6A NEWS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009
ENVIRONMENT
THE UNIVERSITY OF DARTY KANSAN
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2009
Group to grow,harvest fruit
Lawrence Fruit Tree Project will plant its first trees on March 21
BY AMANDA THOMPSON
athompson@kansan.com
England Porter took notice one day when she saw a few women walking on campus with a ladder.
Using the ladder, the women climbed the persimmon tree on the lawn of Strong Hall, picked some of its fruit and left.
The Lawrence Fruit Tree Project wants to make that type of fruit picking more accessible to the community.
Porter, Independence senior and member of the LFTP, said the group wanted to plant and harvest more fruit trees in Lawrence for the community's use. The group began organizing its tree-planting effort in October, and on March 21 will plant its first six community fruit trees at New York Elementary.
Skyler Adamson, Lawrence gardener and group organizer, said there were three ways the group would increase growing and harvesting of local fruit in Lawrence.
Adamson said he wanted to expand the presence of food plants in the community.
"Why grow a redbud tree in a park when it could be an apple tree, and people could eat from it?" Adamson said.
The group would also concentrate on collecting fruit from trees in residents' yards or in public areas where the fruit was not being harvested and could go to waste, Adamson said. Residents with fruit trees will be able to register with the LFTP Web site to have group members harvest the fruit from their trees for them.
Adamson said fruit collected from residents' trees would be given to the residents themselves if they wanted it, to the volunteers who helped pick it and potentially to area food pantries.
Education is the third component of the group's efforts. The group plans on organizing workshops and working with schools in an effort to educate people on growing their own fruit, Adamson said.
Jason Hering, Hutchinson senior, said the group would like to bring more fruit trees to areas on campus, but there was some red tape to get through.
Kelly Kindscher, associate scientist with the Kansas Biological Survey and LFTP group member, said fruit trees on campus had been restricted because of what happened when the fruit wasn't collected.
"Good fruits have not been planted on campus because they're considered messy," Kindscher said. "But there are so many potential suitable sites in Lawrence. We want to encourage people to use local fruit."
While the group currently has no working budget, Kindscher said it was on its way to becoming a non-profit organization and would eventually accept donations from interested residents.
"There's been a ton of positive response," Adamson said. "It's an idea a lot of people have on their minds."
Edited by Heather Melanson
STUDY ABROAD (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Contributed Photo
Pantalone Floré, Topeka senior, traveled to Bonn, Germany, in 2008 through the KU Study Abroad program. Florez said the experience caused him to-evaluate his personal goals and he has since decided to pursue a future in marketing or teaching English.
Young has also studied abroad in Germany, France and Italy. Because
ums and practicing her japanese language skills.
"It was a life-changing experience," Young said. "After spending two years studying a language in an academic setting, it was really refreshing to be able to actually use it."
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After graduation, Florez said he wanted to find a job in marketing or teaching the English language. He said studying abroad provided an opportunity to network and opened doors for him internationally.
Edited by Andrew Wiebe
THE GRANADA
1020 MASS ST. LAWRENCE KS
MON APR 6
RAILROAD EARTH
w/ SPLIT LIP RAYFIELD
Liberty Hall
737 Mass St • Lawrence Kansas
Tuesday, March 17th
Joan Baez
Thursday, March 26th
Umphreys McGee
w/ Uglysuit
Monday, April 6th
Blue October
UPTOWN THEATER
a lot more relaxed." Florez said. "I usually only had to go to each class once a week. It gave me plenty of time to make sure I got all the readings done and could do extra research if I needed to"
FRI FEB 27
RYAN ADAMS. &
THE CARDINALS
"It gave me new goals that whenever I go back there I want to be able to communicate even more," Young said.
The Bottleneck
737 Mass St • Lawrence Kansas
Friday, February 27th
Joshua Radin
w/Melko & Jesse Harris
Saturday, February 28th
Reckless Kelly
w/Sons of Bill
Wednesday, March 4th
Brett Dennen
w/Little Ones
www.thebottlenecklive.com
Florez said he noticed a distinct difference between American and foreign universities.
she did not speak the native languages, she said she was at a disadvantage when communicating with people. She said having a level of proficiency in a language provided a person with a deeper degree of cultural understanding.
"The learning environment was
www.thebottlenecklive.com
February 26,27,28 March 1,5,6,7,8
Suspicion. Certainty. Doubt.
WESTAR (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
Ryan Callithan, Lenexa senior and Environs vice president, said he reduced phantom power, energy used by electronics that aren't in use, by turning off lights when he left rooms and unplugging electronics at night.
making simple changes, people can actually save energy and money."
