ROOTBALL: Give us caring faculty and students and we'll do the rest

Rootball is the newsletter of Pando Populus.

Pando’s success is producing two things: A generation of capable young people who take on real issues with the courage, knowledge, and stick-to-itiveness needed to invent and develop real projects that make an actual difference. And their successful projects that are quietly changing the world.

Pando Days project updates

Twenty-one Pando Days projects are now pushing to the finish line for the 2025/26 school year, with 16 universities making it into the final lineup.

This year’s projects have already been capturing headlines, along with Pando Days projects from past seasons that are continuing to make an impact.

Carina Garret (second from right) is honored alongside three of her students at The Pando Sustainability Awards, 2024. With her are Christos Chrysiliou (left), LAUSD Chief Eco Sustainability Officer, and Paul Koretz (right), Pando's Vice Chair and LA City Councilmember Emeritus.

Magenta House Teacher Spotlight: Carina Garret

Pando’s Magenta House program for water and power sustainability is nearing the conclusion of a strong season, with some 15 real-world projects now in development across some of the most dynamic middle schools in Los Angeles. Projects will be showcased at the Magenta House Expo, a virtual event on May 16, 9-10 am (register here). Carina Garret is a teacher from Palms Middle School who is in her second Magenta House season. She gives us a preview of what we can expect.

PANDO: Good morning, Carina! We’re barely more than two weeks away from the Expo! We’ve come to expect amazing work from you – I’m eager to hear what your students will be showcasing.

CARINA: Hi, Alexi! We have two teams.

One team is leading a composting initiative aimed at reducing water usage and minimizing food and carbon waste on campus.

They are beginning by educating the student body about which parts of their lunches are compostable. This helps to build awareness and shift habits.

The next phase involves using compost bins to create nutrient-rich soil that can be integrated into our school garden – reducing the need for excessive watering.

I love it! And the second project?

The second team is also looking at waste on campus, but not the organic kind. It’s focused on repurposing resin waste from our 3D printers.

They are experimenting with melting excess resin material into molds to create items such as Palms Middle School keychains, jewelry, and school merchandise that can be sold or distributed as incentives to support the environmental club.

The artists (Yogan Muller, right and RyanMcIntosh, left) at the 2025 Radius Aris Weekend, Radius Books HQ, Santa Fe, NM, August 2025.

Ready to party?

Join Yogan Muller, a Pando team lead from UCLA, this Saturday for an event focused on the release of his new book, co-authored with Ryan McIntosh: Tracy Hills (Radius Books).

Yogan’s current Pando Days project is an ambitious intercollegiate opportunity that is inspired in part by Tracy Hills.

The event is Saturday, May 5, at 3:00 pm at the Hauser and Wirth LA Bookstore, 917 E. Third Street. Tell them you’re with Pando.

An example of a schoolyard designed with principles of biodiversity and greenspace. Photo credit.

Two important local biodiversity opportunities for L.A.

By Mark VanderSchaaf

In my previous biodiversity blogs, I’ve proposed a new term (“biometropolis”) to refer to the region of plants and animals within and immediately beyond metropolitan human settlements. I’ve also explored recent national and California advances in biodiversity planning. In this blog, I am highlighting two golden opportunities for the Los Angeles biometropolis to knit together local biodiversity plans and programs in a way that strengthens the natural ecosystems of the region. Both opportunities are functions of new programs that are statewide and even national in scope. That being the case, something will be done in the next few years to advance local biodiversity endeavors throughout LA in a way that will require at least some intergovernmental and stakeholder collaboration.

The question is: how much collaboration will occur and how will it be managed? I here offer my broad recommendations about what should be done to make local biodiversity work a success throughout the LA region. As I see it, the region has two unique opportunities: one, stemming from recent “Room to Roam” legislation, and the second from the “Green Schoolyards” movement.

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