School

There is only 18 more days of school YES!!!!

race

Hey Everyone,
I got this email from Will Bates he has to do with 350??? (sorry if i am wrong) well there is this race going on for the oil spill . I dont really know how to explain this and i thnk its for collage students well the races teams are. but please cheack this site out. www.greatpowerrace.org It will provide any questions

Claire's Orenco Station Conference Outing Summary 05.06.10

Orenco Station Conference Outing

1. At 9:00 a.m., our conference group walked to the 15 Belmont bus stop on Belmont. We road the 15 Belmont bus to SW Morrison and 17th (PGE Park) where, after observing the transit stop, we boarded the MAX Blue Line (MAX being the light rail system in Portland). While riding to Orenco Station the experts and I noted changes from downtown Portland to the suburbs of Portland. Once we arrived in Orenco Station we jotted down our first impressions. Afterwards, we separated into our expertise groups. The Housing Group (today consisting of Heath, Junior, Amy, and I) walked along a residential street and a multi-use street, observing the housing in Orenco Station. Approximately twelve minutes later, the experts gathered to share what each group observed. Barbara, a manager, then gave us a tour of New Seasons Market (the Friendliest Store in Town!), the organic, locally grown, lush foods tantalizing our ravenous bellies (riding in a train apparently causes immense hunger). Thankfully, we were able sample sharp cheddar cheese and eat our lunch at New Seasons. I had a warm spanakopita and a cool kumquat fizzy drink. On the walk back to the Orenco Station MAX stop Julian Smith, another expert, offered BBQ (barbecue. I know. What a peculiar—and very American as I have learned—acronym.) flavored sunflower seeds. Thinking they were pumpkin seeds, I tossed a generous handful into my mouth. Julian, Levi (Food and Health Safety expert), Haven (Food and Health Safety expert), and Lisa (Economics expert) gaped in astonishment. Levi exclaimed, "You're not supposed to eat those!" I am sure my eyes visibly widened. "You're not?" I asked. "No!" I ran to the trash can and spat the shards of sunflower seeds out of my mouth. For the remainder of the walk, Julian and Levi coached me the (proper) way to eat sunflower seeds. We arrived back at the SES Conference Headquarters at 3:00 p.m.

2. A Mixed-Use Urban Center is a town focused around amenities. Orenco Sation encircles the main street that consists of everyday use businesses like restaurants, grocery stores, public transportation, and health facilities. By designing a community that centers around a dozen businesses versus a community built around several business areas, Orenco Station can keep in mind the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and avoid sprawl. I like the Portland metropolitan area idea of creating a number of small towns along the light rail system because I think this method of expanding the city will better control urban sprawl. By having quite a few towns based around everyday businesses I think stronger communities will be established at a lower cost.

3. I think people choose to live in Orenco Station for different reasons. Some people may not like living directly in a city because of the noise, smells, and tighter spaces, but like having easy, quick (30-ish minute) access to a city. Others may work in Portland but cannot find housing or do not like the housing in Portland, therefore live in a suburb. Benefits of living in Orenco Station include the quiet environment, walkability, nearby open spaces, five minute access to public transportation, daily needs and additional businesses within walking distance (grocery store, restaurants, florist, dry cleaner's, dentist, accountant, pet store, wine shop, optician, and more), and convenient access to Portland, by MAX or car. Challenges of living in Orenco Station could be the lack of close-by (less than five miles) libraries, a variety of restaurant cuisines, sports leagues, and multiple of the same kinds of businesses (if I do not like this dentist, I will be making the choice to commute to another dentist's office). But, in my opinion, while it may not be über-convenient to get to some places, the light rail system is within walking distance and the freeway is close by, meaning access to places in or along the way to Portland are convenient.

4. I think successful achievements by the urban planners of Orenco Station are the walkability, the close proximity to everyday businesses, the greenspace, the amount of diversity (in my opinion, better than the typical suburbs I have seen), the access to public transportation, and the tight community feeling. Compared to other suburbs I think Orenco Station has a remarkable amount of community feeling. This feeling was achieved by small front yard space, alley garages, mini sidewalks that create alternate paths, and the businesses located within a couple blocks.