One of the biggest power wasters, Callihan said, was leaving computers on when not in use.
"It's a common misconception that screen savers save on energy, but they're just saving
the screen," Callihan said. "Just think about a giant lightbulb running continuously."
Lutz said the presentation would be geared towards property owners and tenants, especially those in older homes looking to save money on their energy bill.
"I think it's important that landlords work with their tenants to make sure that utility bills are reasonable and that things are being done to make rental property more energy efficient," Lutz said.
Callihan said his landlord not
only made their duplex more environmentally friendly by weather stripping windows and maximizing air circulation, but also helped them save money.
"It actually really helped our heating bill over the winter," Callihan said.
According to Westar's Web site, weather stripping, sealing cracks in windows and doors to prevent air-leakage, is one of the easiest and most cost-efficient ways to save money on heating and cooling bills.
— Edited by Melissa Johnson
energy-saving tips
Refrigeration
Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs
- A setting 10 degrees lower than recommended can raise operating cost by 25 percent.
- Full refrigerators or freezers operate more efficiently than empty ones because warm air can't enter as easily when the door opens.
- CFLs last 10 or more times longer than incandescent light bulbs.
Computers
- They use up to one-fourth the energy than incandescent bulbs use, greatly reducing monthly electric bills.
- CFLs produce 80 percent less heat while producing more light than incandescent bulbs.
- Leaving a computer on 24 hours a day can account for up to $270 a year on electricity bills.
- A computer left on for four hours a day accounts for up to $45 a year on electricity bill.
- Students can use automatic shut-down features to help reduce the amount of energy a computer uses.
Source: westarenergy.com
THEATER (CONTINUED FROM 1A)
smoothly," eight-year-old Lyla Beckingham, one of the seven children in the younger class, said.
Brandon Williams, Leavenworth senior, said the children's imaginations showed when they re-enacted the stories.
Lyla played the cat with the fiddle during the classroom exercise and said her favorite part was watching everyone become their characters. Her sister, Emmalyn Beckingham, agreed.
"I like all of it," seven-year-old Emmalyn said. "I like cracking jokes."
As part of her role, Emmalyn was a little dog who told knock-knock jokes about the big, bad wolf, played by Sally Pirie, Olathe senior.
Nine-year-old Toshita Barve, who played another dog, enjoyed tricking the big, bad wolf when she tried to "eat" Emmalyn and Toshita. Lyla played a lullaby on her imaginary fiddle to put the wolf to sleep.
Later in the semester, the students will develop their own story drama with the younger children and will re-enact other books.
Left to right: Toshita Bavre, Guillermo Rodriguez de San Miguel, Camila Rodriguez de San Miguel, Lyla Beckingham and Emmalin Beckingham (foreground) listen attentively to the spider in the children's book "And the Dish Ran Away With the Spoon." KU Students in TH&F 404 teach after-school drama classes at Murphy Hall for children.
"I'm hoping I can learn how to incorporate some of these activities into my own teaching." Whitney Gilliland, Leawood senior and elementary education major, said.
But it's not all fairy tales and children's books. In March, the KU students will begin working with as many as 15 children in fourth through sixth grades and focus on creating a story rather than re-enacting a book.
With the older children, Klein has previously covered story topics including women's rights, time travel and child labor. She said she did not "dumb it down" for the children, but helped them
learn about the topics by improvising stories.
When Klein covered child labor, she played a mean boss who pretended to make her child employees work long hours in a factory.
By reenacting such scenarios, Klein said concepts became more understandable for children, who had experienced the situation through their imaginations.
Your University, Your History
kuhistory.com
"My method of learning best is by having the children lead me in the drama," Klein said. "I set up the premise, but it's up to the kids to decide where the story is going to go and what happens next."
Tina Halady, Lyla and Emmalyn's mother, said her family moved to Lawrence from Australia, and she wanted to give her homeschooled girls the chance to be involved with drama and the community. She said she liked how the classes were similar to a one-room schoolhouse with students of all ages.
"It's an extension of creative play." Haladay said. "It's fun for them to see the big kids play too."
Beaumont said she hoped the children would learn to cultivate creativity and appreciate theater the way she did when she was in the classes.
"It was these classes and working with the students and being able to get out there and express my creativity that helped me focus," Baumont said. "Later on in life, I realized how much I depended on theater as part of my life"
Klein said the class meant just as much to the college students as it did for the kids. She said it helped the students remember who they were and who they still are.
"You're incredibly imaginative. You're incredibly creative," Klein said. "You just don't use those juices everyday. But it's still there. You just have to let it out."
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Edited by Susan Melgren
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