July 29, 2010
We have a new posting today from Alana G., a fifth grade student and our special environmental reporter on the Seymour Science Blog this summer. The group she founded, Kids Today for a Better Tomorrow (KTFBT) has been busy all summer, pursuing various environmental activities to better their Southern California community. As I said to Alana when we first met, it is a joy to have her as a shipmate on Planet Earth.
- Seymour
Hello fellow Shipmates,
I’m not sure if you remember the trip that I had taken to Amy’s Farm to be part of their science of farming camp. I’ll give you a little recap just in case you don’t. At the farm I learned all about the physics of simple machines & the life science of animal anatomy, but my favorite thing that I learned about was Botany (which is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life.) :-) It basically means I learned all about plant cells, their parts and what they do.
I can’t believe how amazing it is. It really is so cool how such tiny little seeds can grow into such beautiful plants. I have to say…Life on earth is miraculous! I wanted to learn more so I was very happy that I was also able to work in their garden where I learned how to plant and harvest vegetables and fruits. I was shocked at how much work it takes not only to plant the seeds but how much work goes into preparing the ground for the crops. I don’t know how exactly to explain it, but they use organic compost. Organic compost helps the farm to be sustainable. Sustainable is another subject we could use Seymour’s help on. (Seymour, can you please help us out?* 
Plus, they have to harvest and wash the crops before they are sent off to the farmers market or local food banks and homeless shelters. (I think it is so cool that they help the needy.) Overall, the life of a farmer is no easy job at all, but I love it!
Being on the farm reminded me of something. Do you remember learning in school about our American ancestors, the Pilgrims? If you don’t, they were some of the first settlers in the colonies. The Pilgrims, just like the Indians, had to find ways to live and adapt to the land and their environment and with the help of the Indians they set up a plantation at Plymouth Rock. Now if you think back to the Pilgrims’ days, they didn’t have it easy like we do. Can you think of some of the differences between the way that their families had to live compared to the way we do?
Well, one of the first things that came to my mind is that unlike us, they had to find their own food. We can just jump in a car and go with our parents to the grocery store or to a restaurant when we need supplies or are hungry, but that wasn’t the case for them. They actually had to go out and hunt for their meat, or grow their own fruits and vegetables. Man… that must have been REALLY HARD work. We have it so easy compared to our ancestors, which is why I think it is so important that more of us should try to live a more sustainable life ourselves. 
We can do this by making our own organic compost and by planting our own vegetables and fruits. It is so much fun. When I was on the farm, we were able to take home two itty bitty tomato plants. So now one of my first and favorite things to do when I wake up in the morning is to run outside to water plants. I get so excited every morning to see how much my plants have grown from the day before. It is the coolest thing ever and it makes me so proud to know that because of the care and love I show my plant…it continues to live and grow. I absolutely love gardening and I bet if you try it you might love it too. It is a very fun and easy thing that you can do alone or as a family to contribute & do your part to help save our Earth because remember this is "OUR PLANET. OUR FUTURE!" and our responsibility together as shipmates to help protect the Earth. Well, my fellow shipmates I hope that you enjoyed my story. Stay tuned for my next blog which will be coming soon. Until next time….
Alana G
"Science Rules"
P.S. Even Christian…a 9 year old boy who is one of our "KTFBT" members, NOW loves gardening and thinks it is super cool. And trust me, if you knew Christian…you would know that he hardly thinks that anything is cool….LOL
*Note from Seymour: Sustainability implies a way of living and thinking. It means that you make an inner commitment to treat the world and the natural environment as your home, for you, for the people who came before you and the people who come after you.
Alana’s report on organic farming and sustainability is great. It sounds like enormous fun and it shows how much she’s learning about science and life on our home planet Earth. Alana and the group that she formed, KTFBT, are developing an appreciation for the inter-relatedness of living things and the natural environment. Children need that. They need to have opportunities to play and to explore both at home and in the outside world so that they can develop a respect for nature and our planet.
Posted by: Alana G
