Connecticut

NATURE Common Core State Standard CCSS. ELA-Literacy. R1.3.1-3.10/4.1-4.10/5.1-5.10

The Dirt on Soils Article written by Michelle Eckman,

Connecticut Audubon Society
Reflect for a moment about how much time you spend thinking about soil in your everyday life. Probably not much - or ever, if you are like most people. But soil is the founda-
tion of practically all life on earth. How could such a vital part of our life be so largely ignored? Personally, I think about soil a lot, and I hope you might start to think a little more
about it, too!

Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines soil as the portion of the earth’s surface consisting of disintegrated rock and humus. That sounds a little hard to understand, so let’s break it
down. Disintegrated rock is the bits of weathered, broken down rock – you can see this when you pick up soil in your hand. The weathered rock/mineral sediment forms over thou-
sands of years as a result of forces of the sun (heating and cooling of rock), wind, water, ice, chemical and biological breakdown (e.g. acid rain, lichens). The weathered rock is the
sand and smaller rock pieces you see in there. The humus is decomposed, formally living creatures. When an organism dies, such as an insect or tree, these organisms break down
(or decompose) and create humus in the process. Much of the nutrients in any soil come from the decomposition process. Without decomposers like ants, earthworms, roaches,
mushrooms and other fungi, bacteria, and pillbugs (also called roly-polies), plants that grow in soil would not be able to survive. Therefore, without decomposers, we would not
be able to survive!

Soil is the foundation of practically all life on earth. That is a pretty big statement, is it not? Think about it; what would you do without soil? What would land plants do without
soil? Soil does so many things for us:
• It provides essential nutrients and minerals,
• It stores water and provides what is needed to maintaining life on our planet,
• Soil is important because it is the where the majority of land plants grow – plants that are our primary source of oxygen, food, fiber, and medicine.
• Soil also recycles and filters wastes.
• It is amazing that virtually all life on earth depends on a mere 1-2 feet of soil on its surface!
There are thousands of different types of soils on earth, depending on what type of rocks they came from, the types of plants and animals that were once living in an area and
make up the humus, and how much precipitation an area receives over time. All of these wonderful and varied soils create our wonderfully diverse world. However, if soil were a
plant or animal, we consider it an endangered species – our soils are going extinct! How could this possibly be happening? Where is our soil going? What is happening to it?

The main problem is that we build cities and towns and pave over soil in the process. We graze too many cattle on large areas of land. We plant crops over large areas of land
and apply chemical pesticides and herbicides to control unwanted pests. We build roads to connect cities and towns. We cut down trees and other plants that help hold the soil
together. All of these actions are negatively affecting the soil. But YOU can make a difference!

What you decide to eat and what you decide to do during your daily life has an impact – why not make it a positive one? For example, instead
of using chemicals to fertilize (feed) your plants at home, you can easily make and use your own fertilizer (compost) (see the recipe in the
Make Your Own Soil section). Rather than spray harmful pesticides in your yard, focus on planting native plants in your yard – they already
grow in our area so they have natural defenses to pests in Connecticut. You could try to find out where some of your food comes from and how
it may have been raised. Where did the cow live that is part of your hamburger? Did it come from a big or a small farm? Could you get some of
these foods from a local farmer – even an organic farmer that doesn’t use pesticides and herbicides? Could you grow any of your own food at
home, such as lettuce and tomatoes? Maybe your school could have a garden that could provide fresh fruits and vegetables for your cafeteria!

Every time you and your family make a choice to buy food that is grown in a way that helps soil or grow to even your own food, you are helping
earth’s soil. And every little bit you do adds up over time to make a big difference for you, your family, and all of the other animals and plants
that depend upon them.

VOCABULARY – using a dictionary, look up all of the italicized words for their meanings.

Did You Know Make

Soil
A wonderful way to take care of the planet while reducing how much
trash you generate at home AND making your own homemade

It takes approximately 1,000 years for just one your humus! Here is all you need:

own
inch of soil to form in nature! Soil is made by the • A large, lidded container if you are using it indoors. They sell these
buildup of natural in most hardware stores.
materials such as • A small enclosure made of scrap wood or fencing if you are using
leaves, sticks and outdoors.
plants, so that leaf • For inside composting, you’ll need some native worms. You can actually order these online very easily!
pile you make in the • For outside composting, the decomposers will come on their own
woods may eventually • In dry weather, outside compost bins will need occasional watering to keep the decomposers alive
become soil. Since soil
Composting results in a natural fertilizer and insecticide, free of the usual harmful ingredients that are often added to many fertilizers, herbicides,
takes so long to make, and insecticides. Composting is a terrific way to reduce the amount of trash people generate.
it means that what we
can destroy in min- Food scraps that CAN be added: Non-plant material that can be added:
utes will take a very • rinsed and crushed egg shells • coffee grinds • cardboard (torn or shredded into small pieces, but not pizza boxes because they
long time to replace. • salad greens (rinse off all dressings) contain oils from food) • unbleached, ink-free paper scraps (including paper bags)
Soil is not a renewable resource – so we have to • chopped raw vegetables • cooked vegetables free of sauces • hair
take care of what we have on this planet now.
To avoid odors & pests NEVER add: NEVER add diseased plants, weeds going to seed, or cat/dog wastes.
• meat • bones • fat • oils • dairy products • processed foods