The Eagle Gazette
April 2021 Earth Day Edition
Ozone Layer
By Tammus Johnson-McCartney
The ozone layer is a layer in the atmosphere that protects us from most of the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. However, the ozone layer is steadily getting destroyed by pollution in the air. There are a lot of greenhouse gases, such as smoke, in the air which is bad for the ozone layer. The ozone layer is made out of a lot of ozone, or more commonly known as O3 in the periodic table of elements. Ozone is a blue gas that is needed to protect us from ultraviolet rays from the Sun.
The ozone layer is found 9 to 22 miles above the Earth. Without the ozone layer, everything on Earth would burn up because the sun's ultraviolet rays are so hot. There are some things that we can do to stop or at least slow how much the ozone layer is getting damaged. Since the main cause of the ozone layer being damaged is air pollution, we could cut down on use of greenhouse gases, such as the smoke from cars and fires. Everybody can make a difference when you try!
How Climate Change Affects The Ocean Zones and What You Can Do To Help
by: Marilyn Malagon
Climate change is where many greenhouse gases and fossil fuels are released into the earth's atmosphere which makes the sun's heat gets trapped in the atmosphere causing dramatic increased weather changes. This increased heat can cause places all over the world to heat up more than they're supposed to, this can even be dangerous for us because when the climate is very warm, hurricanes and storms can start. You may be wondering,“the oceans zones probably won't be affected since they're so deep,” well when the air is hot some ice caps fall into the ocean which is making the ocean level rise and with the sun's heat right on it can cause changes in the ocean's temperature. Although the oceans help reduce climate change by storing large amounts of carbon dioxide, high levels of dissolved carbon are changing the chemistry of seawater and making it more acidic. Increased ocean acidity makes it more difficult for certain organisms, such as corals and shellfish, to build their skeletons and shells. These effects could change the biodiversity, nature, and productivity of the ocean's ecosystems.
What you can do:
Speak up! Tell your family and friends or even neighbors
Power your home with renewable energy ( solar panels or windmills will work)
Weatherize your home (meaning having your house well insulated and resistant to the cold so you can use less artificial heat)
Invest in energy-efficient appliances.
Reduce water waste.
Eat the food you buy ( try not to waste)
Buy better bulbs.
Pull the plugs (from anything being unused.)
Recycle (so the bottles, cans, and paper can be recycled into something else, instead of it possibly ending up in the ocean, polluting it, and harming the fish and animals)
These solutions can seem like it takes a lot of time, money, and effort, but come the end of the day your family will be spending less money and the environment, coral reefs, shellfish, and many other fish and creatures of the depth will thank you. :)
Mountain Oaks Little Green Environmental Team
By: Lilly O'Geen
Go outside right now, feel the wind on your face. Put your feet on the ground. Admire the beauty of the earth around you. Isn’t it wonderful? It's kind of crazy how extraordinary the earth is, but our planet's beauty is slowly fading. People around the world are coming together to try and save our planet. Mountain Oak school is taking action with a student environmental team led by mentor teacher Kayle Hamilton.
Ms. Kayle created this group so kids may have the opportunity to help the school and environment. She also stated that it can be difficult to help students connect with the earth during covid, and she wanted to create a place where they could do so. Ms. Kayle explains that through this class students will work to make sustainable changes on both school and community levels. They will be learning what our school does and needs to improve upon to become more environmentally friendly through a sustainability audit. Once students have decided upon what needs to be improved they will work to create eco-friendly solutions. I asked Ms. Kayle about the importance of teaching school children about the environment and she stated, “Environmental education provides so much for children. Getting outdoors and learning about the environment motivates kids to want to protect it. Seeing as the earth is our home, we best do all we can to save it”
To celebrate Earth Day the kids in our Little Green Environmental Team are taking action and working on planning an Earth Day Celebration and trash pick up. There are hopes to have a clean-up that will take place on Pole Station road. It’s important to care for and protect our earth and cleaning up litter is a good way to start. The event will be open to students of all grades and their family’s. Please keep an eye out for more information to come on the Mountain Oaks School Website.
A small group of Mountain Oaks students are working towards a better cleaner environment, and you can too. Let’s work together to save our wonderful planet.
Back in the Saddle - A Calaveras County Homecoming
By Cali Andahl
This article is a follow up on a previous article that I wrote in February about the Calaveras County Fair and Frog jumping jubilee. In February we weren’t sure if we would get to have a fair or what it would look like. Today I spoke with Laurie Giannini The Fair CEO about what our 2021 fair will look like.
