According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, soil holds three times as much carbon as the atmosphere and is a critical resource to meet the challenges of a changing climate. Ninety-five percent of our food comes from soil and thirty-three percent of our global soils are already degraded (U.N. 2018). Restorative ecosystem management and regenerative agricultural practices can boost soil productivity and increase resilience to floods and drought, while sequestering carbon.
Join this EPN Breakfast program to connect with, and learn from, Ohio’s notable soil experts and explore the many sides of creating, preserving and enhancing healthy soils in Ohio! On the eve of the internationally-celebrated World Soils Day (observed on December 5) learn about its origins from one of its major global champions (and Japan Prize winner), Rattan Lal, a soil scientist and professor at The Ohio State University, and why soil matters to Ohio’s conservation community from our state conservationist, Terry Cosby.
Instructors from Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources will showcase an interactive, soil erosion simulator, demonstrating its use for environmental education with regional middle school students. Christine Sprunger will show us how soils contribute broadly to ecosystem services, then observe how a team of instructors applies the teaching of assessment and restoration of urban soil to provide essential ecosystem services. They will describe their urban soil laboratory, and how it provides hands-on experiences in the form of soil remediation partnerships between Ohio State students, local NGOs, and the cities of Mansfield and Columbus, Ohio.