Orenco Station could be improved by adding bike paths and ways of encouraging people to bike. I did not see a play structure or any sports facilities, which could definitely attract the youth of the community, a vital component of having a diverse area. Maybe we were just in Orenco Station at a quiet time but I only saw two mothers with their little ones and four people walking their dogs, three of the four dogs the dog size "small". I think Orenco Station would flourish one hundred percent if more people were outside.

5. After being in Orenco Station, I feel that Brownsfields would flourish if the designers keep in mind the successful outcomes of a compact community: skinny streets, small front yards, allies, businesses with in walking distance. What better way to get to know your neighbors than being situated ten feet away form them—opposed miles of golf-course replica, manicured lawns away? Walkability is also key. When walking outside I know I am more likely to stop if something or someone I see interests me, whereas when driving, it is a major inconvenience to pull over my car and spend ten minutes finding a parking space. By creating a walkable community the result is exactly that: a community.

6. On the MAX ride from downtown Portland to Orenco Station in Hillsboro the most notable change was the progression of larger, more frequent greenspace as we traveled towards Hillsboro. After our trip to downtown Portland last week, I know that besides the Park Blocks and Waterfront Park most of the community spaces are blocks with pavement, seating and fountains, opposed to grass. As we traveled away from downtown I realized there is an abundance of grass and forest alongside the freeways and in the suburbs. The office buildings also seemed to go through a smush and stretch Photoshop effect. Unlike the towering buildings of downtown the buildings on the way to Hillsboro were lower and wider. The overall change was the increase of space and the decrease of height.

Wow......

WOODEN GANGSTER HOUSE, ARCHANGELSK, RUSSIA

WONDERWORKS, ORLANDO, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES

THE UFO HOUSE, SANJHIH, TAIWAN

THE TORRE GALATEA FIGUERES, SPAIN

THE BASKET BUILDING, OHIO, UNITED STATES

Architecture in Dubai

I couldn't find the exact date of my other article so I decided I would just show different architecture in Dubai.

-Kaia

More Wow Buildings

RIPLEY'S BUILDING, ONTARIO, CANADA

HANG NGA GUESTHOUSE A.K.A CRAZY HOUSE, VIETNAM

FOREST SPIRAL—HUNDERTWASSER BUILDING, DARMSTADT, GERMANY

FERDINAND CHEVAL PALACE A.K.A IDEAL PALACE, FRANCE

ERWIN WURM: HOUSE ATTACK, VIENA, AUSTRIA

BikePortland.org

This website has all kinds of information about biking in Portland. It has everything from stolen bike info to places to post their stories about crashes and close calls.
http://bikeportland.org/

-Abigail

Buildings That Might Defy Your World of Architecture

KANSAS CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY, MISSOURI, UNITED STATES

THE CROOKED HOUSE, SOPOT, POLAND

NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER, TOKYO, JAPAN

HABITAT 67, MONTEAL, CANADA

CUBIC HOUSES, ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

Claire's Conference Outing: the Mt. Tabor Area Field Study Summary—in English

PORTLAND, OREGON U.S.A.: Conference Outing Summary: Mt. Tabor, Green Streets, Upper Hawthorne Avenue 04.06.10

At approximately eleven in the morning I and other transportation, housing, parks and art, economics, and health and safety professionals boarded the Trimet bus "15 Belmont" . We arrived at Mt. Tabor Park and walked to the top to see a spectacular view of downtown Portland. Most prominent was Hawthorne Avenue, which lead to the Willamette River and the West Hills. Frank McGowen, one of the conference leaders and tour guides, pointed out OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Investigation), the Coin Building, the Markham bridge, and the Mt. Tabor reservoir. On the way back to Sunnyside Environmental Center, the main building the Brownsfield Conference is being held in, our group was shown many different ways of making a city "livable". Components that make Portland a livable city include dog parks (apparently abundant in Portland), bioswales (a landscape element that helps clean storm water before it is infiltrated back into the earth or piping), and nurseries (to help populate the parking strips with trees). I was especially impressed with the diverse feel of the neighborhood. Through the eyes of a non-architect I would not have guessed there are so many different chicken coop designs, planters, and garden art. Being in Portland I am pleased with the variety of houses and apartments compared to, for example, places in Pheonix, Arizona and Washington (State). Frank is a suburb leader and I was satisfied with the quality of my first day in Portland, Oregon.

