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This experiment is courtesy of 
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Rubber Gardens
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Developers:
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Mary Ann Hepner
William B. Hanna Elementary School
School District of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA
Carol Yvonne Roberts
Elementary Science Helping Teacher
Camden City Public Schools
Camden, NJ
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Scott Killam
Research Scientist
Rohm and Haas Company
Spring House, PA
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Grade
Levels:
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K - 8 ( Can be adapted for secondary
grades 9 &endash;12
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Disciplines:
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Life Science, Ecology ( Environmental
Science )
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Goal:
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To recycle discarded automobile tires and create
gardening sites for limited space areas.
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General Introduction:
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Planet earth has become a depository for an abundant
entity that will be here for generations to come, i.e.,
rubber tires. Industry can recycle some of the tires into
new products. However, this only accounts for a small
percentage of discarded tires. Municipalities and townships
often charge a fee to remove old tires or refuse to take
them with regular trash collections. Landfills do not want
them. Those that are stacked in open field "tire
depositories" are prone to vandal-set fires. Many are
dropped in waterways, open fields, roadsides, and vacant
lots. Planting in tires is one way to remove them from the
trash heaps and turn them into green habitats in urban areas
where there is limited greenery or on land that contains
polluted soil. The construction of a garden is an activity
that could involve students, parents, and local community
people in a project that would benefit and educate all
concerned.
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Specific
Objectives:
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Adults and children will work together
to design and construct an indoor - outdoor gardening area
using recycled materials.
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Science
Processes:
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Observing, classifying, communicating,
inferring, predicting, measuring, recording, drawing
conclusions, experimenting, constructing models.
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Math Skills:
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Measuring (metric and standard),
topology, geometry, counting, charts and graphs
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Language
Skills:
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Drawing conclusions, inferring,
speaking, writing, researching, sequencing, vocabulary
development
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Art:
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Design, color patterns, texture,
shape
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Social Studies:
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Geography, local and state recycling
regulations, community planning
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Materials:
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Flower and Vegetable
Gardens
- Discarded tires &endash; may be
obtained from service stations, tire stores, vacant lots,
roadsides, garages, farms, truck stops.
- Soil &endash; many localities run
their own park recycling centers and have soil and mulch
available for pick up. Farms and construction sites may
also provide soil.
- Construction Equipment: buckets
and/or wheelbarrow, shovels, water, rake, broom, trowels,
plastic sheets (4 mil) or rubber 4 liner, rocks,
pebbles.
- Seeds or mature plant
specimens.
- Optional materials: bird house,
weather vane, rain gauge, outdoor thermometer, bird bath,
scarecrow
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Procedures:
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- Select a site with a firm base.
Line the tire placement area with plastic (optional) if
you do not want it stained by the soil.
- Collect tires. Use standard sized
tires on each layer, e.g. 6 size 13's, 6 size 14's, 6
size 15's. If you want to paint the tires, use a good
quality exterior latex paint.
- Design an arrangement that best
suits your site. (against a wall, free-standing,
cornered)
- Fill the bottom layer of tires
with soil. Firmly pack the soil into the interior of the
sidewalls then fill the center of the tire. At this time,
mix in compost.
- Smooth and level the soil over the
base with a rake and tamp down.
- Proceed to the next level of tires
until each layer is finished.
(Repeat steps 4 and 5.)
- Add plants, seeds, water, mulch
and any decorative touches if desired.
(Rocks, edgings)
- Trellises can be constructed from
odd pieces of light weight wood.
- Small fences can be made from used
plastic forks and knives and plastic supports in new
shoes.
- Label plants with both botanical
names and common names.
- Recycle plastic flower pots.
Sterilize first with a mild chlorine bleach solution. (5%
bleach to 95% water, e.g., in a 500-mL beaker, mix 25 mL
bleach and 475 mL of water) to eliminate any possible
contamination of previously diseased soil.
