Organism of the Year Nominee: The Earthworm

Earthworms are very important to the soil. Without soil, there would be no trees, plants, animals, oxygen, or people. (And who would want that?) Without trees or plants, there would be no oxygen. Without oxygen, there would be no animals, or humans, for that matter! Without animals, humans would starve, that is if they didn’t die of lack of oxygen first.

We live in moist soil containing organic matter, or humus. We do not have eyes or ears but we have a mouth. We move by pulling our front sec-tion through the soil and then pulling our hind section up, also called undu-lating. This helps us move through the soil very easily and helps us to keep eating nonstop. When we eat the decaying matter, we poop out nutrients, or castings, that helps the soil be more fertile, allowing many more plants to grow. Another reason why earthworms make the soil especially fertile is that earthworms can produce a lot of poop! Earthworms can produce their own weight in poop every 24 hours! Earthworms also dig large burrows which let water and air into the soil, helping to stop erosion and lets the wa-ter and air get down to the roots of the plants. Burrows also help plant roots move more easily through the soil and into new spaces. We also release nutrients and make it available to growing plants. What soil would do with-out us! Also, there have been problems for us earthworms. Earthworms are losing places to live. And fast. The place where the earthworms live and work is in the first layer of soil,or topsoil. Erosion and weathering are taking away top-soil about ten times faster than the earth is producing it. And it may take up to almost 1000 years for one inch of topsoil to form. (Sometimes less.) We earthworms help the all organisms so much, and we need people to fight to keep us alive! This is happening because humans are overworking the land, using up the topsoil faster than the earth can create. Humans grow the same crop on the same land until the soil is no longer usable. When the wind blows or when it starts raining, the soil gets blown or washed away. This makes the soil unusable. Without topsoil, life is all but extinct. Shifting

agriculture and making sure humans don’t log trees will help prevent ero-sion. We worms can help end this dilemma by burrowing underground, helping with soil structure and helping soil maintain its shape when it rains or the wind blows. Making sure of correct organic matter levels can help minimize soil erosion too. Worms eat some of the organic matter and poop fertilizer, which helps make the soil more fertile.

Here is a horrifying fact: did you know that the annual soil loss in South Africa is estimated at 300-400 million tons? That is A LOT of topsoil. If we keep losing this much, we will all die! everything will die. Humans, ani-mals, plants, even some bacteria. We can’t let that happen. Whenever I personally see a person using pesticides and overworking the soil until it is dust, I know they are digging their own graves. Without the soil, life is non-existent. Soil helps every living organism survive in so many different ways. It helps us with our food, trees, and therefore oxygen, and many others. it helps us produce soil, which needed more and more, because we depend on soil for food. Worms are essential to soil life, and “Worms are the intes-tines of the Earth.” ( Aristotle) We live under the Earth, creating soil, through poop. We help stop erosion and dig tunnels so water can get easily to plants. We may look gross, but we are members of natures environmen-talist military, and without us, nature would be falling apart at the seams. Soil is found within almost every environment, and within that soil, you can find us. But just remember, “We are all worms, but I am the glow-worm.” (Winston Churchill)

Soil Poems Reality

Above me is a tortoise shell Above me is a green umbrella In the distance is a land of secrets where thoughts live In the distance is a forest of trees and clouds I hear the chatter of feathered creatures in nothingness I hear the chirping of old brown finches In the distance, the sound of whooshing things In the distance the sound of speeding cars I feel the smooth and rough surfaces of a tree of art I feel the wooden bench I smell the cool, clean mist in the dome of my world I smell the air of the garden I am in a beautiful place I am in reality Anabel Shuckhart

Forever in Nature with the Birds and Thistles

I can see the thistles on the oak-tree leaves above me, Longing to reach out and grab hold of my jacket. A faraway cactus holds its arms proudly above its head, An ego-maniac flouncing around. A sound that nature owns reaches my ears, The chirps and twitters of small birds. The distant roar of the highway engulfs around me, Many people are rushing home. I smell the dirt, the crisp smell of the pepper tree, as they wrap around me Like the smell of freshly baked cookies, except each a thousand times better. As I close my eyes, the first thing I feel is the soft leaves of a small bush. When I move my hand to the left, I jerk away, as I feel the prickles of a leaf. There is a small sapling next to me. One day it will be as big as its father, the proud oak tree. A thicket of burrs lays slightly farther off, but as the wind picks up, the bush moves towards me intrepidly, wishing it could grab me. As I stand up, a leaf pricks my hand. I quickly find my feet and stand, and as I do, the light streaming through the leaves overwhelms me. I am cold, chilled to the bone, but I hardly notice as I breath in my surround-ings, taking in the wonder of nature. Why does this not last forever? Lydia Mead

