During Global Soil Week, April 19th-23rd, stakeholders from the around the world will join forces to discuss the role of sustainable soil management in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. So this month the Landscapes for People, Food, and Nature Blog is digging deeper into soil. And we want you, landscape managers, to join the discussion!
From the ground to the globe, share your soil story!
We’re looking for stories on how you implemented a holistic approach to managing a soil-related issue. Through your accounts, we want to demonstrate how responsible soil management on-the-ground can have far-reaching, and even global, impacts.
We invite guest authors to respond with a brief narrative on their “soil-utions” to land management challenges. Submissions (500 word maximum) will be accepted throughout the month of April (with the first posts going up next week!). Strong posts will address the following questions:
On the surface: What were the soils issues you (your project/program) faced and why were they complex?
Some examples of soil management challenges are: degradation, erosion, instability or landslides, low organic matter or fertility, salinization, etc.
Breaking ground: What strategies, techniques, or collaborations did you employ to address the soils problem, and what was the result?
We’d love to hear your answers to questions like:
- What was your strategy to address the issue?
- Who took what actions, and how did those actions complement each other?
- What outcomes have you seen thus far?
Spreading roots: How do your innovations in soil and land management affect the larger landscape?
Please use these questions for guidance:
- How did working with multiple sectors help fix or mitigate the particular soil problem?
- How did your project benefit from working with people not specifically involved in working with soil?
- What lessons for soil management around the world can we learn from your project?
We’re especially looking for posts that demonstrate how soil management practices can include multiple sectors and benefit a landscape as a whole.
Please send submissions to lwertz@ecoagriculture.org with the subject line “Soil-utions”. Submissions with a compelling photo are more likely to be accepted.
Featured image courtesy of Georgina Smith/CIAT.
Ed George
April 16, 2015 at 1:18pmNebraska FFA Foundation Agriculture Education Soils Project using $200,000 has been a rewarding experience for 150 Ag Educators and 6,000 FFA students. Soil curriculum, soil testing kits, soil probes, measuring wheels and other soil equipment were used in train-the-trainers for classroom, laboratory projects and field land and soil quality evaluations. Students tackled projects about erosion, water management and soil conservation practices. Soil education and soil related skills are being used in greenhouses, gardening, horticulture, landscape management and agricultural production.
With fewer agriculturalists and the need for more Agriculture Educators, FFA students are considering soil related careers has a significant role for every person every day of their lives.
Editor-in-Chief
April 16, 2015 at 6:03pmHi Ed,
This sounds like a very interesting project. Please do feel free to submit a post about this soils education project that helps our readers understand who the students are, what they are learning specifically, and how they are using that knowledge in Nebraska and beyond. You can send it to the email address in the post above.
Thanks,
Lou (The Editor)