Look closely at the picture above and take a guess as to what it is. A banana? A rock wall? The skin of a kiwi? I asked my friends and family what they thought the photo looked like, and they were all stumped. If you look even closer, you might realize that this is a picture of a pinecone. I took this picture using a microscope in my science class, revealing the pinecone’s details. I thought this was interesting because if I were to draw what I thought a pinecone looks like under a microscope prior to this experiment, it would not have looked like that. I also became more intrigued by the structure of the pinecone, and I would not have noticed its intricate design, if not for my photo. Fun fact! The individual plates of a pinecone are called scales. I encourage you to take time to go into nature and see what you can find!
Nature
Our Ocean Wildlife
Poorvi Girish, 8 (Fremont, CA) Our Ocean Wildlife Poorvi Girish, 8 When I was about 4 years old, I used to wonder in bed at night “Are oceans dangerous or is it the oceans that are in danger?” As an 8 year old, I have learned about the ocean’s alarming rates of pollution. Grown turtle on the shore of Black Sand Beach in Hawaii Lately, scientists have noticed how this has an effect on ocean wildlife. The 5.2 trillion pieces of trash affects ocean wildlife; it’s painful. Our world is in severe danger. So much is happening to our once peaceful mother earth. If we do not know, we can’t understand. If we can’t understand, we can’t care. If we can’t care, we can’t love our oceans. Make a change. Our world needs it. With so much trash in our ocean, it’s nearly impossible to completely rid our oceans from it, but also impossible to ignore. We can’t get rid of all the trash but we can reduce it. So, what can we do to stop this phenomenon called ocean pollution? We should lessen the use of plastic. With the world’s population, an ounce could count as a ton. There are a lot of things scattered around the environment that could harm many different species of ocean wildlife. Start using reusable bags. Plastic bags harm 100,000 marine organisms each year. Karate chop those plastic bottles into outer space (just stop using them, don’t actually do the former). Pretend plastic straws never existed. Use steel, glass or any other material that could be reused. Have you heard of the time when a plastic straw got stuck in a sea turtle’s nose? Do the right thing and help our earth—not doing so is like leaving your house looking like the landfill. Change the world for the better, together.
Outdoor School, by Diya Chakrabarti, 12
Diya Chakrabarti, 12 (Cupertino, CA) Where I live, it is usually pretty pleasant this time of the year. So, my school arranged an outdoor school to enjoy the weather and allow us to learn more about nature. Nature is so beautiful, and we need to look outside more often, and be more mesmerized by its endless beauty. Anyways, let me share a little about what I learned in my science class—let’s talk about fractals and FBI. A fractal is an infinite shape, you can search it up if you need a visual! I learned that fractal shapes can be found in nature, even in the minutest of places. The most common places to find fractals are in snail shells, snowflakes, and infrequently appearing clouds! Secondly, the FBI does not mean the Federal Bureau of Investigation, because that’s what I thought when I first heard that word. In this case, it means Fungus, Bacteria, and Vertebrates. The organisms can break down dead organisms and create new compounds, like soil. I had read a little about these before, but a refresher is always welcoming! The dead plants and bodies are like fertilizers, making the soil more fertile, which means plants will grow healthier. As I mentioned before, nature is mesmerizing and has endless opportunities to explore. By going outside, I discovered so much. Readers, why don’t you go exploring outdoors since you probably finished reading my write-up? Have a great summer peeps!!
