World Soil Day

Where food begins was the theme for the recent World Soils Day event held at Meadows on December 5.

95% of our food comes from soil so having a healthy soil ecosystem is very important for our survival. We need to look at the whole picture of what makes soil healthy such as the physical properties (structure), the chemical (nutrients) and biological (microbes), all 3 components need to be in balance to make healthy soil. Soil is to act like a sponge for holding water and is a place where carbon can be stored.

In celebration of World Soil Day, Landscapes Hill and Fleurieu held a feature event at Meadows Institute with guest speakers presenting on key soil topics and also featuring Matt Evans, the Gourmet Farmer and author of Soils: the incredible story of what keeps the earth, and us, healthy.

Newly appointed Soil Extension Officers from several landscape boards participated in the event, demonstrating simple at-home soil tests including pH testing, soil compaction with a penetrometer, hydrophobic soils water droplet test and soil texturing.

A display of a soil monolith showing the different soil horizons of a soil from South Parawa drew a lot of attention from people as they passed by.

Barrie Williams our own Soil Extension Officer said “the event was well attended, very informative and a great day out.”

Find out more about Barrie Williams and the services available through the Soil Extension Officer role here.

This event was jointly funded through the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program, the South Australian Drought Resilience Adoption and Innovation Hub, Soil Science Australia SA Branch and the Mount Barker District Council