Blog Archives

Halloween, Day of the Dead Week in Ecology

10/30/2016

Dear Friends,
A small miracle occurred over the weekend.
Like a giant and beautiful mushroom that appears overnight after a storm,
a gorgeous new garden shed appeared under the sheltering branches of our Mighty Oaks.
This new enlarged space will allow us to store and organize our tools much more easily,
take shelter from the rain,
and even perform some garden tasks inside!
A new fire pit also appeared.
And the paved patio continues to evolve by the outdoor sink.
I am hesitant to reveal the names of the elves responsible for all this,
lest any of them are left out, (which is inevitable)
but, let me just say thank you to Ron, Rick, Jason, Bill, Carolyn, Julie, Maggie, Fernando, Arunas, Erica and Yessica,
and many, many more..
We will have to have a special dedication for this new sacred place.

This week I have only one off campus trip:
Tuesday, Nov. 1, Room 209, 4th grade, will finally have their twice postponed trip to Sauganash to study plant communities, and to harvest rare seeds. Join us at 9:00 for a briefing. We return at 1:00 after a picnic lunch.

I am hoping to have the 8th grade out again, but we are waiting till Monday to schedule that.

In the mean time I continue to paste up leaf collection.
We have finished about 30 of 90 total.
Anyone interested in this very Zen task, please let me know and you can join me, or I can set you up to work on your own.

I will also begin post-trip visits to classrooms to consider some of the experiences that we have shared.
For 5th grade, for example, we are doing an analysis of the Island Bio-diversity simulation game that we performed at Sauganash.
4th grade will compiled the results of their discovery and naming of plants endemic to the 5 ecosystems of Sauganash.
6th Grade will do the final analysis and ranking of the water quality tests that we performed at the Chicago River.
As the Mighty Acorns journals are closed for the Fall season, these books will make their way down to my office, where they will be read and responded to by me and... you?
This is a delightful task,
a peek into the natural world through the eyes of these young students.
And they love reading our comments.
Let me know if you would like to help.

Mr. Leki

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Spirit Story

10/30/2016

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Below, another of my Autumn stories.
I try to share these as an alternative to the bloody arm, chainsaw massacre stories that are all too often foisted on our kids.
Hope you have a chance to read them, around a fire, under the moon, with the last gentle autumn breezes lofting the last leaves of fall.

Spirit Story
by Pete Leki

One night
In the month when the first frost comes
I was sleeping in my bedroom
in my house
by the Chicago River.

On this night it was especially quiet in the City.
You couldn’t hear any sirens, or motorcycles, or garbage trucks.
I’ll tell you why I noticed this in a minute,
But I did notice it.

After we turned out the light
the cool, blue moonlight fell into our room.
The moon was there, ripe and full in the window
behind the branches of the catalpa tree.
It was there.

And while I watched the moon,
Tufts of clouds would flow in its path,
Looking like stretched out dancers,
and the light in the room would flicker from that.
And it was pretty quiet, for being in the city.

I fell asleep.
When I woke up, the moon was gone from my window.
I woke up because I heard a sound.
It was a quiet sound.
First I thought it was just the wind talking to the trees.
But then I thought, “How quiet it is,”
this gentle talking of the wind.
And then I heard this other sound.
It went, “Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk… “
Very quiet.
And again, “Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
I wondered, “What was that?” And I sat up in bed.
Again, “Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
I went to the window and tried to see where it came from.
The moon was still there, but farther to the western sky,
Held up in the air now
by the black branches of the willow on the riverbank.
And crowds of clouds now danced around the moon.
It peeked and poked out between their arms and legs and flying hair.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
I heard this sound but I cold see nothing.

So, I pulled on some clothes and hurried downstairs.
I opened the front door and stood on the porch.
The breath was falling out of my mouth in puffs of white smoke.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
I stepped out to the sidewalk.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” It came from the river!

