Janiya Cassell

Engaging in community garden serves as a humble execution of core principals in biology including ecology. Volunteers encourage he growth of plants which allows for photosynthesis. Utilizing sunlight and carbon dioxide available by other plants, cellular respiration where organisms who make their own food (autotrophs) aka plants converting sunlight to chemical energy with the equation 6CO2+6H20+LIGHT ENERGY---> C6H12O6+6O2. This process drives cellular respiration within the mini ecosystem in the garden. A clear demonstration of biological systems in everyday actions.

My time volunteering at DC Central Kitchen taught me in the D.M.V (DC, Maryland, and Virginia) area approx. 1.5 million people in this area struggle with food insecurity. Which gave me an specific understanding of what happens in the human body when the body is under extreme stress of starvation. When the human body does not have access to constant and nutritious food, glucose and glycogen depletion occurs as an attempt to gain ATP for energy which has the physical symptoms of nausea, headache, dizziness and upset mood swings as low blood sugar begins to occur in the body. As the body shifts into gluconeogenesis, the opposite effect of glycolysis if this malnutrition continues to occur the body starts to break down adipose tissue and muscle including the heart while one would exhibit weakness of muscle, constant cold feeling due to decrease body temp which is the body's attempt to maintain homeostasis with the inevitable weight loss over courses of weeks if this continues more the body goes into chronic starvation and ketogenesis the metabolic process that slows down causing low heart rate, dry and brittle skin and dry skin, extreme loss of weight, and fatigue both mentally and physically, over month(s), if this still continues edema (body swelling) emaciation, and fluid retention which will lead to a severely reduced immune system causing infections and illnesses to occur that the body can not fight off as much, which will cause eventual psychosis, discoloration of skin, and multiple organ failure which unfortunately leads to death. By making roast beef and provolone and sunbutter and jelly sandwiches we helped reduce the likelihood of this happening for one day which adds up in the end of month long starvation.

Volunteering at Capital Area Food Bank allowed me to recognize the biological importance of macromolecules within the scope of human nutrition. As I bagged and filled boxes with things like rice (filled with complex carbohydrates for energy), canned chili (added important proteins and fats) and canned applesauce (essentially filled with natural sugar and fiber) along with other non perishable foods. This experience allowed me to fully comprehend the importance of the building blocks of life including lipids (forms cellular membranes and store long term energy), proteins (providing amino acids that are vital for immune system function, enzyme manufacture, and tissue rebuilding), carbohydrates (primary energy system, as well as metabolism and excess energy storage), and although Nucleic acids (storing gentic information) are also another building block of life it is not significant in the food human's consume. All are important for people to maintain homeostasis and maintain internal and external environment.