In 2014, the United Nations General Assembly established December 5th as World Soil Day and declared 2015 the International Year of Soils. This action by the UN is meant to draw attention to the important role soils play in all of our lives.
For many of us in Philadelphia County, it is easy to forget about where our food comes from, trucked in from farms around the region, brought in by train from across the country, and flown in from exotic countries around the world. This food is grown somewhere, and the health of the soil is closely tied to the health of our food--both the quality and quantity.
Excerpt from FAO's soil infographic |
Excerpt from FAO's soil infographic |
January - Soils Sustain Life | July - Soils are Living |
February - Soils Support Urban Life | August - Soils Support Health |
March - Soils Support Agriculture | September - Soils Protect the Natural Environment |
April - Soils Clean and Capture Water | October - Soils and the Products We Use |
May - Soils Support Buildings/Infrastructure | November - Soils and Climate |
June - Soils Support Recreation | December - Soils, Culture, and People |
Excerpt from FAO's soil infographic |
- Install rain gardens
- Compost food scraps
- Adding finished compost to your soil
- Grow your own vegetables
Interested in learning more? Here are a handful of links to get you started:
- USDA NRCS Soil Health Awareness portal (http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/soils/health/)
- USDA NRCS's YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDZND69Db-WE0d1ITEiuSjQ)
- SSSA's International Year of Soils portal (https://www.soils.org/IYS)
- SSSA is offering a free PDF Coloring & Activity Book as a tool for introducing the importance of soils to school-age children, K-2 grade level (https://www.soils.org/files/iys/iys-colorbook-for-web.pdf)
- U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) IYS portal (http://www.fao.org/soils-2015/en/?utm_source=faohomepage&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=featurebar)
- FAO soil infographic (http://www.fao.org/globalsoilpartnership/world-soil-day/campaign-material/infographic/en/)
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