I walked that way, slowly and quiet as I could.
I ducked under the mulberry branches and took a step down the riverbank.
It was just quiet now. No noise.
Just once in a while a howling, hurt little noise from the wind.

I stepped down and down, till I came to the bench at the water’s edge.
I sat there in the darkness, with the blinking moon and the dancing clouds bouncing off the water,
and puffs and dragons of mist and fog streaming south to Mississippi River.

Then I heard it. Just to my left.
Under the gnarled trunk of the willow.
Two eyes like crescent moons, cool and blue, shown out of the darkness.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…” It was a voice.
A human voice.
And as it made this sound, the eyes motioned back and forth, like a head shaking “no.”

My eyes got used to the dark and I could see the face, the wrinkled face of an old woman.
She was wrapped in a blanket. The blanket had patterns on it, stripes that looked grey and white in this foggy dark.
Her head was wrapped in a scarf, with curls of flowers and bits of leaves and vine trailing down her back and shoulders like hair.

“What?” I asked this to her, though at times I wasn’t sure she was there. It seemed I could see through her, sometimes, through to the shaggy willow bark, the flicker of moonlight on the surface of the water.
“What are you saying?”
And she raised out the longest arm. On the end of this arm was the longest finger, with again a long, long fingernail.
She pointed in to the fog, the river.
And when I looked there, I saw a turtle floating on its back.
Floating on the river, spinning ‘round and ‘round.
Flowing south in the water.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”
I turned again to face the grandmother. But now her eyes had changed and burned like the little blue pilot lights on a stove.
And from her head two great racks of antlers stood out, velvety and ochre-colored.

She raised her arm again and from under her blanket came the black feathered wing of a crow, glimmering like polished steel in the night.

I looked to where the grandmother pointed with her wing, and across the water, in the scrabble of branches on the other shore,
I saw the silhouette and flashing teeth of a coyote, who reached its nose up the sky and bellowed –
“Whooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.”

For some long moments this coyote spoke, until all at once it was gone and quiet and I shook myself on the bench and heard again:
“Tsk, tsk, tsk…”

And, I looked for the woman. But there was none. Just a clatter in the branches. A rustle overhead. The flutter and crack of twigs around me.

The water splashed. Then all was still.
I crawled on my knees to the water’s edge.
And tried to pierce the surface with my vision.
There, in the muddy weeds, a catfish looked up at me.
Its mouth was open and it spoke.
“I’m your water brother. Be true to me.”
Its eyes glowed with the blue light of the moon.
Its whiskers hung low and long.
And then, I don’t know how, but this fish came to look just like me.

“I am your water brother,” it said to me. “I will be true to you. Be true to me.” It said this to me.

Now the earth was turning, the sky was brightening on the dawn of a new day. The dancers that circled the moon had vanished. So did my water brother.

And I was so tired. I stumbled back to my bed and slept until the sun woke me with its heat.
I lay in the sun and wondered about that Grandmother by the river.
Why was she going, “Tsk…?”
Why did she shake her head?
What did that coyote say?
And how should I be true to my water brother?
Do you know?

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Spirit Week in Ecology

10/23/2016

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Hello Dear Friends,
This week is the last week of our fall field ecology schedule!
And what a beautiful Fall it has been.
We've had only one trip re-scheduled because of weather.
It has been a wonder to be in the wild with the kids.

This week starts with pasting up leaf collections for the first grade.
Right after drop off on Monday Oct. 24, meet me for coffee and sweets rolls in the Conference Room.
It's rubber cement time!
96 collections of 11 waters school tree leaf samples.
At least we will get started.
As soon as they are done,
they will be brought to the classroom for labeling,
and we will begin weekly classes on tree ID.

