Grade 9's Westward Expansion
Shore's ninth grade students are studying environmental and economic issues on a week-long field experience in California. From Muir Woods to San Francisco's Mission District, they are uncovering the past, present, and future of the nation's most populous state through first-hand observation.
During their trip, they are recording their discoveries and impressions in the form of blog posts, poems, and photos. Visit the blog throughout the week for their dispatches from the field.
Saturday - Sunday, April 9 - 10, 2016
John Makowski
Saturday, I woke at 5:30 am. Today was the big day. Today was the day I would be traveling to San Francisco. Soon after I arrived at the airport it became a waiting game. Once the waiting game was over, it was smooth traveling from there. The plane ride was six hours. However, the best and worst was yet to come. Once we landed, we immediately went to In-And-Out Burger, one of the greatest fast food chains known to humankind. From here, we had a short drive to our house. However, every time we entered the house the security alarm would go off. Unable to reach the owner of the house, we had no options other than checking into a hotel and hoping the owner would contact us in the morning. He did, and he sent us the security code to shut off the alarm.
Ellie Greer
Symbiosis and Preservation
Stainless steel beneath white light, glinting harshly.
Such a hurry, a way station of travelers.
Now we leave it behind in a rental car. Now begins our foray into new territory.
Houses and markets are nestled among the trees like children's tree forts.
Humans living under the canopy as well as under tiled roofs.
Everything is so meshed together, a coexistence of sorts, a symbiosis.
Not far away is a pocket dimension.
Travel along the winding mountain road and enter the forest.
Best to stay on the path, lest the guardians' rage be roused.
Perhaps we all shrank on the way here? We are like ants scurrying past
the gnarled feet of unmoving Giants.
It's a sanctuary of prehistoric survivors, standing watch through out
the centuries.
This place is a noble memorial to the past.
We may walk along the path, breath in the fog and forest scents, and
drink in the verdant sight,
But we keep our distance, drawing a border like museum glass.
Only like this can the primeval peace be preserved.
Camden Greenwood
Back
During their trip, they are recording their discoveries and impressions in the form of blog posts, poems, and photos. Visit the blog throughout the week for their dispatches from the field.
Saturday - Sunday, April 9 - 10, 2016
John Makowski
Saturday, I woke at 5:30 am. Today was the big day. Today was the day I would be traveling to San Francisco. Soon after I arrived at the airport it became a waiting game. Once the waiting game was over, it was smooth traveling from there. The plane ride was six hours. However, the best and worst was yet to come. Once we landed, we immediately went to In-And-Out Burger, one of the greatest fast food chains known to humankind. From here, we had a short drive to our house. However, every time we entered the house the security alarm would go off. Unable to reach the owner of the house, we had no options other than checking into a hotel and hoping the owner would contact us in the morning. He did, and he sent us the security code to shut off the alarm.
Sunday, we went to Muir woods, probably something that should be added to the list of Seven Wonders of the World. This place was the pinnacle for tree-hugging nature lovers - the trees were irresistible. Along the endless wood pathway that went right then through the middle of the forest, it seemed to contain every tree, bush, animal, and insect. You name it, it was most likely there. Each enormous redwood tree, some as tall as 300 feet (taller than the average building in New York), was covered by a gloomy dense fog. The fog was mysterious, something that you would have seen in a KingKong movie. It looked like I was on another planet where trees grow out of the sides of mountains. Other trees looked jaded and burnt due to fires from over 150 years. Each tree tells a different story about time. This was Muir woods.
Ellie Greer
Symbiosis and Preservation
Stainless steel beneath white light, glinting harshly.
Such a hurry, a way station of travelers.
Now we leave it behind in a rental car. Now begins our foray into new territory.
Houses and markets are nestled among the trees like children's tree forts.
Humans living under the canopy as well as under tiled roofs.
Everything is so meshed together, a coexistence of sorts, a symbiosis.
Not far away is a pocket dimension.
Travel along the winding mountain road and enter the forest.
Best to stay on the path, lest the guardians' rage be roused.
Perhaps we all shrank on the way here? We are like ants scurrying past
the gnarled feet of unmoving Giants.
It's a sanctuary of prehistoric survivors, standing watch through out
the centuries.
This place is a noble memorial to the past.
We may walk along the path, breath in the fog and forest scents, and
drink in the verdant sight,
But we keep our distance, drawing a border like museum glass.
Only like this can the primeval peace be preserved.
Camden Greenwood
Our grade of seven embarked on a journey to mirror lake today in California.