Plants For Flower and Vegetable
Gardens:
Perennial Ground
Covers
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Botanical Name
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Common Name
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Specifications
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1. Juniperus
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Blue Rug Juniper
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(Sun or partial shade)
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2. Vinca minor
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Periwinkle or Trailing
Myrtle
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(Shaded area)
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3. Sedum spurium
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Dragon's Blood
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(Sun or partial shade)
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4. Potentilla
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(Several varieties)
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(Sun)
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*Note:
May be used as a ground cover or a shrub
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5. Hosta or Funkia
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Plantain or Shade Lily
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(Partial shade)
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Perennial
Shrubs
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1. Roses
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Plant two tires deep
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2. Hibiscus moscheutos
hybrid
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(Sun)
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3. Blackberry or
Raspberry
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(Sun)
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Common Annuals:
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1. Marigolds
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2. Begonias
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3. Celosia
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4. Impatiens
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Indoor Plants For Outdoor Summer Growing
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1. Coffee arabica
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Coffee tree
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(Partial shade)
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2. Mimosa pudica
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Sensitive plant
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(Partial shade)
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3. Citrus plants
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Dwarf varieties(Partial shade)
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(Sun)
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Materials:
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Water Gardens
4 mil. or heavier plastic sheeting for
liner, staple gun, staples, netting with 1/2-inch square
openings (type used to cover fruit trees - optional)
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Background:
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In a pond, plants absorb carbon
dioxide (CO2) and produce oxygen (O2). Fish absorb oxygen
and produce carbon dioxide.
They also control insects that could
be detrimental to plants and control mosquito larvae.
Scavengers, i.e., tadpoles and water snails consume algae,
uneaten fish food, and organic matter.
Try to place the "pond" away from a
tree, as many leaves are toxic to fish. Plants and the tire
rim will provide shade for the fish. (Some leaves,such as
oak leaves, are poisonous to fish.)
A well-balanced "water garden" is
self-maintaining. If an electrical outlet is available, a
small pump and filter can be used to ensure further cleaning
of the water. Additional water will have to be added to the
"pond" if there is insufficient rainfall.
A greening of the water is caused by
algae growth and is a normal stage a pond goes through. It
is usually self-correcting over a period of a few weeks. If
the green water proves bothersome, enzymes or an algaecide
can be added.
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Procedure:
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Water Garden or Pond Construction
- Use two large tractor tires plus
one smaller tire as the base, This will provide a depth
that is required for maintaining fish and water lilies
outdoors year round. One large tire will suffice, but
fish will have to be removed prior to the onset of cold
weather.
- Partially fill the bottom tire
with soil. This will add weight to the tire and provide a
cushion for the liner. Position the other tires.
- Line the tires with 4 mil. plastic
sheeting. (black preferred) Cut at least twice the size
of the tire structure. Fit liner into the interior
sidewalls and smooth the bottom.
- Fill the tire with water and
staple liner to the outside of the sidewall and trim the
excess plastic. (Note: Do not staple or trim liner until
structure has been filled with water. Let the water stand
for a few days to dechlorinate the water. A 28 inch
diameter tractor tire holds 40 gallons of water.
- If the tires were not painted, the
pond tire(s) can be covered with indoor-outdoor carpeting
which can be stapled through the liner into the sidewall.
Use a square of carpeting 2 square feet larger than the
diameter of the tire plus the width of the sides to be
covered.
- Fold up and staple the outside
edge of the carpeting around tire opening. This provides
a lip to anchor small stones that can be placed around
the tire edge for a decorative effect.
- Add bog plants, water lily, and
oxygenating plants. Pot plants in heavy soil in plastic
pots and weight down with stones before adding to the
water. It is not necessary to dechlorinate the water
before adding the plants. Bog plants can be placed in 4
inches to 6 inches of water. To achieve the proper depth,
place them on overturned pots, bricks or cement blocks.
Water lilies must have 18 inches to 23 inches of water in
order to grow. Anchor oxygenating plants with pebbles in
small plastic pots or cups. Hardy plants may be kept
outdoors all winter.
