The Garden Science Committee is a free PTA-sponsored STEAM-based program for all Aviators!

MAY 2023

Image credit: www.calscape.org (California Native Plant Society)

Students who attended the Garden Club on May 17th received a common sunflower (Helianthus annuus) seedling. TK students who won the bread tag recycling event received a seedling as well. The seeds are commonly found in Alameda plant nurseries. This summer, grow sunflower seeds! For plant care information click here.

DID YOU KNOW?

This particular sunflower species is native to California (and the Americas).
A sunflower head is a composite flower (made of several smaller florets).
The florets mature into seeds which are used for propagating new plants.
Sunflowers can grow 5-10 ft tall and the flower can be 5-12 inches wide, depends on the species.
Sunflowers are great pollinators! They attract birds, bees, and butterflies!

SHOW US YOUR SUNFLOWER's GROWTH!

FUN TIP: Students, water your seedlings once a week and provide 6 hours of full sun daily. Replant into a larger pot so it can grow. Take a picture with your sunflower every week this summer. Which will grow faster? Keep a log of the growth by measuring the height from root (base) to flower (or top leaf/bud/buds). Let us know how it goes and share your pictures! Have a wonderful summer, Earhart gardeners!

May 20, 2023

Saturday meeting to prepare gardens for the summer break!

Over 15 Earhart students and their families volunteered their time to prepare the Science Garden and Kinder Garden beds for the summer by weeding and adding a thick layer of pine straw mulch to prevent weed growth and conserve the soil moisture over the summer months. We even had volunteers who continued the work of clearing the Tropical Garden! Thank you so much! Don't forget to follow the growth of the green beans over the summer by clicking on the live camera (works only during the day because it is solar powered).

Potatoes that were started from scraps

Milkweed and violas

Cabbage

Green Beans
Watch them grow!

May 17, 2023

Our last day with students before the summer break!

We met one last time to prepare the Science Garden beds for the summer. The students are now experts at weeding and mulching! They can tell apart a weed from a seedling!

One of the parent volunteers organized hands-on experience on how to set up a DIY irrigation system using jugs. The children had a brainstorm about how to release the water slowly, and decided to drill holes in the bottom of the jug. Then they observed the water stops coming out. After a short discussion, the kids realized the lowered air pressure insight the bottle is holding water back. So they decided to drill another hole on the top. After that, they found the water flows too fast. And they came up with a new idea, to have a toothpicker in the drilled hole, to make water flows more slowly. Eventually, they designed the structure to help position the jug alongside the trellis. This is a demonstration of combining STEM, design thinking, and gardening into one!

We also demonstrated using DIY programmed solenoid to schedule watering the non-irrigated garden beds over the summer. and connected the water line to the solenoid. Learn more about this activity in our technology page.

May 15, 2023

We did it, Earhart!

Congratulations to the SDC/TK and 1st grade classrooms for collecting the most bread tags! We will be in touch with your classroom teachers soon to deliver a special gift to each child in these grades.

We also reached our school-wide goal of collecting 3 lbs of plastic breads tags! Congratulations, Earhart students and community!!

To celebrate and show our students that they can partake in small changes while making a big difference, we are hosting a school-wide event for DRIVING CHANGE! To learn more about this event, visit the Bread Tag Recycling page.

Thank you to all who recycled their bread tags this past month! So many good things coming out of 1 small change! Congratulations and thank you, Earhart!!

May 11, 2023

Thanks to the Girls on the Run group, led my Ms. Janice Ryan and several other amazing coaches, for volunteering at Earhart in collaboration with the Garden Club this week!

16 girls and 5 coaches volunteered 1.5 hr of their time to weed and clear the tropical garden, located near the 1st grade pod.

This garden was planted by Mr. O’Neil, the “Jumbler” who is now retired. It includes some plantain sprouts (which we hope to revive), a lemon tree, and a bird of paradise amongst other plants. As we removed the weed, we discovered and identified the hidden plants. Several girls learned to prune the trees as well. They showed exemplary teamwork and collaboration across all their ages. What a wonderful group!

Before Pictures

Amazing After Pictures

May 1, 2023

The Garden Club will meet on May 3rd from 12:10-1:10 pm. We always meet in the Science garden on Wednesdays after school. Students and their families are welcome!

We plan to update our garden journals and work in the garden (weather permitting). The free printable can be found under resources.

By now most of the 12 garden beds, trellises, and planters around the school have been planted. Below is an image from last week’s meeting where we replanted brocolini, planted sprouted garlic cloves (part of the “zero waste” theme), and sprinkled cosmo seeds.