants we would-

n't have firewood, paper to write

on, oxygen to breathe. We would-

n't be able to eat anything, we

would starve and die. Soil is one

of the main reasons we know so

much about history, it preserves

precious artifacts. If there was

never soil forest wouldn’t exist.

Which means no wood, no build-

ings, wood toys, fire or furniture.

Soil also makes a sturdy platform

to build buildings on. Not only is it

however are pretty different from

decomposing fungi. One of the

differences is they don’t have

chloroplasts. What also makes

them special is they don’t make

their own food they get their food

from the organisms they eat. They

help the soil because they take

carbon from plants directly to the

soil. The more carbon in soil the

more organic matter, which will

help prevent soil loss. Root Fungi

also are a big reason plants flour-

ish because the fungus brings in

more water and nutrient minerals.

This year we voted Root fungi as

the organism of the year because

of it’s helpful contributions it

makes towards the worldwide

problem of soil loss.“The miracle

of the seed and the soil is not

available by affirmation; it is only

available by labor.”

Organism of The Year:

Root Fungus

Barbaric Yawp I battle this problem in life or death. Whether to stand out And bravely yell out my barbaric yawp across the world. But what would be left of me? The last pieces earth did not take back from me, The last alive part of my body Soon to be delivered to the earth as nutrients. How could that be?

-Kamryn G.

to see, and the consensus was that it

would be passive, with no playing fields,

parking lots or restrooms, but, no one

was sure what direction the development

should take. It was suggested by Betty

McKenney, that it be a water wise, Medi-

terranean climate garden. Pasadena Beau-

tiful Foundation and the Mediterranean

Garden Society provided valuable sup-

port. Neighbors of the soon to be garden

donated funds, plants, and outdoor furni-

ture to get the garden up and running. In

July, 2005, the first plants and trees were

planted in Arlington Garden. Since then,

At the corner of Arlington Drive and Pasa-

dena Avenue, this Caltrans site has sat

vacant for 40 years, awaiting the construc-

tion of the 710 freeway. This is Arlington

Garden. Arlington Garden is Pasadena’s

only dedicated public garden. It is a three

acre botanical garden that changes with

the seasons. It all started in 2003, when

Caltrans and the City started to talk about

what to do with the three acre vacant lot,

home to only two mature oaks, a jacaran-

da, a California Pepper, and five different

varieties of palms. The community was

asked what development they would like

the McKenneys have planted nearly 400

trees and a huge variety of plants that will

thrive in our Southern Californian climate.

Sequoyah School, PHS Interact Club,

Mayfield Senior School, and Westridge

School for Girls have all performed com-

munity service in this oasis. It is a part of

Westridge’s curriculum and is visited

every year. This garden has grown so

much from that vacant lot; it has earned

mentions in the LA Times and the Pasade-

na Star News, and the Quarterly and Ar-

royo magazines.

History of The Arlington Garden by: Virginia W.

In the midst of life we are death. Earth to Earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust -Book of Common Prayer, Burial Service I am being buried I see nothing but darkness I can feel the moist soil surrounding my body The worms start to nest in my ear canals My skin starts to disintegrate as the colonies of fungi start to consume my skin Rats start to burrow in my rib cage I am now a home Above me I can feel footsteps They make the ground shake and scare the animals I can hear them praying for their lost ones I wish I could comfort them Tell them I’m happy I am now a home

~Grace A

בית עכשיו אני

לכדור הארץ כדור. מוות אנחנו החיים באמצע

לעפר עפר, אפר אל אפר, הארץ

- קבורה שירות, תפילות ספר

להיקבר אני

חושך רק רואה אני שהקיפה הלחה האדמה את להרגיש יכול אני

שלי הגוף את שלי האוזן בתעלות לקנן מתחילות התולעים

של כמושבות להתפורר מתחיל שלי העורשלי העור לצרוך להתחיל פטריות

שלי הצלעות בכלוב להתחפר מתחילות חולדות בבית אני עכשיו

צעדיו את להרגיש יכול אני מעליי

את ולהפחיד לרעוד הקרקע על עושים הםהחיים בעלי

שאבדו לאלה מתפלל יכול אני אותם לנחם שיכולתי לוואי

שמח שאני להם תגיד בבית אני עכשיו

אולדריץ גרייס ~

The Quad Tree

Kamryn G.

The historic oak tree on the Quad has been around since even before Westridge. As we all know,

Westridge was built in 1913. But what you might not know is that Westridge was also built

around that oak tree. Unfortunately, due to condition that the tree is in, the tree will soon be cut

down. All of our history is behind that tree! The witness of everything since the beginning of this

school. The tree has been in this condition for many years now. When we put in the grass, it

caused overwatering to the tree from the sprinklers.

Barbaric Yawp

First came the Earth,

And with it, the tiniest unicellular organisms,

From some of those,

Tall, imposing trees grew,

And from some,

Humans grew.

Soil was there at the time of the dinosaurs,

At the time of the Neanderthals,

At the smallest of tribal battles,

At the biggest of wars.

Soil has been through it all,

And will be here for much longer than any human,

It will see many more wars,

And more battles,

To come.

