"In the summer..." Madeleine 2015

From the journal of Madeleine Valdez...

Summer is rapidly approaching. The end of the school year is near; finally, I'm going to have time to do something. For a while now I've been planning to do a project at a park near my house. The park is extremely small, old and, dilapidated. It's not a part of the bay regional parks, so it needs its own caretakers. Unfortunately, the couple who had been in charge of this very task is no longer able to do it. Someone has to take the role. In the summer, I want to be that person.

"I become a transparent eyeball."

I like to take walks in the park, absent of ego, simply taking everything in: The beauty of nature and the environment fascinates me. But, despite how simple it is to enjoy the sunshine, smell the flowers, and raise your face to the coolness of the breeze... it takes work.

There are too many people who misuse parks, litter in the bushes, and trample over the flowers.

I want to pull my friends together and bring them to this little park that no one really takes care of anymore. In the summer, we will make it a place where everyone can enjoy the sunshine... as we sweat and struggle under the heat of hard work.

Many monarch butterflies rest in the Mulford Gardens during the summer season.

Noah's Summer of Science 2015

At the Academy, we will be holding a "bioblitz" in the park during March. This is where we gather and take pictures of animals and plants in the park. Then, we upload the pictures to the iNaturalist app and add information about where the species was found, and these records can be used by scientists to help further their research.

This summer, I would like to continue this work. I live very close to Golden Gate Park, and I frequently walk my dogs through Golden Gate Park, so I think it would be really neat to document more plants and animals there as I walk my dogs. The idea that I can just take pictures of different species as I walk my dogs, and that data can be used by scientists for research projects, sounds really interesting.

A picture of a path where I sometimes walk my dogs through Golden Gate Park

Kate Summer adventure 2015

This summer my parents and I are moving to Dominica (the country- not the Dominican Republic). This small Caribbean island is nicknamed the "Nature Isle of the Caribbean" with 365 rivers and . I plan on hiking there, snorkeling, and just enjoying the wildlife. I can't wait to explore and see all of the lush wildlife. Dominica has rain forests and is mostly untouched by human activity. I look forward to exploring the new country.
 Pictures:

Kate Colebrook

Emma's (scientific) Summer 2015

Unlike all the other summers I've spent over the past years, I am not going to Japan this year. Therefore, I plan on participating in either a coding program or a medical program. Since I'm extremely interested in both, I'm very excited to participate in either one of them. Although I may be a bit preoccupied by these programs, I hope to hike around the bay area with my best friend to see the cool environment around us! :)

P.S: Did you know that you can 3D print chocolate now???

Victoria's summer of science 2015 Collage

           This summer I am hopping to be able to take lots of photographs of nature and of the outside world and put them into one collage or collection and maybe do an animation to go with it and maybe put in some videos.

Chloe Summer Science

As I am currently part of a computer science class, I hope to continue to learn about coding and to continue to use Processing to create graphics and appellations that are useful in everyday life.

Blooms: Strobe-Animated Sculptures from Pier 9 on Vimeo.