Seasons Greetings
December 2019

Not So Native But We Still Love Them

Tis the season for Christmas trees and Poinsettias. But what to do with that poinsettia plant given by a friendly neighbor or coworker? And how do we make the best of our Christmas tree when the holidays are over?

Although poinsettias are non-native to California, there are a few options for what to do with this traditionally tropical plant from Mexico. Poinsettias are short day plants which means they flower for 10 weeks after the shortening of the days. To get them to flower during Christmas holidays keep them in complete darkness between 5pm - 8am from October through Thanksgiving. To keep the plant in bloom, keep the temperature in your home between 65-70 degrees and make sure your soil is not overly dry.

After the holidays keep your Poinsettias indoors if you'd like it to bloom again next year. Cut the stems back to 4-6 inches in March and repot. Continue to moisten the soil when the soil is dry to the touch and fertilize with diluted fertilizer every two weeks. In May, move the poinsettia outdoors to an area that receives 8 hours of sunlight. Continue to water and fertilize outdoors through September. Mid-September bring the poinsettia back indoors.

To dispose of your poinsettia after the holidays, it is completely safe to add it to your compost pile.

What about that Christmas Tree?
There are many uses for your dead Christmas tree once the holidays are over. For example, the pine needles make excellent mulch for the garden since they will not mold. If you have a fireplace, use the trunk for firewood. You may also choose to rent a wood chipper to throw the whole tree into to make your own mulch. Certain areas in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties have Christmas tree recycling centers you can choose to donate your tree to. Too much hassle? Next year, choose to rent a living tree from Our City Forest!

Special Thanks to Lucy Hsu

Lucy started volunteering with Living Classroom in 2013. She not only teaches multiple lessons in Mountain View, Los Altos, and Palo Alto districts every week but travels to and from most lessons on her bicycle! She has also helped with training docents on lessons from time to time during docent training sessions. Lucy helped start the program in Mountain View and then expanded the Mountain View program to include middle school due to her commitment to teaching at least one lesson a week. In just one year, she could teach over 100 lessons. She is very committed to doing her part to help protect our planet and teach kids about how they can do the same.

Living Classroom could not do the work we do without docents like Lucy. Thanks to docents like Lucy we've been able to both expand our program to Mountain View and Palo Alto and provide more lessons to more students! If you're interested in giving back to your community by becoming a docent with Living Classroom, send an email to Margot Harrigan at margoth@living-classroom.org. No experience or garden knowledge is needed!

Winter Lesson Highlights

Although our Winter season lessons are shorter, they are just as engaging! Students in 5th grade will be learning about the transfer of energy from the sun to the nutrition we receive from plants in Energy Salad. Students in 2nd grade will explore the earth and the varying types of soils when they explore Dirt Detectives. Third grade students will learn about decomposers and the importance of worms in our ecosystem in the Mighty Worm lesson.

Why Living Classroom Does What It Does

This holiday season consider sharing the celebration of how food arrives at your table with a few great reads. Foodtank.com recommends 15 books to share with your child. See the article here: https://foodtank.com/news/2019/12/15-childrens-books-celebrating-food/

From the Executive Director

December brings loads of excitement in many forms: holiday celebrations, plans that may include travel to family, friends and fun in the snow (or all three). Shorter work days for some and Winter Break for the kids. As we near the end of the calendar year, take the time to enjoy nature in all its winter glory; really open your eyes and enjoy nature with all your senses. Emulate the joy of children as you “discover” the beauty of nature all around you.

Living Classroom has been received new grants from two new funders: the Leslie Family Foundation provided funding to augment our class offerings in Campbell School District starting immediately, and both the Leslie Foundation and Farrington Historical Foundation provided funds to create a new Native Garden at Rosemary School in Campbell. In Mountain View Whisman, the long awaited Ohlone Native Garden is nearing completion at Monta Loma School. The Ohlone Native Garden was possible through grant support from Bill Graham Memorial Foundation, Los Altos Community Foundation and Mountain View Kiwanis Club. Winter lessons will move into full swing in January and February, come rain or shine - nearly every winter lesson is designed to be executed indoors or outside.

I would be remiss if I missed the opportunity to appeal to your generosity one last time this year: please consider a gift to Living Classroom as the year comes to a close - an investment that will support the next generation of environmental stewards.

I am so grateful to the Board, staff, volunteers and donors that have supported Living Classroom this year - my heartfelt thanks to all! My best wishes for a happy hoiliday season.

Margot Harrigan, Executive Director

How You Can Help

Volunteer

Living Classroom gardens always need loving hands to stay in great condition. If you can spare even a few minutes a week, consider helping in the garden as a Garden Volunteer at your local school. Contact us at https://www.living-classroom.org/garden-form.html.

If you like working with kids and plants, please consider becoming a Classroom Volunteer or Docent. No teaching experience or garden knowledge needed or expected! Contact Margot Harrigan at margoth@living-classroom.org if you are interested.

Garden Tours

Come see what we do and where we do it in the garden and in the classroom. New dates for winter tours will be posted soon on our website. But no need to wait for a posted date: We are happy to put together a tour for an individual or small group at any time.

Support Living Classroom

We welcome your generosity in supporting our work of empowering the next generation of environmental scientists and providing engaging science lessons. Please consider a gift to Living Classroom https://www.living-classroom.org/support.html. Thank YOU.

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Living Classroom
PO Box 4121
Los Altos CA 94024

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Living Classroom · P.O. Box 4121 · Los Altos, CA 94024 · USA