As part of my work with the Climate Hub and University of Wyoming, I developed a workshop on soil health and climate-resilient agriculture for middle and high school students. The workshop has students collect soils from nearby that they believe to be “healthy” or “unhealthy,” and then test their guess by measuring some simple soil properties such as organic matter (by color), pH, nitrate, and texture.
We then discuss the functions of a healthy soil, and how these soil properties impact a soil’s ability to perform these functions and support a healthy, climate-resilient ecosystem, especially as it relates to water storage and drought. This workshop is open for anyone to use, and a lesson plan and slides can be found here
Functions of a Healthy Soil
Testing Soil pH
Workshop with Biloba Organic Farms
Workshop with Common Outdoor Ground