- Add common goldfish. (Comets,
Shubunkin, American fantail) Avoid the slow-swimming,
fancy-tailed tropical goldfish, as they will not usually
survive the stress of outdoor living. To acclimate
goldfish into the water garden, float the plastic bag
containing the fish for 20 minutes. Open the bag and
float for another 20 minutes while gradually adding the
pond water into the water in the bag. After which,
release the fish. Add scavengers at this time also.
Goldfish will survive the winter with a little care. Stop
all feeding when the air temperature is 55� or
below. The fish will then become dormant. When the
surface area freezes, a hole should be made in the ice to
allow the accumulated gases to escape. Chopping the ice
is detrimental to the fishes' nervous system. Instead,
place a coffee can on the ice and fill with hot water. A
hole will soon appear in the ice.
* Formula for determining the number of fish the "pond"
will hold: 6 inches (15 cm) of fish for every square foot
(929 sq. cm.) of surface water area. (Lotus Water Garden
Manual)
- In outside tires, plant perennial
bog plants, ground covers and annuals.
- Label plants with both botanical
and common names.
- If there is a possibility that
predators may enter the "pond", cover the water area of
the pond with netting
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Background:
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Tires As Indoor Planters
Tires can be used as indoor planters
if they are placed on heavy plastic or lined with plastic to
prevent water and dirt seepage. Grow lights can be placed
over the tire structure to extend light during winter
months. Seeds can be started indoors and then transplanted
to the outdoor garden. If tires are to be filled with water
to simulate a pond indoors, remember a gallon of water
weighs 8.5 lbs. (pounds).
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Extended
Activities:
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- Start seeds indoors in containers
in late winter and transplant seedlings into outdoor
gardens in spring.
- Design a construction for a rubber
garden using white Life Savers (peppermint, spearmint,
wintergreen) as "tires" and powdered Kool-Aid as
"soil".
Note: How soil flows among the circular areas and how
circles fit into triangular and rectangular areas.
- Compare and contrast between soil
and similar substance.(Edible Dirt) Record
Observations
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Materials:
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Recipe: Edible Dirt
(Soil)
Large mixing bowl, food processor or
rolling pin, wax paper for cookie crushing, large spoon a
medium size mixing bowl, either a hand mixer, a portable
electric mixer or muscle power.
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Ingredients:
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2 pounds (lbs) Oreo type cookies
2 boxes instant vanilla pudding
The amount of milk called for on the package
1 8 ounce (oz) package (pkg) of cream cheese
or
1 cup powdered sugar
1 stick margarine
1 16 ounce (oz) container of cool whip
*1 or more packages (pkgs) of Gummy worms
(As many as you think the mixture will require)
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Procedure:
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1.
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Cream margarine and either cream cheese or
powdered sugar in the large mixing bowl.
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2.
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Process cookies in either a food processor or
place them on the wax paper and crush with the
rolling pin. until they look like soil.
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3.
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Place the crushed cookies (soil) in the large
mixing bowl with the creamed mixture.
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Mix the pudding in the medium size mixing bowl.
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5.
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Blend the pudding into the cookie mixture.
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6.
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Fold in the cool whip.
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7.
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Add gummy worms for that "real" effect.
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Suggestions:
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A. Dramatize with another adult.
Ask teacher assistant, instructional assistant or teacher to
taste the soil (edible) in the presence of the students. Be
sure you place the edible soil in its container inside a
bucket or pail so it appears that you are spooning out the
real soil. After this, take student responses. Then allow
students to taste the soil.
B. For pre-school, kindergarten,
or first graders, soil can be prepared with their
assistance. Let students observe and predict and describe
during each step. Compare the ground cookies with the
potting soil, dirt, etc, before mixing with the other
ingredients.
C. Don't forget to collect data,
(results) and draw conclusions.
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Additional
Information:
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Additional materials on Rubber Gardens
may be obtained from Sister Helen M. Burke, Ph.D., Chemistry
Department, Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA 19118;
(215) 248-7194
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This experiment is courtesy of 
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