Despite heat in the mid- to upper-90s as summer winds down, the high school cross country teams in the San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley have a plentiful crop of runners out for the 2009 season. Both teams have about 50 members, and each has aspirations of running in the state championship meet in late fall.

With students going back to school, my thoughts turn to young people and how to pique their interest in the plant world. Many schools have life lab gardens, and families growing vegetables and fruit trees have a head start.