The International Year of Soils : 2015

2015 has been named the International Year of Soils (IYS) by the Global Soil Partnership at the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization. The purpose is to raise awareness about the importance of this limited resource, since many areas of the world are experiencing soil degradation at erosion rates that are faster than the rate that soil forms, especially in developing countries (even the USA's midwest region––historically America's bread basket––has unsustainable erosion rates).

One IYS partner organization, the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), will post new videos and educational materials every month to demonstrate what soil does for us. Watch the three minute video below to get but a glimpse of the importance of this most lowly, most taken-for-granted, of earth phenomena. I'll link up the videos here each month for your viewing entertainment––and education.

Thanks to North Carolina State University's own Dr. David Lindbo for chairing SSSA's IYS campaign and for assisting to develop this month's materials.

January: Soils Sustain Life

Find more resources and activities to get your hands dirty at the SSSA website, like how to find out your official state soil, how to figure out your soil texture, and discover what soil is made of (––dreams).