We had a blast,
and bonded as a class.
The redwood trees were tall,
They impressed us all.
The tallest tree was 260 feet,
Such a number is hard to beat.
The bark was red,
I will be thinking of mirror Lake in bed.
The hike was tough,
But not for me, for I am buff.
Our feet hurt from all the walking,
But it's ok because we were always talking.
Monday, April 11 - Stanford University
Victoria Carlson
Monday, April 11 - Stanford University
Victoria Carlson
On our first morning making our own breakfast everything went fairly smoothly, with only a minimal amount of bribing. A few of us showed reluctance to make our own breakfast but we ended with ten meals prepared by ten people. Rushing off we split up into the minivans for an uneventful ride to Stanford. We got to meet with two young women, Anja and Sahar, to learn about each of their bioengineering projects.
Anja’s project could be a huge foothold into reducing polluting plastics. The project was inspired by a problem at a University in Japan. Their kitchen was having trouble with mealworms eating through the plastic containers holding food. They made an educated guess that maybe the worms were eating the plastic, not just chewing through it to get to the food. Bringing this project to Stanford, Anja found out that the mealworms are able to fully break down plastics in their gut with the help of microorganisms. This means that the Styrofoam they are being fed is either turned into body mass or carbon dioxide. When other animals eat plastic, such as humans, it is broken down into little pieces, but still will be the same problem with plastic just in smaller size pieces. Overall the research that Anja is conducting could largely impact the amount of polluting plastics all around our daily lives.
Anja’s project could be a huge foothold into reducing polluting plastics. The project was inspired by a problem at a University in Japan. Their kitchen was having trouble with mealworms eating through the plastic containers holding food. They made an educated guess that maybe the worms were eating the plastic, not just chewing through it to get to the food. Bringing this project to Stanford, Anja found out that the mealworms are able to fully break down plastics in their gut with the help of microorganisms. This means that the Styrofoam they are being fed is either turned into body mass or carbon dioxide. When other animals eat plastic, such as humans, it is broken down into little pieces, but still will be the same problem with plastic just in smaller size pieces. Overall the research that Anja is conducting could largely impact the amount of polluting plastics all around our daily lives.
Sahar was doing a project on bio-plastics. Bio-plastics are types of plastics that are made of either biodegradable or biological material. One type of plastic, BHC, is produced inside bacteria. They are put in a closed system with the nutrients that they need to reproduce including nitrogen and methane. Once there is no more nitrogen in the container they stop reproducing and begin to make the BHC in their bodies. The bacteria are then dried and fed to brine shrimp. They are trying to determine if the BHC helps prevent against disease such as white spot. When the shrimp eat the bacteria with the BHC it causes their immune system to work overtime and therefore protect them against anything else.
Also at Stanford, we learned about the University's work on wastewater treatment. In 1972 the United States government passed the Clean Water Act. The government paid 75 percent of the cost to build water treatment facilities and clean up point source pollution. The treatment plants were designed to last for 30-40 years, and now in 2016 we have come to depend on the plants and are unable to stop using them while repairs are made. Also, the government is unable to pay the same 75 percent to build new treatment plants.
At Stanford, they are building their own center for wastewater treatment. Their goal is to use this facility in order to test possible treatments on a scale larger than a lab. In the end we were left with the question of how can we be beneficial to the environment instead of just less bad?
At Stanford, they are building their own center for wastewater treatment. Their goal is to use this facility in order to test possible treatments on a scale larger than a lab. In the end we were left with the question of how can we be beneficial to the environment instead of just less bad?
After leaving the labs behind, we got to explore the campus before settling down in front row seats in the Stanford football stadium to watching the Stanford vs. Cal women's lacrosse game. We were awed by the amazing collegiate athletes, and it was a huge thrill to see Charlotte Ward '10 playing for Stanford!
Tuesday, April 12 - Angel Island
Zach Rogers
"Ellis Island of the West," better known as Angel Island, was home to thousands of immigrants in the early 1900's. It was more than just an immigration system, though. It was part of the plot for the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act was created in 1882 by the U.S. government in an attempt to stop Chinese immigration to America. At the time more than 90% of the immigrants who went through Angel Island were Chinese.
In 1906 there was a earthquake that destroyed the city of San Francisco, and also the legal documentation of many Chinese immigrants. The Chinese who lived in America took advantage of this and help other people from China come to America. One way a Chinese immigrant could make it into the country was having a relative who already lived in the U.S. This is the origin of the idea of "paper children." Paper children were people who pretended to be the children of people already living in America, allowing them to immigrate.