On Tuesday, October 25, the two 8th grade classes, 311 at 8:30 a.m., and 302 at 10:30 a.m.
will take their first trip to the garden as care-takers,
for maintenance,
improvement,
and enjoyment of its bounty.
They have come full circle in their Waters ecology experience,
from Kindergarden potato planters.
I try to take the 8th grade out as much as possible,
to engage their energy,
enthusiasm,
their hunger,
their growing capacity to work together,
and to see the joy of work itself.
On Tuesday we will move compost to the Kindergarden beds recently cleared of potatoes,
we will move wood chips,
and we will start to install split rail fencing behind the new bike racks.
Please join us to help supervise these young people.

On Wednesday, October 26, 4th Grade, Room 209 will make up their Mighty Acorns rained out trip.
They will study communities of plants and collect rare seed. Join us at 9:00 a.m. for coffee and a briefing.
Picnic lunch and back by 1:00 p.m..

On Thursday, October 27, 3rd grade, Room 202 has their first Sauganash experience,
to familiarize themselves with the place and its secrets.
This past week our new Mighty Acorns saw beaver, egrets, Great Blue Herons, and deer.
I noticed this past week an almost disbelief that such wild places existed and that they were free to roam there.
Like watching someone, inexorably, falling in love.

Friday, October 28, is Harvest Day
We will be roasting potatoes, and healing up a witch's brew of hot cider with herbs,
and telling stories of this tender, heart-breakingly beautiful season.
Prior to this we will need help cleaning and wrapping hundreds of potatoes,
keeping the fires and coals glowing,
and serving the many kindergardeners and 1st graders that planted,
harvested,
and will now enjoy these potatoes, around the camp fire,
slathered in butter and sprinkled with salt.
Please let me know if you can help out. (Sign up here to volunteer.)

Here's one of the stories I share with the kids:

Hey! We’re Okay. How are you?
This is a time of year that is a little spooky. Because it seems like every thing is dying. The leaves are falling. The wind is swirling around. Smoke and fog drift around and the trees groan and sigh in the winds. It always seems as though someone is trying to talk to you. That’s why people all over the world think about their loved ones, their relatives and friends that have passed away. Even about their pets. This is a story that explains why we feel that their spirits are all around us in the Autumn.

A long time ago, a bison stood in the middle of a prairie enjoying the warm sun on its back. A mosquito landed on its nose and took a drop of its blood!
At that exact moment, part of the bison became “mosquito.” And that mosquito had within itself, a tiny bit of bison.
The mosquito was so happy. She was full of blood and buzzing along in the setting sun. A small brown bat swooped down and ate her! As soon as he did that, that mosquito became part of that bat. And that bat now had, as part of its own self, a little bit of mosquito. And in that bit of mosquito was a tiny bit of bison!
The brown bat ate a lot of mosquitoes that night and was feeling good. When the moon came up, bright and full, a Great Horned Owl woke up, stretched its wings and swooped down on the bat and ate it!
At exactly that moment, the brown bat became a part of the owl. And the owl became part brown bat, and part mosquito, and a tiny bit of bison.
All of these creatures were now living inside of that magnificent bird. He lived a long time and finally, one night gave it up and fell off his branch into the leaves that covered the forest floor.
Pretty soon an earthworm found the owl’s body and tunneled through, eating the old muscles and leaving behind rich castings. Part of that owl became worm! And even that worm had tiny bits of bat, and mosquito and bison inside! And in it’s castings, too.
The roots of an apple tree discovered those castings and took in the rich food and right there, became part worm, owl, bat, mosquito and bison! All of them were part of that living tree.
And when a little girl reached up one day, and picked a pinkish-yellow apple, and bit into it …
She, too, right then, became part apple, part worm, owl, bat, mosquito and bison.
And that is why, when you think of your relative or friend that has passed away, truly, really, they are still in this world: part of the trees, and birds, and air, and flowers. They are all around us. And maybe those dancing leaves and clouds, that singing bird and crying tree: maybe that is the sound of our ancestors saying: “Hey. We’re okay. How are you?”
That’s the beautiful thing about Fall.

