A major reason that the science of soil holds an obscure or lightly regarded place in the public eye is a lack of education. At what grade level did you study soils? Like me, you probably side-swiped it during junior high biology. Maybe actually spent an entire class on it in high school, especially if you attended a rural high school in farm country. Let’s face it – soil science is neither a glamorous or high-paying occupation. Most would consider it pretty dull, particularly in the hands of an uninspired teacher.
It didn’t take me too long to figure out that if I wanted to change this, a more pro-active approach would be required on my part. The easiest setting for me to begin educating the public presented itself when I met clients on a project site. Although I routinely service engineering companies and land developers, many of my clients are individuals like you and me. They want to know if the land they are buying will be suitable for a house or a septic system. When they meet me at the project site, I figure I have a captive audience. I explain that I can pretty much tell them most of what they need to know after making several soil borings. I use a truck-mounted hydraulic sampling rig that allows me to extract an undisturbed core sample within a matter of minutes. Most clients will hang around long enough to see me pull the first sample, lay it in the tray, cut into it, and begin to describe it. It’s not hard for me to explain what I’m doing and why as I complete each task. Throw in a little bit of glacial geology. Test for carbonates using dilute hydrochloric acid. Even let them try to match a soil color with the Munsell book. Folks seem to develop an interest in soils with this sort of in-the-field, hands-on experience. I consider it a major accomplishment if they can tell top from bottom after my lesson.
This sort of remedial education may serve some good, but I think it more important to reach a younger audience who are motivated with a natural curiosity about the physical world. And (with the occasional exception of the teenage girl) enjoy being around trucks with drilling equipment that extract soil cores. Even better when those cores contain earthworms (in part or whole), ant colonies, garbage, and colorful rocks.
Where do I find these kids? That’s the easy part. When my son was active in Scouting, it was natural for me to work with him and his fellow Scouts on activities and merit badges for geology, soil and water conservation, and engineering. Although my son’s Scouting days are well past him, I’m still a registered Merit Badge Counselor working with the youth of my community.
My daughter, while more interested in the finer arts, occasionally enjoys wading streams with me in search of smallmouth bass. As she has progressed from grade school to middle school to high school (she currently is a freshman), I have made it a point to meet with her science teachers during parent-teacher conferences at the beginning of each school year. I give them a business card and tell them I am ready and willing to provide some hands-on soil science demonstrations at the time of their choosing. This has led to regular gigs with general science and environmental science classes.
Occasionally, the Letters to the Editor section of my local newspaper will contain a request from a student needing information about Illinois for a school project. For each of these requests I have a ready-made assortment of materials about soils ready to send. Items I send include posters, refrigerator magnets, bookmarkers, and postcards. I have obtained these materials through professional associations such as the Illinois Soil Classifiers Association, American Society of Agronomy, Soil Science Society of America, National Association of Conservation Districts, and the Geological Society of America to name a few.
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) recently began a program called Ask a Soil Scientist as part of their K-12 education program. SSSA has compiled a list of member Soil Scientists willing to answer questions put to the Society by the public. The member scientists who wish to participate list their field(s) of expertise so question topics can be matched with the appropriate scientist. I think this program offers great promise, and I am pleased to report that I had the pleasure of “answering” my first question earlier today.
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