The Power of Photography

Men engaging in friendly conversation in the medina. Fes el Bali, Morocco
© 2008 by Sophia Yee

"Photography has the power to inspire, horrify, change your mind, heart, actions...its kept me engaged and interested in the world." - Jodi Cobb, National Geographic Photographer


Proof: Jodi Cobb on Cultural Exploration

My Top 10 of Italy/Croatia 2012 Yee Sisters Travel

My Top 10 of Italy/Croatia 2012 Yee Sisters Travel

1. Sunrise Kayak on the Adriatic Sea -
2. Cevapcici (pronounced Chev ap chee tse)
3. Mljet National Park
4. Plitvice Lakes National Park
5. City Walls of Dubrovnik
6. Hvar Island
7. Biking in Hvar, Mljet
8. Portovenere, Italy
9. Favourite swimming spot: Corniglia, Cinque Terre, Italian Riviera
10. Food in Italy!

A Beautiful Garden and Much Much More

TEDtalks - Ron Finley: A guerilla gardener in South Central LA
http://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerilla_gardener_in_south_central_la.html

sustainia garage


Sample responses from my gr.6 students:


Ron Finley cares about the world. Well that's why he planted a garden. He got tired of seeing the same old South Central where there is "suppose" to be fresh fruit but there wasn't and that's why he wanted to change it. He wants to show that planting a garden is beautiful, that growing your own food is amazing,that changing a pathway can be a work of art by covering with greens. Just like M. said, he cares about people being healthy,not eating things that aren't true,especially the younger generations because they are suppose to be the leaders in our future.
My reaction was that I'm pretty impressed with the Ron Finley Ted-talk because he is a true change- not only to South Central or U.S.A. but to the whole world because if people do watch this video they will get inspired and want to make a change too. I also do agree when he said,“If kids grow kale, kids eat kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when none of this is presented to them, if they're not shown how food affects the mind and the body, they blindly eat whatever you put in front of them.”
because for me it is 100% true. I would want to eat whatever I grow because after all the hard work, it pays off even with a veggie.
I think Ron is a guerilla gardener because in M's definition it said "a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force" and Ron is basically fighting against the government which is the bigger force and he is the smaller force.
Ron's fight is about trying to make sure that people eat healthy and pure and fresh things-not always produced. To me he is different from other speakers because I know the other speakers are trying to do something but is ACTUALLY DOING PHYSICAL WORK unlike the other speakers who I think do more verbal work.
-S.H.


Ron Finley cares about people knowing what they're eating. He cares about that so adults and kids are healthy and take the veggies from his garden and eat it.I think he cares about what i said because theres that one part where he says some people are blind eaters whatever you put in front of them they eat it.
My reaction to the video was happy. I was happy because of how he really wanted to change peoples lives.What convined me he wanted to change peoples lives was how you could work and take for free from the garden.Usually when you go to a farmers market they're not very confident in getting you healthy they just work and charge all fruits and veggies for money.I think he was changing people in that area because he showed lots of pitures when there were lots of people picking and working in the garden.Also i think what he said was true when he they grow kale they eat it they grow tomatoes they eat it.I think it was true because ussualy whenever we cook something like in the "Cooking with Coop" Club you're so excited to eat the food just because you made it. Lastly, I think his idea to make a garden was a good idea. I think it was a good idea because he actually ended up getting lots of people getting the veggies and working.My guess why his idea worked was because maybe lots of people liked how it was free and just thought of him as a nice guy and they just joined up with him.
I searched up the definition of guerilla and it said guerrilla: a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force.So i think he was considered a guerilla gardener because he was one of those small gardening group but he wants bigger gardening and farming places to do what hes doing.
I think his fight is all about people knowing what they're eating and to FIGHT obesity in his area. I think he was diffrent compared to other talkers because in he other talks they just talk about obesity but in this one he actually did something big.
-M.S.


Ron Finley cares about his community because he grew up there and he doesn't want the people he loves to obese then get all these kinds of diseases. That is why he made garden.
My reaction was surprised because when he got a warrant, I thought that was it but he said "bring it on"to the government. I also was confused why would the government want that to be took away its just curb.Also South Los Angeles is "supposed" to be a place with fruit but all there is,is fast food drive threw's and I agree with him 100%.No child should suffer with obesity,because thy don't choose what they eat.They eat whats on there plate. It's not child's fault its the mom or dad that's in charge of their meals,so i think the parents need to go to Ron Finley's garden.Another reaction I had was happy, happy because at least one person in L.A cares about them getting diseases. All those people in his community getting so fat that they can't go outside.Its just very nice of him to do all those things. I think they call that is he does lots an lots of gardening so the called him the guerrilla gardener. His fight is to process a healthy living style so he can see South L.A shining again.Also he wants to let his friends or neighbors to see how unhealthy they are becoming.
-A.K.

