I applied for the 75th Anniversary Joint Grant for Promoting Soil Science. I am a member of the Spanish Society of Soil Science and discovered the grant through an email from the society with the grant information. The funding received was used in the development and delivery of innovative teaching/outreach resources aiming at supporting and encouraging the education of Soil Science.
The project aimed to raise awareness among high school students of the importance of preserving and enhancing soil biodiversity and to provide them with the knowledge and understanding needed to appreciate and protect it. By the end of the project, students were able to recognize the importance of biodiversity for maintaining ecosystem functions (decomposition as a component of nutrient cycling essential for food production) and the consequences of biodiversity loss for the planet and for humanity.
The following team members have developed this project:
UK team: Rodica Pena (rodica.pena@reading.ac.uk), Katie Somerville-Hall (k.m.somerville-hall@pgr.reading.ac.uk) and Tammy Edmonds-Tibbett (t.l.edmonds-tibbett@reading.ac.uk).
Spain team: Marta Gil Martínez (mgil9@us.es), Lourdes Morillas Viñuales (lmorillas@us.es) y Pablo Homet Gutierrez (pablo.homet@uca.es).
Workplan: materials and activities and learning outcomes
- We created and developed the information and illustrations for both a digital and printed brochure (English/ Spanish) about soil fauna to briefly explain the soils processes theory, the two experiments carried out with the students and the organisms that inhabit in the soil. A digital illustrator was hired for materializing this brochure. We also developed documents for the students to fill in the next sessions.
- Session 1: We developed dynamic and fun presentations to explain the soil fauna project. We used the content of our digital brochure and the “Guardians of the Ecosystem” game (https://www.eudaphobase.eu/game/). We developed a practical activity with the students consisting of the buried of 5 different organic materials tea bags, underpants and banana peels, biodegradable materials (coffee pods, detergent or bags) and non-degradable material such as plastic caps in the soils in the school courtyard. They weighted the materials and wrote in a document the initial weight. We selected as many as possible contrasting ecosystem types in the courtyards. These materials were buried and left for 3 months for their decomposition.
- Session 2: We developed a practical activity with the students consisting on the extraction of the soil mesofauna with Berlese funnel methodology. Students built the Berlese funnels with recycled materials. The soils were collected by the students in their school courtyard and placed in the funnels under a light bulb for 3 days to let the mesofauna to be collected in a plastic container with alcohol.
- Session 3: The students determined the fauna taxonomic groups found thanks to the guide of mesofauna (illustrations, names and functions) of our brochure. They had a document to fill to indicate the abundance and diversity of the mesofauna found in their soils.
- Session 4: After 3 months, the materials buried in Session 1 were recovered, weighted and analysed the loss of matter to learn about decomposition process. They weighted the materials and wrote in a document the final weight. We closed the project with a final presentation of the results and the conclusions.
This project has been developed in two countries: Spain and the UK. In each country, we have selected two schools.
In Spain we selected two high schools:
- José María Infantes https://iesjosemariainfantes.com/ located in Utrera (Sevilla).
Four sessions dates: 4th December, 31st January, 20th February and 5th March.
Students were in 4º ESO and FP Básica, 15 to 16 years old. 2 groups, 35 students.
- Huerta de la Cruz https://www.huertadelacruz.es/ located in Algeciras (Cádiz).
Four sessions dates: 29th November, 6th February, 20th March and 21st March.
Students were in 1º ESO, 12 to 13 years old. 2 groups, 60 students.
In the UK we selected two schools. The students were at 6th grade, 10 to 11 years old:
- Crabtree Junior School https://www.crabtreeschools.org/ located in Harpenden (Hertfordshire).
Four sessions dates: 8th March, 19th April , 3rd May and 14th June. 2 groups, 64 students.
- Roundwood Park School https://roundwoodpark.co.uk located in Harpenden (Hertfordshire).
Four sessions dates: 26th January, 1st March, 8th March and 26th April. 1 group, 30 students.
Total students: Spain, 95 and the UK, 94.
We have developed divulgation materials, which have been published in the Education Materials page https://soils.org.uk/education/educational-materials/ and in the Soil Science Loan Boxes page https://soils.org.uk/education/soil-science-loan-boxes/ of the BSSS website. Moreover, we have shared these materials with the Spanish Soil Science Society and with our institutions and associations we are members with as well as with teachers, students, researchers, disseminators, etc. so that the fauna of the soil begins to gain visibility and that the youngest understand the secret life that develops under their feet.
Moreover, we have developed a new X (Twitter) account to share our project: @MySoilMates
