This week Shoreline teachers have to prepare for a professional development day so the experiential teachers agreed we wouldn't focus on making a new post - there is just so much to do! However, I though some of you might enjoy checking out someone else's blog - the Fresh Five by Fresh Roots. Click on "read more" below to learn how to identify edible flowers, press flowers, find flower friends (bees), dissect a flower or roast cauliFLOWER to eat. I have reposted Kat's neat content here because Gladys and I enjoyed making pressed flower cards for all her grandmothers for Mother's day last week and thought you might as well. May lines up with PENAWEN, the moon of the camas (KLO,EL) harvest in the WSANEC calendar. If you want to press a camas flower, make sure you only pick up one that someone else has stepped on - we need to respect and care for the few remaining endangered camas meadows. Leave harvesting to the First Nations meadow keepers who have the right and responsibility to do so. Alternatively, if you decide to become a flower "ninja" this week (drop off a basket of flowers on someone's doorstep, as per Kat's instructions in her Fresh Five blog when you click on "read more" below), please email me a picture of your present for a friend or neighbour. Or you can check out my new website: www.restorativeducation.com and email me what you think of it! I'd love to hear from you if you have ever done any of the Sustainability activities - you'll get school credit for it! All the best to you and yours, Miz Menzies FRESH FIVE WEEK 4: FLOWER POWER
They say that April showers bring May flowers, and we’ll see if that’s right this month! Friday was May Day, which has been celebrated with flowers since Roman times, when it was known as Floralia, a 6-day long celebration in honor of Flora, goddess of flowers. One May Day tradition from my childhood which may be due for a revival is making May Baskets, simple woven paper baskets filled with flowers, often dandelions or other blooming “weeds” we found in our yard. We would, as tradition required, sneak up to our neighbors’ doors, place the basket, knock, and run away with much excitement.I can’t help but think this would be a fantastic way to stay physically distant but socially close. Who doesn’t love getting flowers! In honor of May Day, this week’s Fresh Five is all about Flower Power. FORAGE FOR EDIBLE FLOWERS Flowers are beautiful, but did you know they can be delicious, too? Our Edible Flower Field Guide will help you identify some of the many tasty, colorful flowers you might find in your neighborhood. It includes sustainable foraging guidelines, and an Edible Flower Bingo card you can bring with you as you go looking for treats. Please forage responsibly! Edible Flower Field Guide PRESS FLOWERS If you have blooms that are too pretty to eat (or just not edible), you can press them and turn them into lasting decorations! This site has great descriptions of many different ways to press and dry flowers. Did you know you can press your flowers in the microwave? I sure didn’t! Flowering Pressing FIND FLOWER FRIENDS While you’re out looking at flowers, slow down and keep your eyes peeled for bees, butterflies, and more! We’ll have a whole week dedicated to pollinators, but this is a great time to start looking for them. You can help scientists track what species are living where using the Insight Citizen Science iPhone app. Don’t have an iPhone? Bumble Bee Watch (based in the US) lets you take pictures with any device and upload them to their database. Both of these projects are meaningful ways you can contribute to scientific knowledge in your community! Insight Citizen Science Bumble Bee Watch DISSECT A FLOWER But why do pollinators visit flowers? And why do flowers want pollinators to visit them? Check out this Flower Dissection lesson from the great folks at SPEC to learn about the different parts of a flower and their functions, and see why pollinators are so important to plants, and to us! It’s part of their Green Thumbs at School lesson book, which is full of other great lessons. Flower Dissection Lesson Recipe: ROAST CAULIFLOWER Is cauliflower really a flower? Yes, it is! The tight, white head of the cauliflower is actually its immature flower buds. If you left it on the plant, it would bloom! Broccoli is a flower too. Coating anything in butter and roasting it is sure to make it even more delicious, and cauliflower is no exception. You can substitute the curry powder with any of your favorite seasoning blends. Adding a colorful sprinkle of cilantro or dandelion petals takes it from everyday to gourmet. Roasted Curry Cauliflower Recipe Happy Flowering! Kat Comments are closed.
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Ms. MenziesTeaches the Sustainability Exploratory class at Shoreline Middle School. Sustainability = the ability to survive and thrive... over time!
In this class we learn how to keep healthy through ensuring we have access to clean air, water, food, shelter, medicine, community, education, materials, energy, governance... ArchivesCategories |
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