In my opinion, Ron cares about the unhealthy food people are eating and what they can do at home to make a difference by planting fruits and vegetables in there garden. 2) I was happy and surprised when I watched this video. I was surprised because he planted this garden for his neighborhood’s family and anyone who would like some. Also, I didn't think that anyone would work so hard and just give it away for free just to make people’s health better. I was happy because he is such a good person Everyday he would see someone who was obese, so he decided to plant fruits and vegetables to improve their health. Another reason why I was shocked is because he said he saw people in wheelchairs because the had bad health which really surprised me. I have to say at the end I would be really surprised and really happy about what he had to say.3) I think they call him the guerilla gardener because he fought for that space just to make that garden so people who come can have a fruit or vegetable. Another reason why they might call him that is because he fought back when the government said to remove the plants.4) Well he was fighting for the space as I said before because the government told him to not plant there on their property. I think he’s different from the other’s because he actually did something, it’s not like they did not do something but he physically did something and helped a lot of people.
-H.E.

Ron Finley cares about the world and the unhealthy food people are eating because in his community in South Central LA obesity is 5 times higher then a place like Beverly Hills which is not good at all,and that most people in his community are dying because of all the drive thru that they are eating like McDonald etc.Ron Finley just wanted that to stop he didn't want to see that anymore so he was planting gardens to improve peoples health.My reaction to Ron Finley is that i am very happy and surprised because not alot of people want to help when they see that so what he did was very thoughtful because he was growing his own food and not buying food from supermarkets and he was planting gardens all over the city so people can see what he is trying to do. Something that I didn't like was that the city of LA told him to take away his garden because it was on city grounds and that was sad because he was doing something good and the city told him to take it out.What i did like was that 900 people wanted his gardens to stay.They called him a guerrilla gardener because he was planting on other peoples land.What Ron Finley is different from other Ted talks is that he physically did something to help. Also other Ted talks give alot of facts and things that you should do Ron Finley was talking about something that he did do that was big and helped alot of people in his community including kids which were inspired bye what he did
-D.P.


I think Ron cares about the people around him and their health. he said that in his community people were eating more drive-through and fast food and that's killing them and that concerns him I think because he doesn't think it's fair that people are dying because of their unhealthy food choices.
My reaction to Ron Finley is inspired. I'm inspired that Mr. Finley would plat a small garden out of the kindness of his heart so he cam help influence his neighbors' food choices so they can live longer and have a healthier lifestyle. I think it's pretty amazing that someone could care so much about the people around him that he could try to help his neighbors try to eat healthy.
I think he is different from the other people we've watched because not only does he care about the people who eat too much junk food, but he also cares about the ones who cannot afford food for themselves and again I think that that is really inspirational.
-V.M.


1) I think Ron Finley cares about good health, education, food, and the earth because he wants people to grow up healthy and on a healthy planet without junk food and with organic food. He talked about how people should garden more and be less dependent on artificial products.
2) My reaction is that I never saw that I never saw gardening and junk food and food from this perspective, I really admire how he showed us the importance of gardening and organic food and he even organized it. If I had seen this clip before I would be A LOT different in making choices, or I might have ignored it. I liked gardening before but now I still like it, but instead with a different point of view. If we saw how much gardening affected us and helped us but we ignore it, I would expect people to make a difference too. The mistake kids make aren’t only their fault, it’s also their parents fault and the neighborhood since the kids will like whatever they make, so if the make tomato, they’ll eat tomato and if they aren’t introduced to the privilege, they can’t use it.
3) Ron Finley is called a guerilla gardener because he fights for what’s right and what’s natural. He gives advice and helps others lead a healthy life.
4) His fight is about making things right and helping our home land (earth). Ron Finley might be different from the other people we observed because he has a whole different meaning to his cause and a new place to start from as in making cities and destroying land while they could do the opposite, the other speakers only talked about being healthy and food companies.
-A.A.


This post reminded me about the 2008 documentary, The Garden
http://www.thegardenmovie.com/trailer/

Flagfootball Friendly - Students VS. Teachers

Flag Football Friendly between students and teachers
The sun broke out of the clouds and it was a gorgeous brisk afternoon to stage a friendly game between students and teachers.

The game was well coached by the students' team coaches. They had some really creative and neat hand-off plays with teachers diving left and right to snatch off that, oh so slippery flag! With many talented QBs at the helm on the teachers side we failed to catch some really nice long balls but capitalized on some really exceptional hand-off plays.

All in all, the students hustled and had us, teachers playing hard. Although the kids were held at bay I can say with confidence that they played well. The teachers romped up the points by scoring three major touchdowns.

Good sportsmanship demonstrated by all and more importantly, a lot of fun was had by all!

Zagreb, Croatia - Day 21

Zagreb, Croatia - Day 20

Krk Town, Krk Island, Croatia - Day 19