“This year instead of our traditional Calaveras County Fair Frog Jumping Jubilee we will be having a Calaveras homecoming event which will include a lot of our favorite things, but the most important thing is for our community to be together.” Said Laurie Giannini
Talking with Laurie I learned some of our most important events will be included such as; Musical performances, local events rodeo, daily frog jumping, destruction derby, exhibits and vendors, saddle queen competition, Miss Calaveras scholarship pageant and a livestock show.
While the junior livestock shows will be in person the auction will happen virtually. Well there be carnival rides? At this time that is yet to be determined whether it is cost effective or not for the carnival company will be based on the tier our county is in at the time.
For the schedule of events or more information visit www.frogtown.org
As a livestock kid myself I really appreciate all that Laurie, her staff, the fair board, the junior livestock committee and many others do to make this a possibility.
“My favorite part of my job is getting to work with young people” said Laurie Giannini.
Hope to see you all at the Fair May 13 - 16, 2021 At Frogtown USA.
Spring Scavenger Hunt
By Adrien Wood
Step outside. What do you hear? What do you see? Take a deep breath. Spring is here, and to start spring, I have made a Spring Scavenger Hunt for all ages! Some items you can find in your backyard. Others, you have to go out and explore nature like go out on a hike. Down below are the items you need to find for big and little kids. Have fun!
Copies of the list of items you need to find are available at the front office and if you turn in a completed list to Ms. Dana, she will give you a small treat! Limited supply available.
Poetry Month
Friends
Friends are someone sharing and caring,
It doesn't matter what you’re wearing,
A friend will point you in the right direction,
And you don't need to fight that correction.
Friends may have bad hair days,
You know you've had those same days,
You can have any friend from around the world,
It doesn't matter if it's a boy or a girl.
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” -Helen Keller
The Beauty of the Seasons
By: Lilly O'Geen, Adrien Wood, Cecilia O'Geen
The soft tickle of snow
The soft tickle of snowflakes on your skin
The trees twirling in the wind
The warm crackle of a fireplace welcomes you in
A wish for winter never to end
Can you feel the warm sun on your face
Can you see the beauty of nature when you go hiking.
Can you see the wildflowers dancing in the warm breeze.
Can you hear the sweet melody the song birds sing.
Bring on the summer heat,
And letś go to the beach.
feel the water on your face,
And letś eat a peach
The trees change glorious colors and grow bare
As the sun drift farther away families grow near for a thanksgiving feast
Thanksgiving and Halloween time two gather together and have a good scare
Birds fly south for winter as far as west to east.
Spring
By: Cali Andahl, Tammus Johnson-McCartney, Josh Hudson
In the Spring the grass is green
Moss and hail is not very stale
Un-stale flowers are for sale
Animals and color intervene.
Spring Is Here
By Andy Lampa, Emmaline Turnbeaugh, Sadie Woden, Marilyn Malagon
The smell of flowers in the air.
Spring is here.
The weather is fair.
So shout a cheer.
Contact Us
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Phone: (209)754-0532
Aquaponics, the Fin-tastic Way of Saving the Future
By: Cecilia O’Geen
Did you know that by 2050 there are going to be more than 9 billion people on earth?! We already are running out of space to grow food for the population we have now. How are we going to grow the food for the population in the future? Well, aquaponics is the answer! The purpose of this article is to teach you about aquaponics and its fin-tastic ways!
Aquaponics is a healthy and organic way of growing food. Something very interesting about aquaponics is that it does not need soil to grow plants! How can the plants get nutrients if there is no soil? From fish waste (poop). How does this work? Well, in the aquaponics center, the fish waste produces ammonia. The nitrifying bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates which the plants can consume.
The growth rate of aquaponic crops is two times faster than soil farming. It also uses 90% less water because aquaponics is in a closed-loop system where nutrients and water are recycled. It uses less farmland than soil farming. In fact, aquaponics doesn't even need land to grow plants! No chemical fertilizers are necessary because the fish will eat all the pests and will provide nutrients to sustain healthy plants! Why is aquaponics so important for the future? That’s a good question! The population is growing and the amount of farmland we have is declining. So when the population is growing our knowledge of food production has to grow too! So as our knowledge grew we found our answer, aquaponics! The great thing about aquaponics is that you can grow anything, anywhere, and in any season! It also conserves water which can reduce the number of droughts we have and with fewer droughts, there will be fewer wildfires! Aquaponics can grow twice the amount of food as soil farming and it grows twice as fast! Aquaponics is definitely the answer to our increasing population!