Through a planner's eyes I question elements of Portland with judgement of efficiency, beauty, sustainability, and walk, bike, and public transportation success. When I don my architect's spectacles I can see that the public transportation system in Portland (Trimet) is organized and easy to decipher. If you have access to Trimet's website there are helpful resources like "Trip Planner" and "Transit Tracker" to make your ride practically effortless. I have noticed that the bus shelters are planned with thought: the seating often discourages homeless people and encourages bus riders, offers protection from the rain, and sports maps and timetables. From a planner's perspective I see a little more of the story and purpose to features of cities.

To me, "livable" mean something is enjoyable to live in, in addition to being fit for living. In my opinion cities are livable when they have the necessities of the 2010 human standard (able to support housing, office buildings, streets, electricity, TVs, computers, telephones, cellular phones, airplanes, trains, grocery stores, etc.) plus sustainability like recycling and things that bring people together to create a stronger community, like art installations.

Bioswales benefit Portland. Rain is abundant in the Portland area and when the storm water and sewage pipes fill with too much water (and waste), they overflow into the Willamette River. Storm water from impervious surfaces, like sidewalks and paved roads, run into the bioswales and the plants inside love it. The water is cleaned by going through the plants and soil and as a result the water takes longer getting to the pipes or is able to infiltrate the soil. I think bioswales are a super-technology because they have a efficient purpose, they are nice to look at, and they can boast that their home is becoming a green place, already a green place, or becoming a greener place.

World Architecture Website

I found this website with worldwide architecture events, news, stories, projects, etc. Inspiring for an architect like me to look at!

http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.showhome

-Claire

Science Fiction Books

Here is a website with good book recommendations, categorized by genre. Here is the link to the science fiction collection: http://www.readingrants.org/category/gen-x-files/ Some of my favorites.....

Hunger Games—Suzanne Collins (one of the best books I have ever read)

Before I Fall—Lauren Oliver (ditto)

Impossible—Nancy Werlin (ditto ditto. Also, I own this book so someone can borrow it.)

Forest of Hands and Teeth—Carrie Ryan (I own this book so someone can borrow it.)

Shiver—Maggie Stiefvater

The Fetch—Laura Whitcomb

How to Ditch Your Fairy—Justine Larbalestier (Australian and incredibly hilarious—laugh out loud, pee your pants, cause major class disruption funny.)

Bliss—Lauren Myracle (disturbing)

The Adoration of Jenna Fox—Mary E. Pearson

A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, and A Sweet Far Thing—Libba Bray (This is a trilogy, listed in order. I have Rebel Angels and A Sweet Far Thing that can be borrowed. Also some of the best books I have read.)

Book of a Thousand Days—Shannon Hale

-Claire

Amazing art

If you go on to google (under images) and look up chalk art you will see amazing art

-Zara

good books

Okay I f you dont know a good book to read over spring break then you should read the Uglies by scott Westerfeild


-Zara

i sent my history alive article to franks.core@gmail.com because it would not post on the blog.

another intresting fact

here is another cool fact a couple days ago scientists found an all black penguin in Antarctica.
-Sadie

snow in the mediterranean

I just wanted to share this, because I find it really interesting how we barely had any snow, yet the Mediterranean is receiving huge blasts of it!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8557570.stm

FS summary

On Tuesday we went to a blacksmith’s shop. It was very cool and enlightening to see how real iron work is made. I personally thought that it was interesting to see how difficult and long it takes to make a piece of art. The most interesting thing was how patient you have to be and how strong and skilled you must be to do that crafts work. When I stepped up to swing the hammer it was heavy and you really had to have good aim to hit the small piece of metal. I definitely won’t forget this time going to a blacksmiths shop and I hope no one else will too.

-Rowan

I really liked this trip. Not very often are we offered the experience to watch and join in on a blacksmith's work. To my surprise it is a lot like they show in the movies. Like in pirate movies when they have the blacksmith making swords. Although Aaron doesn't make very many swords the process is similar. Using heating and cooling to form the iron, using a forge, anvil, water and a hammer. Aaron's studio was very calm and had a earthy vibe, espically with the presence of his dog, Wiley. It felt like a spot where you could be very creative and still get a lot done. I also enjoyed hammering the hot metal, at first I was a little nervous; I dislike hot things. But as I started it was a lot of fun and I had nothing to worry about. It was intresting to see the plain iron form into a hanger in the course of 2 hours. It was a long a process and I can't imagine working with metal all day everyday, but it was a fun experience. And wow, Aaron must be strong. It's quite the workout. Overall I really enjoyed being involved with a blacksmith's work. I had a great time thanks to Aaron, Zach, Wiley, Frank, our chaperones and our class!