This life Lindsay Chu Some people say that they wish they weren’t born, Because of the cruelty of the world, the ugliness of life. In the distance, I hear the angry screams of the cars, As if that was their sole purpose. I see a plastic bag, being whipped and whisked Until it lands on the sidewalk, where it will stay for the rest of its life. On the horizon, I see a thick brown smog line, Choking our throats and making us cough. Some people say that they wish they weren’t alive But I disagree. For above me, I see a scarlet bird, drinking from a spigot of water I hear water droplets hit the ground with a plink! And I hear the sound of birdsong, As if they are singing the words “Welcome, welcome.” I smell the intoxicating scent of jasmine, sweet and persistent. I feel a leaf, soft yet strong Flexible and thin, determined to survive and live life to the fullest. To my right, an arch of branches, a canopy of leaves. It forms a curious tunnel that asks you “What’s on the other side?” There are terrible things in this world, Things that would make you wish you weren’t alive. But there are also wonderful things in this world. Things like the birds, who drink from the water spout. Things like the leaves, which stand tall and beautiful. Things like the tree tunnel, which takes you to the other side. And because of these wonderful things, Life is worth living.

Pictures

Letters From the Editors The soil unit was very interesting. I liked how there were many aspects of it, from field

trips to growing fungi and bacteria to hands on work. I think this helped us learn more about soil than we would have if we were inside reading a textbook or looking at premade Petri dishes with soil samples. My favorite parts of the soil unit were going to Arlington gardens and getting Petri dish samples, looking at the Petri dishes six days later, and going around campus looking at trees. I liked going to Arlington gardens because everything was so still and quiet, the loudest noise was your thoughts. The Petri dishes were really fun to collect and look at because we could collect whatever we want. It was surprising how much bacteria and fungi were on the dishes six days later. Even our control had five different kinds of fungi/ bacteria. I enjoyed looking at the trees on Thursday. I was surprised that the three big oaks near Mudd, Pit Cairn, and Quad were all related and they were 100-500 years old respectively. It also made me sad to think that two of those trees are dying because of our actions. The one near Mudd looked like it had been struck with lighting. The one on Quad looked worse. But the one near Pit Cairn was healthy and had made a canopy out of leaves and branches. Making this maga-zine was very interesting. I personally think the hardest part was making the propaganda poster. I loved putting all the components together, like it was a puzzle and one by one, we were making a picture. Now our picture is done, and I think it is brilliant.

-Lindsay Chu The past week has been amazing! I really enjoyed reading the short stories from

"Dirt" and looking at all of the amazing propaganda posters. I really liked the one called Break New Ground, and the one with the farmer walking with the chicken. The story about Clyde's Pickup really stood out to me. It was a moving story, and I read it again when I got home.

Thursday was really fun, because it was really cool to look at the bacteria and the rain gardens that we got to help plant. It was also really cool to make the seed balls and the com-postable newspaper seed pots and walk around campus looking at trees that need help. It was really fun and amazing to make our propaganda posters and the magazine covers. I learned a ton about worms that I never knew before, and the things that I learned about some of the other animals too from my friends were cool to learn about too. It was really cool to dig the trenches around the trees, to help save them from dying. I really liked learning about trees from Leigh Adams and her friends who came on Thursday. I also learned a lot about oak trees that I have never known. When we went to Ar-lington Garden and walked the labyrinth, it was cool to see how in-tune I became with my thoughts, and when I sat under an oak tree and wrote down my thoughts and turned them into a poem, I felt very connected with nature. The soil unit has been a blast!

-Lydia Mead

During the soil unit, I, 1. learned, 2. was challenged, 3. had fun, and 4. changed as

a person a lot. I learned that there was so much more to soil than just dirt. We were all chal-lenged to do the soil-related activities and projects, and I think that I can speak for the entire seventh grade when I say that we each changed to be better people in doing all of these things. The soil unit has been really interesting, and I have had so much fun in the past week.

We learned so much during this week about soil. Including that soil is not just dirt. I learned that without soil, we couldn’t live. You would never think about soil doing this, maybe water or the sun, but definitely not soil. I learned a lot about science and soil, but I also learned about soil through history, English, and even math! During the history portion, I was excited to learn about the affect of the gardens, plant, etc. of Southern California. In English, Mr. Cross taught us how we can change the soil, and how to describe it in beautiful writing. And in math? We had story-time with Ms. Lukens about Fibonacci and his relationship with nature.

The most challenging thing about this unit were our Propaganda and Organism of the Year projects. My group and I had had some disagreements, and were a little rushed on time. Even though we had some trouble, I was really happy with the outcome.

The Soil Unit was so much fun because the whole grade got to work together more, and helped us see each other in a “different light”. Also, the more we get to know each other, the more fun our grade has together. I think we all changed because we learned so much about soil, but also about how we can change the world through it. Overall, I am so glad we got to participate in this soil unit, and hope to continue learning.

-Anabel Shuckhart