Bridges students do their part

Poppy seeds offer promise of rebirth



HANDFULS OF PROMISE—Fourth- andfifth-graders at Bridges Charter School hold packets of California poppy seeds. The students put together 1,000 packets of seeds and handed them out in the community to help spread the growth of the colorfulflowers after the recentfires. “It’s going to make us happier, like ‘Oh, we can get through this,” said Cyra Tolle, 10. Photos by RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

HANDFULS OF PROMISE—Fourth- andfifth-graders at Bridges Charter School hold packets of California poppy seeds. The students put together 1,000 packets of seeds and handed them out in the community to help spread the growth of the colorfulflowers after the recentfires. “It’s going to make us happier, like ‘Oh, we can get through this,” said Cyra Tolle, 10. Photos by RICHARD GILLARD/Acorn Newspapers

The seeds of California poppies may be small, but students at Bridges Charter School in Thousand Oaks are hoping they’ll have a big impact come spring.

In response to the devastating fires that robbed the Conejo Valley’s hillsides of their golden color, fourth- and fifth-graders at the school on Calle Bougainvillea planted and distributed poppy seeds throughout Thousand Oaks to spread color and recovery to a devastated landscape.

During the month of December, students hand-folded 1,000 small envelopes, each of which held 10 seeds. Then students passed them out to friends and neighbors to be planted in pots, flower beds and garden plots where they had permission to do so.

Fifth-grader Callan Kluck- Hodgins packed 16 seed packets. His classmate, Diana Graves, packed 20. Fourth-grader River Wilson packed 21.

Fourth-grader Cyra Tolle helped fold and fill 48 seed packets. The 10-year-old said she thinks the poppies’ bright orange color will lift spirits when they bloom.

ADDING SOME COLOR—Students at Bridges Charter School passed out tiny bags of poppy seeds to their neighbors and friends.

ADDING SOME COLOR—Students at Bridges Charter School passed out tiny bags of poppy seeds to their neighbors and friends.

“It’s going to make us happier, like ‘Oh, we can get through this,’” she said.

Bridges director Kelly Simon said the poppy-seed project is part of a larger instructional focus on nature, science, health and sustainability. Bridges students have also researched which type of native milkweed is best for monarch butterfly populations, and they’ve learned about the use of human gut bacteria to balance damaged immune systems.

Simon said the biology lesson also played a part in helping the children recover from November’s heartache.

“I love that it’s putting a purpose to tragedy,” she said. “Part of healing is giving back to the community and making the world a better place.”

Jon Earl and his wife, Ellen, presented the science unit to students. For the past 30 years, the couple have taught science lessons about nature and the environment to students at private and charter schools, including Bridges and Chatsworth Hills Academy. They also used to run a Los Angeles-based conservation nonprofit, Rhapsody in Green.

Jon Earl said children were traumatized by the shooting at Borderline Bar and Grill and the massive wildfires just as adults were. He said the lesson unit on poppy seeds was intended to put a positive spin on the scorched landscape for students by helping them focus on the wildflowers that it will bring.

Earl said a virtue of California poppies is that they reseed quickly, meaning that whatever plants bloom this year will pave the way for future wildflower blooms.

“Whatever success we have this year will carry on for many years,” he said. “We’re hoping for a springtime of hope.”

Bridges Charter School was founded nine years ago and has a charter through the Ventura County Office of Education. It is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that serves a student body of slightly more than 400 pupils.

Cindy McCarthy is assistant director at Bridges. The Moorpark resident said the poppy project is one of many hands-on learning opportunities available to students.

She said the school has a focus on research and inquirybased learning as well as community service and studentproposed passion projects.

California Poppy Day is April 6. Earl said he’s looking forward to seeing bursts of orange poppies in bloom by then.

“It’s not like we lost everything,” he said.