-Lisa

Claire's Altility Art Studios Field Study Reflection

1. After taking a nice tour of multiple Trimet bus routes, we arrived at Altility Art Studio on Mississippi (near the waffle place that sent enticing aromas over to the studio, teasing my tummy). We were welcomed by Wiley, a black, wolf-y, amber-eyed, white speckle footed dog. Aaron then introduced himself and his friend Zach. He showed us the project he his currently working on for an art series in Cannon Beach. The “canvas” was an approximately seven foot tall rock with a circumference of three feet and a shape that reminded me of the pinky finger sized crystal I got at a place I remember sold yoga movies and smelled of incense when I was four-ish years old: a rough thin main length tapering at the end, like the way my dad slices baguettes when we have guests over. The rock looked like it might be about to go rock climbing; it was harnessed and rigged so it would stand up straight, pointing to the ceiling. It looked heavy—I cannot make weight estimates but it was probably heavy enough to kill you if it fell on top of you. Winding around the rock to the top and back down were metal salmon. Aaron said he was collaborating with a Native American woman who was going to be adding carvings of the salmon life cycle to the rock. I think the end product will be riveting.

After surveying Aaron’s current project he showed us how we would make three hooks. First he heated a kiln to 2100 degrees Fahrenheit. He then balanced three two-foot long iron rods with an inch circumference inside the kiln. While waiting for the kiln to heat the rods, he explained most blacksmiths make their own tools and showed us the tools he made, describing that the circular ended hammer evenly spread heated iron when pounded and the narrow, rectangular ended hammer spread heated iron in the direction the pressure was applied. Aaron also showed us a three-foot long anvil and how pounding iron on different planes of the anvil resulted in different shapes. Once the iron rods were heated to a glowing yellow-orange much like the color of the sun when it seems to sink into the ocean at sunset or a farm-fresh egg yolk being lit from the inside by a 400 watt light bulb (using my imagination hear, wouldn’t suggest experimenting), students took turns pounding the rods with the different hammers (don’t worry parents, we wore gloves and safety goggles). I thought it was grueling and fatiguing work to pound the rod, especially because there is only a few minutes the rod can be beat into shapes before it cools too much. After each student pounded the rods Aaron and Zach fashioned the rods into hooks, the kind you might mount onto a kitchen wall and hang a tea towel from (although they looked strong and tough enough to hold a fifty pound tool belt in a dark basement). The whole process took about two hours, with the pounding and reheating repetitions. The final result was a square hook, a hook with the tea towel holding part curling inward, and a hook with the top back part curling inward as well as the tea towel holding part. The experience was interesting and I had a fresh respect for Aaron’s work after I tried it myself, especially after flipping through his binder of other projects he has done, much more complicated looking then our simple hooks.

Our class was ravenous after our laborious blacksmithing and the majority of the class snacked as we wait for the bus—bus #1. We took another tour of a handful of Trimet bus routes on our way back to SES, gobbling food whenever possible. Arriving back at SES around later-then-expected, we collapsed exhaustedly into our chairs, guzzling any leftover food. The life of blacksmithing. Ah…

2. The Steps of Blacksmithing: To shape iron, it must be heated to at least 1650 degrees Fahrenheit. When struck repeatedly, iron will become brittle and crack, so it must be heated and cooled, heated and cooled many times. This process is called annealing. Fire, water, earth, and air is used in blacksmithing: ore from the earth, fire to heat the metal, air to increase the heat of the fire, and water to harden the metal. An anvil is used to shape heated metal. Almost any iron can be used. Hammers are an important tool used to shape metal in the blacksmithing process. The striking surface of a hammer causes the heated metal to spread in different directions. The blacksmithing process is a long one, and requires patience (something I have learned personally by trying blacksmithing).

