Celebrate World Soil Day Dec 5th
If you like to eat, then you should learn about the importance of soil to food security and why soils need our help. Two campaigns have been launched to celebrate World Soil Day on December 5, 2018; one in Oregon and another across the Earth.
Oregon NRCS will launch the Soil Your Undies Challenge, a soil health awareness campaign. We want farmers to take a picture when they “plant” a fresh pair of cotton undies during the growing season, then take a picture when they dig up what’s left of the undies after harvest. The healthier your soil, the more the undies will decompose. For this campaign, NRCS has created a webpage and challenge tracker. Throughout the year they will add photos of soiled undies from around the state to the Oregon Soil Your Undies map. Benton County producers who want to participate should contact Teresa Matteson, Benton SWCD, to get on the undies list. Undies and marker flags will be distributed in April 2019 while supplies last. Email Teresa at tmatteson@bentonswcd.org or call the Benton SWCD office 541-753-7208 to get on the list. This announcement originated with Robert Hathorne, Public Affairs Specialist, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Long live the soil!
On a global scale, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations will honor the 2018 World Soil Day through the theme BE THE SOLUTION TO SOIL POLLUTION. Click that link to find downloadable promotional materials including: posters, a banner, logos, infographics, and videos. These free materials document soil pollution issues and galvanize a crusade to help protect our soils. Please join this charge to help raise awareness about and prevent soil pollution!!
About the Author
Teresa Matteson
In 2001, I uprooted my family and moved to Corvallis to pursue a Master’s in Soil Science at OSU. Food waste composting research married with scholarly escapades into soil physics, chemistry and biology prepared me to be a member of the Benton SWCD Team. My passion is to revive regard for soil.
