Why are the old oak trees and sparse patches of grass the only flora of Arden Lawn? It’s because of Arden’s compacted soil.
Gesturing to water that ran from the sprinklers without soaking into the ground, Laura Fleming, Poly’s Manager of Environmental Sustainability, explained the problems of compacted soil: “It inhibits root growth, it doesn’t have the aeration that it needs – roots need that – and it doesn’t absorb the water that it could.”
After years of compacted soil restricting plant growth, Poly’s Climate Coalition hopes to renourish Arden with their upcoming Hügelkultur project. Hügelkultur, a German gardening technique meaning “hill culture,” consists of a raised plant bed filled with organic materials. A hügel’s mound of logs, branches, leaves, grass and other organic matter traps air and water and revitalizes the surrounding soil as it decomposes.
In addition to their efforts to heal Arden Lawn, Poly’s Climate Coalition, created this year by senior Ollie Arteaga-Johnson, juniors Amelie Salette and Kelly Zhang and sophomores Audrey Ma and Anya Matz, are tackling other sustainability issues at Poly including rewilding, sustainable energy and composting. The coalition expands on the work of the former Closing the Loop Group club and is currently working with Fleming to develop a Hügelkultur workshop with the goal of educating students about water conservation, soil biology, biodiversity and native flora and fauna while remedying Arden Lawn.
“I’d been interested in helping to solve climate change for many years, and I felt like I had the opportunity to make strides toward this goal at Poly,” Salette reflected. “I’m excited to see everyone come together … to make our school a better place.”
Poly’s Climate Coalition has partnered with the City of Pasadena and landscape architecture firm Studio Petrichor to build the hügel on Saturday, Nov. 9. After the pile cures for a few months, students will plant native flora on top of the hügel. Fleming and the Climate Coalition leaders hope the workshop will inspire artwork on Arden Lawn and provide hands-on learning for science classrooms.
Arteaga-Johnson commented, “I hope Poly students approach it with curiosity and faculty are open to it. I hope it gets the ball rolling for a lot of Poly sustainability so it’s just the first of many.”