3. (My object is a teacup.) Making a teacup using the blacksmithing process would take a long time. I imagine it would take hundreds of repetitions of heating and cooling a piece of metal to form a cup—with a handle. Today, there are efficient machines that construct teacups but I have made teacups from clay before and know it is a slow process. Making a teacup from clay is not a quick project, because one must be careful to construct the cup with no holes or cracks or else a tea-drinker will not be especially pleased when their scorching tea leaks onto their fingers. Having the opportunity to try blacksmithing made me think more about the time and process it takes to make a seemingly simple object.

i decided to put pictures on other things that blacksmiths make. I found these pictures the first one is of a hook like we made on tuesday. the second one is of a horse shoe that  blacksmiths can also make. The third one my favorite is if a hook with a leaf one it that looks like the leaf has a bit of color on it. 

Spring Garden Day

Monday, March 15th
(teacher inservice day)
9am - Noon

Come on out and help get the school ready for Spring! We will be:

• putting in some new plants
• building a patio out in front of the school
• cleaning-up around the grounds
  

Join the fun - bring some water, snacks and your enthusiasm for greening our school grounds!

Questions? email: sunnysidesustainability@gmail.com

Wonderments

Under the leaf litter lies a world of mycorrhizae, nematodes, bacteria, earthworms, mites, moles and beyond. These organisms perform myriad functions including soil-decomposition, nitrogen-fixation, and adding nutrients to the soil.

This complicated web allows plants, animals and fungi to live together. How did we figure all this out? It started with a question and a dedication and passion to find an answer. Having a magnifying glass and a microscope also allowed us to be able to see all those tiny processes unfolding.

Let's look at the other side of things: something massive. How about the axial tilt of the Earth? The fact that the Earth rotates on a 23.5 degree tilt causes all sorts of interesting things to happen. As the Earth moves through its orbit around the sun the Northern and Southern hemispheres face the sun at different extremes.

For those of us lucky enough to live North or South of the equator, we have seasons. The further we are away from the equator, the more change we see between summer and winter.

Isn't this stuff amazing?

As we live our life we are somewhere in the middle of the minuscule and the massive. We don't need to be experts to understand these things, either.

-This post was copied from an email sent to me by the Wilderness Awareness School. Last summer, I spent a week at this school deepening my understanding of nature...

Claire's Summary of Terry Winters—Linking Graphics, Prints 2000-2010 (Cooley Gallery at Reed College)

I thought the exhibit was interesting because Terry Winters uses math and science in his art, unlike other artists. Everyone saw different objects and meanings in Terry Winters prints, whereas the nude art from hundreds of years ago that we saw at the Cooley Gallery is recognizable to people and the meaning is clear (if you know things like Greek mythology like Gregory did). I liked watching people from our class look at a piece and move on, but then take another glance and come back to it to scrutinize a color almost completely hidden under other layers of the print or contemplate the meaning of the print after hearing someone else say, “I see a water slide!” or “Look! It’s a irrigated farm through a wet camera lens!” I think this exhibit was more engaging to everyone in our class because the art was like a series of puzzles. People were drawn to a piece because of what they thought they sawvbut when the student next to them said, “No, look it’s a (blank),” they continued to examine the piece instead of moving on through the gallery.

I liked “Process Color.” What drew me to this one is the vivid colors that seemed like if the print was on a block of paper pulp that was five hundred feet tall the color would still continue to the bottom. The knots that so often occurred in Terry Winter’s art and were plentiful in this piece reminded me of a garden of cabbage roses growing abundantly on the prints. The effect the colors had, some lying on top of each other, others blending together in a fresh wash, topped with delicate prints, seemed Japanese to me. The aspects I liked best were under curving black lines and the whole print was stamped with a star-like shape. As a result, I thought the colors and roses looked far away.

The set of prints called “Intervals” also drew me in. These prints were not as busy to my eye. I liked the simplicity of the white embossments that the looked like the fast revolving toys at OMSI set on crisp, clear November afternoon, sky blue paper. I also like how they were “classified” by the identification section at the bottom of the paper. (This leads me to think the “fast revolving OMSI toys” are a concept of science.) As a set of six, the pieces felt right to me. They had order by identification (an idea I liked included in art) and a feeling of calm, perhaps from the simpleness of white on blue after the surrounding frenzies of black lines.