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Another Busy Autumn Week in Ecology

10/16/2016

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Mighty Acorn Parent / Volunteer Workshop
Monday, Oct 17, right after drop off
Parents will receive an intro into how they can help their kids get the most out of their Mighty Acorn Field excursions: map reading, field journaling, free writes, behavior in wild places, student-led explorations, etc. Please join us for this hour long workshop. Coffee and cakes provided.

Potato Harvest
Monday, October 17 – Waters Garden
Room 108 – 11:30 a.m.
Room 105 – 1:15 p.m.
Room 107 – 2:15 p.m.
The Kindergardeners will harvest potatoes planted by last year's kinderkids. I sure hope there are some down there. Other activities will include poking around the compost for the creatures that work this miracle of nutrient cycling, and a chance to draw some of our heartbreaking fall blooms, the last in a year of rainbow colors. Lots of help needed. Please come a few minutes early so I can explain your tasks.

2nd Grade, Room 203
Tuesday, October 18 – 1:15-3:15 p.m.
Treks to the River at Berteau to see the trees, the flowers and the animals there. It is their first ecology outing off-campus. It starts with a map exercise, a treasure map, to familiarize them with the route from waters to the River. There is a weather station and leaf rubbings. Please join us 15 minutes early (1:00 p.m.) so we can get organized.

3rd Grade, Room 304
Wednesday, October 19 – 9:00 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
Embarks on their first Sauganash adventure as Mighty Acorns. They will explore the five ecosystems, field journals open, ears, ears and hearts open to any miracles that might be revealed. They will also collect rare, wild seed used to restore other areas of the preserves that have been made depauperate by human development. Please meet at 9:00 a.m. in the conference room for a briefing. Picnic lunch and back by 1:00 p.m. or so.

Wednesday Night is Garden Night
5:00 p.m. until dark (7:00 p.m.)
Join us for these last blasts of the growing season. We have big projects going on, and it is the time for campfires, food, song, drums and story telling. Join us!

3rd Grade, Room 201
Thursday, October 19 – 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Embarks on their first Sauganash adventure as Mighty Acorns. They will explore the five ecosystems, field journals open, ears, ears and hearts open to any miracles that might be revealed. They will also collect rare, wild seed used to restore other areas of the preserves that have been made depauperate by human development. Please meet at 9:0 a.m. in the Conference room for a briefing. Picnic lunch and back by 1:00 p.m. or so.

6th Grade, Room 309
Friday, October 21 – 9:30 a.m.- 1:00 p.m.
is off to the River at River Park for a walking trip that has three stations: writing/drawing, chemical water quality testing, and biological testing. This year we have upgraded the chemical testing section to high school / college levels, including incubation of water samples of petri dishes to test for the presence of fecal coliforms. Fun! And important information for advocacy for a healthy river. Join us at 9:15 a.m. for briefing, 9:30 a.m. embark, and back by 1:00 p.m. or so.

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More Fall Field Work and Community Connections

10/12/2016

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Dear Friends,

Monday, October 17, right after drop off – Mighty Acorn Parent / Volunteer Workshop
.... Parents will receive an intro into how they can help their kids get the most out of their Mighty Acorn Field excursions: map reading, field journaling, free writes, behavior in wild places, student-led explorations, etc. Please join us for this hour long workshop. Coffee and cakes provided.

Also, on Friday October 14, 6th grade 305 is going to River Park to do water quality testing. I'm wondering if there is a volunteer that would like to run the benthic station, hauling rocks and creatures out of the river to ID them? I have waders and a "D" net and can teach you the basics. Any takers?

Also, also, I have to invite our school community to the amazing restoration work going on at Montrose Point, led by one of our own neighbors for the past (could it be?) 10 years. Leslie Borns I knew as a birder, who took an interest in the Magic Hedge, but when events transpired to create the new dune at Montrose Beach, Leslie fledged into a powerful, determined and passionate restorationist, becoming the steward of Montrose Point, organizer, proponent and defender. Below I have re-produced her last invitation to a Montrose Point workday, coming up this Saturday.