It will be here as long as the Earth,

And we are all descended from it,

It saw the beginning of us,

And it will see the end.

~ Virginia

My life as a Tree Someone plants a small seed in rich silt They water Me everyday In a week after trying to push I sprout out of the ground First comes one leaf then anoTher Before long I’m a little tree NotHing is around me As it rains I grow biggEr BefOre long I’m 6 feet tall Life is greAt 20 years later builders start to come I’m scared I don't Know what will happen There is now a lawn around me This isn’t what I'm used to Other trees are being planted Am I going to survive? There is now a sprinkler system I’m getting over watered I don’t have long to live I am dying slowly....

Grace A

harmony that you have to be

hard pressed to create. It’s so

beautiful that it seems almost

endless, as if you could get

lost if you walked there

enough. You could visit it for

an hour every day for a

month, and still not have dis-

covered all of it. The garden

is beautiful and mysterious. It

is ever changing and amazing.

Another memorable part was

the tree walk. Although it was

only part of a rotation, it was

still very interesting, to me. I

learned a lot about trees, like

how to tell if a tree is healthy

or not. Or, to do your home-

work before you plant a tree.

How to take care of a tree and

Dear Reader,

This magazine holds so much

effort and work. We have

worked hard to make it the

best possible experience for

our readers. This magazine is

a tribute to the Soil Unit and

all who helped with it. We

learned a lot and put it to use

in this.

In the Soil Unit we learned so

much. My most memorable

part was the Arlington Gar-

den. It was beautiful and in-

formative. It is such an oasis,

a space that is separated,

somehow, from the rest of the

world. All of the flowers,

trees, plants, birds, create a

help it if it’s dying, and how

to identify what kind if tree it

is, with a leaf and a book. I

loved walking around campus

and seeing the trees.

The Soil Unit was amazing

and I count myself lucky for

being able to experience it. It

was a great week and was re-

ally fun.

Letter from the editor by: Virginia

Dear Reader, I have learned so many things after a week of being taught about soil . Before this Unit I did-n’t think about how important soil is. Little did I know that the incipient to everything is soil. Why is soil important to the life on earth? Soil sustains life; it grows food for almost every or-ganism on earth. If there was no soil the food webs would collapse because there wouldn't be nutrients for plants, which would later affect the animals. Soil is home to plants, if we didn't have plants our life would be in danger. Soil is one of the main reasons we know so much about history because it preserves precious artifacts. If there was never soil forests wouldn’t exist. Which means no wood, no buildings, wood toys, or furniture. Soil also makes a sturdy platform to build buildings on. Not only is it helpful to human beings but also is home to bil-lions of organisms. Did you know there’re over a billion organisms in a teaspoon of soil? It also regulates carbon and greenhouse gasses. Soil is one of the things that we need to sur-vive. One of my favorite my favorite things I did this unit was when we planted the herb gar-den outside the commons because I know it will help the Westridge community. When I was gardening in different locations of Westridge I could tell the difference between soils. Overall I really enjoyed this unit because of all the interesting things that I didn’t know be-fore. When I heard that we were doing the Soil Unit I was confused because I didn’t think soil was important except for walking on. Now I realize how wrong I was. Grace A

Dear Reader,

Over the course of two weeks, we went on

adventures around Pasadena and the

school. We learned about soil and how im-

portant it was in our life. How the bud of

life sprouts from soil. Through this maga-

zine, we hoped 5to accomplish our goal of

teaching you what we have learned our-

selves. We have improved our magazine

for you, adding fun poems, stories, and

pictures! One of our adventures we want-

ed to tell you was planting, and making our

compost bin. In one day, we planted flow-

ers, herbs, and fruits, in pots. Then we

made a worm compost bin. We went

through struggles with the icky nematodes

for you! We hope you enjoy this magazine!

Kamryn G.

Letters From The Editors

Above me there is a tile sun,

It glows with yellows and reds,

Framed with blue, blue sky.

Somewhere,

A bird chirps,

Loudly and clearly.

The orange blossom next to smells sweet,

And it is sweltering,

It is as if its petals are on fire.

Each individual apricot frond,

Is layered with silk.

The slate stones on the walk,

Are ashen and smoky.

It is late afternoon,

And there is no shade to be seen,

The bright sunlight surrounding me.

I am in my own little, idle world.

~ Virginia W.

Above Me I hear black and white birds pecking at trees It sounds as if someone is knocking on a win-dow begging for entrance I see palm tree fronds swaying gently in the wind The sun is shining through the fronds glaring in my eyes The sky is a magical blue scattered with wispy clouds So perfect you might think it was a painting I can faintly hear footsteps from across the garden As I look towards the horizon a tiny tree This tree has thin branches that dance with the rhythm of the wind The tree is a light green like a tree frog I can smell the aroma of the purple flower that is lightly brushing my cheek I can feel it getting darker as I enter the shad-ow of a bush As I walk I stop and feel a plant waxy like a banana peel When I turn to my right I see a tree that looks like a skeleton At the base is a blanket of purple flowers Enjoy the simple things in life, for those are the greatest

~Grace A.