Catrina Caruso
After a fun car ride with just the girls and Mr. Clarke, we arrived at Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West Coast. Here was pretty much one big lush mountainous island in the San Francisco Bay. Beautiful from the distance yet horrifying up close (because of the at least 10,000 stairs we had to climb up) we had our week’s worth of exercise, going on a 3.5-mile hike. While there we spent our time talking, exploring, and walking through a 106-year-old historical building. The walks were some of my favorite parts, getting a view of the whole city that was in almost every way unreal. It reminded me a lot of Europe, making me smile at the thought that somewhere so far from home can feel so close. Making our way to our main interest, the immigration center, we found ourselves walking to the shore line where a large bell sat, seeing the many plaques of interesting facts that had happened there, what feels like lifetimes ago, and finally one of the houses where immigrants were kept. This was the original building that housed the Chinese, European, African, Japanese, and South American immigrants. 97% of the immigrants being Chinese, these were some of the people that I think left the biggest mark, literally. Many (but not all in fear of getting caught and deported) Chinese men engraved poems into the walls by their beds. These poems were beautiful yet sad, and many spoke of how they wished the hadn't come to America, how sad they were, and how much they missed their loved ones back home. I have never been one to get homesick but reading these poems reminded me of how much I really do miss my house and my family.
Tuesday, April 12 - Angel Island
Zach Rogers
"Ellis Island of the West," better known as Angel Island, was home to thousands of immigrants in the early 1900's. It was more than just an immigration system, though. It was part of the plot for the Chinese Exclusion Act. This act was created in 1882 by the U.S. government in an attempt to stop Chinese immigration to America. At the time more than 90% of the immigrants who went through Angel Island were Chinese.
In 1906 there was a earthquake that destroyed the city of San Francisco, and also the legal documentation of many Chinese immigrants. The Chinese who lived in America took advantage of this and help other people from China come to America. One way a Chinese immigrant could make it into the country was having a relative who already lived in the U.S. This is the origin of the idea of "paper children." Paper children were people who pretended to be the children of people already living in America, allowing them to immigrate.
Catrina Caruso
Having a grade of seven people has been far from easy at times. Fights, disagreements, taking sides, we’ve been though it all. Yet through thick and thin (I still don't quite know how) we have made it this far through the year. With all that racing through my mind, I found myself sitting in my bed this morning anxious, scared, yet in some ways excited for the day up ahead, knowing that things would be completely different from the last. I woke up and I went for a run with Mrs. Koval. This was probably one of the highlights of my day, because it was a not only a time I had to myself but a time I had to think about how I wanted to better myself for the day ahead. This has been something I am in the process of working on, trying to be only what I want to be, a kind, giving, helpful, good hearted person. Getting back to a quite house of sleeping friends, the morning to come was found to be easygoing and relaxing, having pancakes, beacon, and eggs freshly prepared for us to get us all ready for the day ahead.
After a fun car ride with just the girls and Mr. Clarke, we arrived at Angel Island, the Ellis Island of the West Coast. Here was pretty much one big lush mountainous island in the San Francisco Bay. Beautiful from the distance yet horrifying up close (because of the at least 10,000 stairs we had to climb up) we had our week’s worth of exercise, going on a 3.5-mile hike. While there we spent our time talking, exploring, and walking through a 106-year-old historical building. The walks were some of my favorite parts, getting a view of the whole city that was in almost every way unreal. It reminded me a lot of Europe, making me smile at the thought that somewhere so far from home can feel so close. Making our way to our main interest, the immigration center, we found ourselves walking to the shore line where a large bell sat, seeing the many plaques of interesting facts that had happened there, what feels like lifetimes ago, and finally one of the houses where immigrants were kept. This was the original building that housed the Chinese, European, African, Japanese, and South American immigrants. 97% of the immigrants being Chinese, these were some of the people that I think left the biggest mark, literally. Many (but not all in fear of getting caught and deported) Chinese men engraved poems into the walls by their beds. These poems were beautiful yet sad, and many spoke of how they wished the hadn't come to America, how sad they were, and how much they missed their loved ones back home. I have never been one to get homesick but reading these poems reminded me of how much I really do miss my house and my family.
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Mealworms digesting styrofoam in a Stanford lab
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Learning about Stanford's wastewater treatment efforts
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Mr. Kennedy with Charlotte Ward '10
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