Terry Winters attempts to capture science and mathematics in his art by having prints of things that look vaguely familiar from spending time in a science lab and numbers and patterns strung throughout his prints. I think Terry Winter’s style is interesting to look at and definitely amazing. So much experimental work went into each piece, from transferring an idea onto paper through a printing method. I wonder if the final prints of pieces are ever exactly how Terry Winters first imagined them. His style overall is around the neutral to me, on a scale of hate-love. I certainly enjoyed looking at his art but I didn’t think, “This unbelievably outrageous,” or “I could have this framed on my bedroom,” or “I want to see everything his has ever made.”

In the natural world, I believe there is an indirect joining of science, mathematics, and art. Science and mathematics make up the natural world, explain why, name how. Today, global warming equals science. Plant coloration is often constructed of patterns, like pineapples, cabbage, irises, lettuce, and shells have Fibonacci pattern markings. I think many people who believe in God probably think he created art by making the world. But personally, I believe art is indirectly linked to mathematics and science in the world because so many people use the natural world and things that happen because of the natural world as inspiration for their art. I do not believe in a god, I believe in evolution, so I do not think the natural world is a man in the sky’s masterpiece. I do believe art is related to the natural world through the beauty people see and try to capture through their art.

Cooley Art Gallery-Terry Winters

Terry Winter's art had a lot of recurring themes and that gave me the impression that he was experimenting and learning as he created his art. Some of those themes are the knots, which I didn't like but he used a lot, the dots or squares connected by lines, and the netting or webbing which I loved and he seemed to find a different way to twist in every piece he used it. Some of his pieces, like the layered one with red and blue, were so layered and complex it seemed that every time you looked at it you saw something different. I like this in art, I like it to require you to think and have to dissect it in your mind. I was also impressed by Terry Winters ability to put things from real life, like the knots, into the prints and make them look like they fit into the abstract image. This was a great exhibit to see and I hope to see pieces by him somewhere else.

Abigail

Book Covers

caprisun

if anyone can for wastereduction mounth I signed the school up for recycling caprisun juice boxes instead of throwing them away they will go to a man who uses the pouches to make purses pencial pouches ext. I tried to sign up but you need the school tax payer i.d. for the school foundation if anyone can get that for me that would be great. by doing this we can earn $0.02 for each juice box.
sadie

deforest by Haven, Claire & Lisa

Fluffy by Cierra, Jaleh & Junior

Deforestation by Levi, Trevor, Alex & Julian

Video by Heath, Rowan & Nathan

Help the Forest by Amy & Janai

Deforestation by Kaia & Ananda

World Deforestation by Isaac, Travis & Perrin

Deforestation by Max & Tajanae

Time to Change - Logging

Abby, Sadie, Zara

Deforestation By Alfie And Ruby

Field Study Summary

On tuesday we went to Magness tree farm. It was really funny when we were at the station with Bill wood Nathan convinced Bill that his name was Jamal. It was also really fun to go on the hike and see the over grown christmas tree farm. because my dad was in a boy scout troop that went to Magness tree farm and did stuff with them. The weather was really nice because for most of the day the sun was shinning and it wasn't to cold. I learned a lot of different things from this. 

Essential questions:

1. I would choose medium thinning because then you make enough money and also not clear-cut the land.

2. some of the uses of plants or trees in general.

-Toilet Paper

-timber

-shade

-fire wood 

-maple syrup

-christmas trees

-fruit 

-art tools 

3. Logging affects the global climate change because when you log you are taking trees away that could be talking in C02. this is changing the environment because right now we are putting a lot of carbon in the air which is causing the global temperature to rise.

