Who doesn't like playing in the dirt? The Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) sure does and is encouraging the Canadian public to do so as well in honour of National Soil Conservation Week coming up April 16. Launching the entertaining Soil Your Undies campaign, the SCCC wants everyone who cares about soil health to bury a pair of cotton undergarments to witness firsthand the amazing activity that happens right under our feet. In Ontario, the Soil Your Undies project was initiated by the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario. Now SCCC, in partnership with Stanfield's, is giving this project a national perspective.
"What better way to understand the inner workings of our soil than with your own easy-to-do soil science experiment," says SCCC chair and Ontario farmer, Alan Kruszel. "Healthy soil is full of amazing, living organisms. It is what sustains us and is the foundation of a thriving civilization. In order to show just how important healthy soils are to Canadians, the Council wants to pique the public's interest with our Soil Your Undies initiative. We hope those who take part will share their experiences and their love for soil with us and their social networks."
The Soil Your Undies experiment provides an indication of how healthy your soil is. After a couple months buried, there shouldn't be much left of your undies if there is good biological activity in your soil. To get started, all you need is a pair of new, 100 per cent white cotton briefs, a shovel, and a flag to mark the site. A helpful step-by-step guide on how to properly Soil Your Undies is available at www.soilcc.ca.
National Soil Conservation Week is an annual event that gives groups like the SCCC, and others who advocate for soil conservation and health, a platform to remind the public of the importance of soil and the issues around its degradation and loss. To underscore its importance in food production and the role it plays in clean air and water, SCCC will be burying some undies at the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum in Ottawa that will be unearthed at a later date to reveal the degree of biological activity in the soil.
Now it's time to start thinking about your soil health experiment and bury a pair of undies of your own. Take video or photos and share your experience with us on Twitter @SoilCouncil and use the hashtags #SoilYourUndies or #CdnSoilWeek17 to let us know what's happening. The SCCC will present some of the highlights from Soil Your Undies at the next Summit on Canadian Soil Health in Guelph, Ont. on August 22 and 23.
Source: CNW