"Dear Volunteers and Friends of Montrose Beach Dunes,

Happy Fall!  The 2016 growing season is coming to an end and our last stewardship workday will take place on Saturday, October 15, from 9 a.m. – noon. The main activities will be clearing remaining cottonwood seedlings from the western panne, installing native plugs and seed, and reinforcing rabbit caging around sensitive plants in preparation for winter.

Each growing season has its highs and lows, and this year’s will probably be best remembered for the high water levels across the entire length of Montrose Beach which resulted in dramatic changes to our dune flora and fauna.  The 2017 forecast is for an El Nina year (colder winter and drier spring/summer) - it will be a welcome shift! The ‘low’ of 2016 was no doubt the return of the ill advised Surf Park proposal, successfully scuttled again by your strong and immediate negative response.

I want to thank each and every one of you for your hard work, dedication, advocacy, and positive energy that continue to make Montrose Beach Dunes one of the most vibrant and healthy natural areas in the Chicago region.

Fall bird migration is winding down, but many species can still be seen stopping to rest and refuel at Montrose. Mid-October should bring in the duck species. In late September, there were record numbers of the beautiful and elusive Nelson’s Sparrow in the dune pannes (25-30 one day according to birder Robert H. Hughes). Flocks of American Pipits can still be seen flying around the beach. Attached are several lovely photos of the Nelson’s Sparrows, Pipits and other migrant birds of the past month.

There's also a photo of an interesting spider discovered by Tree Swallow monitor Clark Landwehr as he was emptying the two nest boxes. At the end of each season Clark cleans out the boxes and takes the nests to the Field Museum for analysis by biologist Dr. Bates for parasites. This pretty little Bold Jumping Spider found a warm, grassy place to spend the winter, and fortunately Clark freed him before bagging the nests.
October 15 promises to be much colder, so please be sure to dress warmly for the workday and bring a bottle of water, sunscreen (yes, you still need it), and a wide-brimmed hat. Pack binoculars if you have them for viewing late migrant birds. Tools and equipment are generously provided by the Chicago Park District, and hot beverages and refreshments thanks to volunteer Margaret Enger and the Anne Sather’s restaurant.

Please email me if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing you all on the 15th as we return to our beloved dunes and bid farewell to another successful growing season.

Best regards.
Leslie"

PS Leslie's emails always include beautiful photos of the flowers and birds at the point.
To get on her list, send her a note at Leslie Borns.

Finally, I got a message from a Professor at NEIU, by way of my friend and long time river volunteer and activist Chris Parson: her name is Jennifer Slate. The thing about biology teachers is interesting.
But the thing about Karen Segura, (former Waters student and child of Hilda Segura part of the CAPE Parent project) makes me very proud!

"I met with Chris Parson today, and he told me about your Waters program to introduce kids to nature. I really like what he told me- your program sounds fantastic.
I will be probably be teaching biology to future middle school teachers next year, for students who are looking to get an endorsement to teach middle school science. I would love for my students to see what you are doing.
In addition to Chris, we have another acquaintance in common. Karen Segura is one of my students at NEIU, and she has been conducting research in my lab for about the past year. Karen collected and identified sponge species in the Chicago River this summer, which is why we met with Chris today. Chris also has an interest in sponges.

NEIU is so close to Waters, so perhaps there would be ways for us and for our students to interact in the future".

So many connections!
So much history.
Such a rich and powerful and loving community.
Such a spectacular Fall!

Thanks all,
Mr. Leki

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Down to the Wire, Saved by the Bell...

10/11/2016

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Dear Friends,

I have to admit that I thought we would be out on strike today, and for that reason I think I forgot to get out the field trip permission slips last week. Didn't want to waste paper? Subconsciously? Anyway they are on the way home today. Here's the week's schedule:

Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 12, 4th grade Room 307 is off to Sauganash to learn about communities of plants: why certain plants grow together in one place and not in another. The kids will also be gathering rare seed for restoration in the larger Forest preserves. Join us at 9:00 in the Conference room for a briefing. Bus leaves at 9:30 and returns at about 1:00. Picnic lunch in the LaBagh Grove at 12:15.

