The Xerces Society's Urban Farming Soil Life Short Course taught urban farmers and agricultural educators who speak English or Spanish about the organisms that contribute to soil health, farm productivity, and food safety.
Through a series of six comprehensive short courses and a companion pocket guide—also offered in both English and Spanish—educators and farmers learned the fundamentals of soil life, including ecology, basic identification, field scouting, the use of soil organisms as bioindicators, and conservation strategies to enhance their numbers.
Developed with support from an NCR-SARE Professional Development grant, the videos from the short course are now available for the general public. Viewers will increase their understanding of soil organism diversity, biology, and functions; how management practices affect soil life; how to choose and adjust management practices to favor beneficial soil organism diversity and function; and how to monitor the impact of new management practices. Empowered with this knowledge, participants will be equipped to share their expertise with the farmers they support, and to motivate and build confidence among urban farmers to conserve soil life.
En español: A Spanish version of the recorded online courses is also available as a playlist of videos focusing on various soil and soil life topic: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0YpC88441ljQNsUUFCg3Jq17tQ53l3p
Video Playlist URL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0YpC88441njfxH1tUDiiwFU4-59t_9q
Want more information? See the related SARE grant:
- The Urban Farming Soil Life Short Course (ENC21-205)
This material is based upon work that is supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture through the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and should not be construed to represent any official USDA or U.S. Government determination or policy.