EDITORIAL
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OPINION: Benefits to Buying Local By Charlotte Olson and Olive Austin Every Saturday morning, downtown Madison bustles with fresh fruit, veggies, flowers, and people. Farmers markets are not only trendy and fun, but they’re a great way to support local farmers. Especially popular in summer, farmers sell a variety of produce, including fresh berries, corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers, as well as baked goods and handcrafted items. As the seasons change, farmers start to display different produce, like pumpkins and apples. There are farmers markets all over the area and on different days of the week, but that’s not the only way to support and buy local produce. Visiting one of the many farms in the Madison area can be a fun outing and a great way to get the best tasting crops. Additionally, signing up for a CSA ensures you’re getting fresh, in-season produce without having to think twice about it! Even as summer ends, local produce keeps going strong. Fall produce includes cold-weather crops such as greens—kale, lettuce, spinach, and cabbage—as well as leeks, onions, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, then of course apples, squash, and pumpkins. Farm-fresh local produce is more fresh and less processed. Local farmers grow different varieties to create a longer harvesting season instead of using monoculture agriculture, in which only one variety of plant is grown to make harvest and shipping more efficient. In monoculture agriculture, the produce all ripens at the same time and can withstand the same conditions in travel. Local produce, on the other hand, does not take as long to ship and does not generate nearly as much waste. Additionally, buying locally grown produce supports local farmers and their families and businesses. This type of economy strengthens the local community and creates a level of familiarity with where your food comes from. Buying local CAN mean buying from a grocery store, too. Benefits from this type of purchasing are greater accessibility and a lower price point. Co-ops are a great way to buy local. Buying everything local can be unrealistic, especially in a climate like Wisconsin. However, you can still support the local community whenever possible, and big impacts can be achieved in small ways. for SL
Highlights of Summer 2022 By Charlotte Olson Marking the beginning of a new school year, we set out to find out more about what West students were doing with their time out of school. Multiple people were interviewed about the highlight of their summer and this is what they said. This summer, Sam Guilbault went to Florida with his friend Gabe. Willy Bishop met their girlfriend! Erin and Megan both went to Seattle. A few people described their summer in single words: reflect, vacation, short, busy, worked. Clare Nieds described it as “depression, a depressing summer.” Ana Brown said that the “overall theme of the summer was mid; [it] didn’t reach all the expectations I was hoping for.” But summer wasn’t all bad. Susannah said hers was the best summer of her life. Mara went to Door County, and Finley went to Alaska. CC Dooley went to Glacier National Park. Anna had fun camping. Althea went to Spain, and Braden Hamilton went to a three week overnight camp. Lila Chanas was a camp counselor. Jane spent time with their family in Puerto Rico. Robby Igic simply enjoyed their vacation and Gwen had fun traveling. Alexis filled the summer with sports, Celia went to a running camp in Colorado, and Ella did a tennis camp and went to the Boundary Waters. Olivia played tennis, Emily went biking, and Shriya went late-night paddleboarding. Mara went backpacking in Wyoming and played ultimate. Vianne hiked in Norway. Suzy and Paige went to camp. Calvin and Anne both went on the Latin program’s trip to Italy. Taylor just liked not having school. The highlight of Ms. Roskowski’s summer was a Forward Madison Game and Fête de Marquet. Whether big or small, hopefully you found time to relax, have fun, and enjoy the summer. Regardless of construction, West is glad to have all of its students back. PHOTO CREDIT: collage by Charlotte Olson. Pictures from Anne Czajkowski, Lila Ward, CC Dooley, Ms. Roszkowski, Vianne Westman, and Sam Guilbault |
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CARTOON By Stella Balsley for A&E Word of The Month By Rafael Rebolledo The word of the month is….PLUCK! The main definition of Pluck is to take hold of (something) and quickly remove it from its place. The word pluck was of Germanic origin, and it soon evolved and became a word of Old English, and it was spelled as Pluccian, or Ploccian. Flemish influence, and Old French influence turned the word into what is known as today. Facts about Pluck!
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