Two clarifications: Mr. Orlov and Ms. Herrera switched field trip dates a couple weeks ago. This caused some confusion because the current schedule doesn't match the original. Sorry for delay in communicating that change, and, because Foster Avenue is closed from Pulaski to Cicero, we are entering the Preserve off Cicero, a couple hundred yards north of Foster, on the east side. After the bridge, bear right and look for the bus. We are at the farthest southeast part of the picnic area.

Thursday, October 13, we repeat the trip described above with 4th grade room 207.

On Friday, October 14, 6th Grade, Room 305 will walk to River Park to begin their exploration of the Chicago River / waste and freshwater systems. They will be running chemical and biological tests to assess water quality. Afterwards its a picnic lunch and running around on the soccer field. Please join us at 9:00 for a briefing.

Saturday is a riverbank workday from 10-1. Meet at the end of Hutchinson street ready to work and enjoy a fine Fall day.

Many Thanks to our parent community.
I know the teachers feel the love and support that you bring them every day,

Mr. Leki

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Welcome October as Autumn Progresses

10/4/2016

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Oh Hush October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the Fall
Tomorrow's wind,
if it be wild,
will waste them all...
Robert Frost

We are here! There! In October.
Like a switch has been switched.
Giant waves at the Lake from days of northeast winds,
drenching rains and days of mist like Seattle,
I'll take it.

On Tuesday, October 4, at 1:15 2nd Grade Room 205 had its first off-campus field excursion
to the Chicago River at Berteau Street.
We followed a map to this treasured place, did weather station,
did leaf rubbings of riverbank trees, learned and drew the flowers,
and took in whatever serendipity tossed us.

Wednesday October 5, Grade 5 Room 308 is off to Sauagansh
to learn about habitat fragmentation and its effect on biodiversity.
The students will explore and collect rare native seed.
Volunteers meet at 9:00, bus leaves at 9:30, picnic lunch at 12:15,
and back to school by 1:00. Join us!

Thursday, October 6, Grade 4, Room 307 travels to Sauganash to learn about
Communities of Plants. Did you know that natural area plant communities self-organize?
You won't find zig-zag goldenrod in the prairie, or blazing star in the oak woods. How do they do that?
Come and discover with us as we identify the dominant plants of each of Sauganash' ecosystems,
and explore, and collect seeds.
Volunteers meet at 9:00 a.m., bus leaves at 9:30 a.m., picnic lunch at 12:15 p.m.,
and back to school by 1:00 p.m.. Join us!

Friday. October 7, 7th grade Room 301 travels to Montrose Point to get oriented.
When I was there last week the waves smashed into the seawall and shot up 2-3 stories high,
the sound was a deep, mortar round thump, then high hat and cymbals as the water crashed down.
It was exactly like a natural, aquatic version of fireworks:
"Oh look at that one!"
From where Deb and I stood high on the revetment,
with the sun at our backs,
many of the explosives wave bursts were followed by a fine mist,
and graced with multiple rainbows.
I was just saying how you could get a better facial treatment,
when the Gonzo wave came all the way up and over the top of us,
rainbows no more,
we were soaked and freezing.
Now that's the kind of experience I want for our 7th graders:
life changing.
We take the CTA and leave school at 8:45 a.m.. Back by 2:15 p.m.
Join us!

Many thanks to Ron and Rick for installing the new bike rack outside the gym. Ride!

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Halloween, Day of the Dead Week in Ecology

Spirit Story

Spirit Week in Ecology

Another Busy Autumn Week in Ecology

More Fall Field Work and Community Connections

Down to the Wire, Saved by the Bell...

Welcome October as Autumn Progresses

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