Sedimentary Rocks: Cave Diving

This week in class we learned about sedimentary rocks. One example of is type of rock is sandstone. Sandstone is made up of small pieces of rock, usually silicates such as quartz, that have been cemented together over time. 

Sandstone serves as the cap rock on top of the limestone Mammoth Cave was formed in.



     



Mammoth Cave







  Example of cave divers dropping in. You can see by the structure and color that the rock around them is not only sedimentary, it is sandstone.

Benefits of Community Gardens

Community Garden



There are many benefits to community gardens both for us, and for the environment as a whole. Some of the benefits include, but are not limited to: community organizing, crime prevention, cultural opportunities, teaching the youth, food production health, and green space.

Community Organizing:
Community gardens increase a sense of community ownership. They foster the development of a community identity and spirits well as bring people together from a wide variety of backgrounds. Community gardens build community leaders and offer a focal point for community organizing that can lead to community-based efforts to deal with other social concerns.

Crime Prevention:
 Community gardens provide opportunities to meet neighbors, which allow for the building of block clubs (neighborhood associations). Community gardens increase eyes on the street and are recognized by many police departments as an effective community crime prevention strategy.
Cultural Opportunities:
• Community gardens offer unique opportunities for new immigrants to: produce traditional crops otherwise unavailable locally, take advantage of the experience of elders to produce a significant amount of food for the household, and provide inter-generational exposure to cultural traditions.
Community gardens offer neighborhoods an access point to non-English speaking communities. They allow people from diverse backgrounds to work side-by-side on common goals without speaking the same language.
Youth:
Community gardens offer unique opportunities to teach youth about: where food comes from, practical math skills, basic business principles, the importance of community and stewardship, issues of environmental sustainability, and job and life skills. Community gardening is a healthy, inexpensive activity for youth that can bring them closer to nature, and allow them to interact with each other in a socially meaningful and physically productive way.

Food Production:
Community gardens allow families and individuals without land of their own the opportunity to produce food. Community gardens provide access to nutritionally rich foods that may otherwise be unavailable to low-income families and individuals. Urban agriculture is 3-5 times more productive per acre than traditional large-scale farming.
Health:
Studies have shown that community gardeners and their children eat healthier diets than do non-gardening families. Eating locally produced food reduces asthma rates, because children are able to consume manageable amounts of local pollen and develop immunities. Increasing the consumption of fresh local produce is one of the best ways to address childhood lead poisoning.
Green Space:
Community gardens add beauty to the community and heighten people's awareness and appreciation for living things. They filter rainwater, helping to keep lakes, rivers, and groundwater clean.
Scientific studies show that crime decreases in neighborhoods as the amount of green space increases. Community gardens have been shown to actually increase property values in the immediate vicinity where they are located.

8 Different Rocks/Minerals

This picture above shows different types of rocks/minerals that can be found walking around the Mercer University campus.