This week we discovered that the plants in the grow bed of the aquaponics tank are infested with aphids. Danny and Ishan took on the task of figuring out what to do and directed me to a site that recommended different beneficial insects to take care of the aphids. This way we can avoid introducing anything that might help the plants but hurt the fish, such as neem oil. We now have some lacewings on the way. The aphids were also popular during our time with Lisa this week where the kids were able to explore with field microscopes as the students plucked some of the dead leaves to get a closer look at the culprits.

During our elective, we observed and documented some of the plants that can be found on the school grounds, with the help of C. Milton Dixon of Permaculture Productions. We compared the shapes of leaves and branching patterns (opposite vs. branching.) The students made rubbings of various leaves and sketched others, including the seeds of biennials such as burdock and curly dock. We also found a variety of plants from the mint family, noted by the square shaped stem including mint, basil, and sage. It was amazing to note what we found just outside of the classroom.