-Haven

World Forestry Center Field Study Summary

Enter…. the World Forestry Center, Portland, Oregon. First, be seated in a cushy, reclining chair to watch an eight-minute video on the basics of forests. Exit, and precede to the ground level exhibits that display information (like methods of timber harvest, animals, like the dark-eyed junco, and plants, heaviest types of wood, percentages of who owns forests in Oregon) and activities (like 100% water-free white water rafting, smoke jumping for those paranoid of heights, and finding animals in a Douglas fir) focusing on the forests of the Pacific Northwest. Walk carefully up the main set of stairs, holding onto the (Oak? Pine? Fir?) handrail. Pass over the bridge, observing the towering Douglas firs, birds and insects hidden within lush needles, and stop at the map of the world continents dotted with numbers. Read the brown, tan, blue, and red signs with information like “Canada exports twenty-two metric tons of maple syrup to over thirty countries annually” and “Bushmeat hunting in Africa threatens biodiversity of (sub-tropical) forests”. Conveniently located on the signs in an eye-catching traffic cone orange, find the number (such as “one” or “forty-three”). Next, roll your eyeballs up to the map of continents and find the identical number on the wall. That is where what you just read is located in the world! After this knowledge-boosting activity, stroll to the Russian train cars, where vermilion seats are comfortably placed in front of kitchenette-like tables, perfect for viewing the videos playing on the wall of the train. Feel free to roam to whatever looks intriguing, perhaps getting a picture taken while riding the rapids, or operating a timber harvest. Thank you for joining us today, and hopefully horizon expanding tidbits were learned of the forest of Planet Earth.

My favorite exhibit was the map of continents with the informational signs and Challenges of Forests signs. The Challenges of Forests started me thinking about how income and population relate with fuelwood consumption and damaged forest. I learned several communities in Tanzania, Africa are replanting forests, rehabilitating springs and repairing forest roads, some with the help of Roots and Shoots (an organization I remember Jane Goodall talking about that helps people in Africa restore their land and resources). I also observed that the higher the income per person, the more industrial wood is used by the continent, and the lower the income per person, the more fuelwood is utilized. I enjoyed our field study to the World Forestry Center and appreciated the information and activities presented.

-Claire

Our Laurelhurst park field study

We came back from lunch and got in groups of 4 people. We got meter sticks and 100 ft. tapes. We then left school and headed to Laurelhurst. When we got there we plotted out one acre plots and we each stood on one corner. An acre is actually rather small. Then we headed to a little alcove under a tree to hide from the rain. We then did all the math stuff for the replanting and thinning. After it stopped raining we headed out to try and find the height of trees.
People told us that it was easiest to do it this way: Make an estimate of how tall the tree is. Then walk about that far away, bend over and try and find a spot were the tip of the tree is just barely visible between your legs. Then measure the distance from you and the tree trunk. That is about the height of the tree.

-Travis

Field Study To Laurelhurst.

Yesterday we went to Laurelhurst park in the afternoon, when we got to the park we had to measure out an acre using a measuring tape that was a hundred feet long and a meter stick. My group didn’t use the meter stick but we still were able to measure the acre, which was 43,560 feet squared. After we finished doing that we had to do some math problems about us plants trees in an acre. Which was fun but hard at first then we had to learn how to measure the height of a tree using a measuring tape, a meter stick, and a square sheet. After we all measured the same tree we started to head back to school I really had fun on yesterdays field study.

-Haven Brice

Laurelhurst Tree Math Field Study Summary

After recording our class's song and doing activities about forests in Brazil and Oregon, we walked to Laurelhurst Park with meter sticks and 100 foot measuring tapes in hand. First, in groups of four (I was in Group 3 along with Abby, Janai, and Alex),we plotted one acre using the 100 foot measuring tape to get an idea of the size in our heads. We then used math (i.e. calculators) to figure out how much space in feet ______ amount of trees per acre would have between them if they were evenly spaced. Once we got the measurements, the four of us trees spaced ourselves out according to the numbers we got earlier. This gave me a chance to visualize how overpopulated many forests are.

We then picked a tree to find the height of with a four inch square piece of paper folded diagonally in half, creating a 45-45-90 degree triangle, a meter stick, and a 100 foot measuring tape. Above is a diagram of how we figured out the height of the tree. Once I recorded all the measurements, I plugged them into the tangent ratio to find the height of the tree.

Subsequent to finding the heights of trees, we walked back to Sunnyside in the rain, arriving just in time at 3:00pm.

-Claire

Kaia's Make-up assignment.

1.

A. In this sculpture, the Horse is just standing, but it almost looks like it is watching it's back to make sure nothing is there.

B. It looks like the artist used clay.

C. horses used to run wild and some still do. But most are used on a farm to plow the land or some people just have them on a horse ranch for their pleasure.

D. People say that the horse is a symbol of speed and strength.

2.

A. 1.Society not accepting a person and causing poverty. 2. Not having access to resources. 3. Not having enough financial support can cause poverty.

