Soil Science: From Composition to Conservation

Regenerative agriculture is an approach to farming that focuses on restoring the health of the soil. Farmers who practice regenerative agriculture believe that the soil is a living thing and that caring for the soil is the key to farm productivity. To improve the health of the soil, regenerative farmers turn to the natural environment as inspiration and try to minimise soil disturbance and chemical interference as much as possible.

One of the things that all people on earth have in common is their need to eat. Where possible, the food we need to survive and thrive should be healthy and fresh. With the population of the world growing every day and with many people around the world already not having access to fresh and healthy food, we need to find better ways to grow food. Not only do we need to grow more food, but we also need to find ways to protect the environments that grow our food to keep them healthy and productive.

Students will be taking on the roles of soil scientists. These soil scientists are exploring a way of farming called ‘regenerative agriculture’. Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that looks at what’s going on in the soil and tries to work with the natural systems of the soil to grow food. While all farmers are interested in soil because that’s where the plants grow, regenerative farmers are interested in making the soil super healthy and strong, both now and in the future.  

Why is soil the most important thing? The soil scientist students will use the lessons in this unit to find out. They will wear their scientist hats and gloves to explore why soil is so important and how we can look after it through regenerative farming.