Soil Class

Did a 2-hour general science lab at the alternative high school yesterday - the topic was soils. I collected several samples - forest duff, clay based subsoil, compost, topsoil run-off and sand. We laid the materials out on newspaper and felt the texture, looked at the colors and mixed the soils with water as we watched them settle. We didn't have the 'proper scientific tools for the task', so we made observations and talked about the context of soil use and laid out the soil profile. It was interesting to note that they didn't know that soil is silica based - a silicon/oxygen lattice with a very low (4%) carbon content. The mix of subsoil and compost looked alot like the forest run-off, in both texture and aura.

Nine student (eight girls!), plus the teacher and Dr. Lenny. Very stable - a different spin on a topic that nobody there really thought much about. Girls don't get the opportunity to get their hands dirty by playing in the mud very often. The soil samples collection by the students was an afterthought, even though it was suggested a week ago. It wasn't relevant at the time of suggestion, so it became a last minute hoop to jump through - three pop bottle of soil made it with my five. So they can, if they wish, but the motivation to wish isn't quite there.

Meanwhile - if global warming causes a shift in agricultural patters, where plants migrate away from the equator in a pattern to follow their favored climates - we will have a need to establish the top soil and mycophilic collaborations between microbes, fungi, lichen and root systems. Citrus trees take years to establish - but now might just be the time to put in limes, oranges and kumquats - by the time the trees have matured into full production, the soils and the climate will be set to support the grove. Of course, variation in micro-climates needs to be part of the equation - a misplaced frost can wipe out a whole bunch of touchy trees. The variations in the cycles need attention - so those out of the limit temperature blips, don't end the game at null.