D.In Afghanistan, causes of poverty are: War, Deforestation, Not enough access to resources. But, even though they are a very poor country, they have lots of hope.

In Niger, causes of poverty are mostly caused by global warming. Droughts, Insect infestation.

E. Climate change is causing most of the struggles in Niger.

F. In my opinion, i might be thinking about this wrong, but humans are animals.

G. Afghanistan and Niger are working together to solve these problems, even if they don't have all the resources to support their families, they are working in a big community

Portland Art Museum

On Tuesday we traveled to the Art museum to look at art work of animals. My favorite pieces were both 3D. The first one i saw was a pelican made from terracotta. The pelican had its wings curled up and it looked like it was in a ball. The sculpture had a lot of texture in the wings and on the face. The texture gave the piece much more form. The other piece i saw was a thunderbird made by Mark Sponenburgh. It was a very simple piece but use some unusual materials. The beak was a bull horn, the body was made from driftwood and the talons were from antlers.

Levi, Art museum

field study 1-12-10

I had a great time and my favorite part was the art museum and all the

amazing art works they had a cat a dog a mixed thing and it was

so cool we should go again some time and just explore on our own

but my most favorite part was the sneak peak at the china room

and the little video

-rowan

Field Study

My art piece I liked the Drunken Cobblers painting. there was a father who's job was a cobbler and in the painting he was drunk. His hands were out in shock as his daughter, and son, and wife were angered at him for spending money on beer. The daughter and son had saddened faces and were waring no shows their faces resembled each other as with the mother. I like this painting because you can tell what is happening just by looking at the picture and because it is one of the first paintings that has free stoke brushes in an oil painting.
- Sadie Art museum

Portland Art Museum and Mercy Corps Action Center 01.12.10

Art Museum Activities

1 + 2. Describe two pieces of art that captured your attention today. What did you enjoy about these pieces?

I liked how the still lives in the European wing had gorgeous bouquets of flowers with heavy blossoms hanging over the sides of a vase and thousands of colors staining each pastel petal. But when I took a closer look, as instructed by Alice, Group 2's docent, I saw the red-ish brown petals dying in the shadows, a leaf with a tiny nibble along the edge where a ladybug perched, a snake intwining the handle of a elaborate blue and white vase, and a fly hidden in the explosions of flowers. These animals brought real life back into focus: nothing (so beautiful) is perfect. But the imperfections were always masked in the wild shadow of the bouquet, just hinting at a sliver of reality. I enjoyed these pieces because the artist painted exquisite facades of a florist's work gone crazy but when looked at closer, (to me) said, "nothing's perfect."

3. The following quote is from John Muir: What do you think animals different than ourselves provide to humans?

Animals different than ourselves provide food, comfort, a sense of "wild in the great outdoors" and materials to fabricate shoes, clothes, couches, Jello, and more. I think that animals different than ourselves are also very connected to us through indirect things, like if a person were to eat a steak, and then learn cows are endangered. The might only think, "Save the cows!" when really the grass the cows (used to) eat is so full of chemicals and toxic substances from humans' actions, the cows cannot eat the grass, or will die. This example shows how humans and their stuff greatly impacts the environment which in turn impacts the animals. If we (everyone in the world) don't protect the habitats of animals, no matter how many "Save the Bald Eagle" or "Save the Polar Bear" people give their money and/or their support to can't make a difference without peoples' support for a healthy environment.

4. Is it important to protect the habitat of animals? Why or why not?

I believe it is important to protect the habitats of animals because animals are a gargantuan part of humans' lives' (food, outdoor entertainment, studies, everyday things like clothes, sofas, etc.) but also because I think animals were meant to be on Earth to help create stability with the land and water. When humans take actions that destroy the environment chaos begins—and that's where we, the world, is now. Like in Niger, where there have been insane locusts infestations that ruin people's crops (food and money) that no one as ever seen before. Predators of the locusts can't keep up, so the balance between environment and animal has been upset. With humans' actions creating Global Climate Change, the balance between environment and animal is just tipping further and further every year. Scientists believe Global Climate Change is not natural, at least not at this pace, and therefore animals cannot react and adapt fast enough to help keep the balance that is being but into (sometimes literally) a tornado by humans' actions.