Soil Health Educational Resources
Soil plays a critical role in our lives - it provides nutrition in the food we eat; filters our water; cleans our air; provides habitat for wildlife and pollinators; sequesters carbon; and sustains the livelihoods of millions of farmers and ranchers worldwide who preserve and nurture this precious resource.
The Soil Health Institute Communications and Education Action Team compiled the following catalog of soil health educational resources to help educators teach students and adults about the critical functions that soil plays in sustaining life on earth.
This team identified existing soil health resources – developed by public and private sector organizations – and organized them by audience and subject matter to help educators develop soil health lesson plans and demonstrations; and to help students explain, engage in and advocate for soil health issues, and soil health’s benefits to agriculture, the environment and local communities.
The Soil Health Institute would like to acknowledge Beth Mason of the National Association of Conservation Districts, Ron Nichols, formerly of USDA-NRCS, Lisa Bellows of North Central Texas College, Gretchen Sassenrath of Kansas State University, Sami Tellatin at University of Missouri, Caroline Wade of The Nature Conservancy, Susan Schultz of SMS Consulting and Earth Team Volunteer, Jessica Handy of Kiss the Ground, Gary Farrell of the Washington State Soil Health Committee and Scott Jones of Regenerative Farming Practices for their contributions.
The Communications and Education Action Team would appreciate your assistance in identifying any additional soil health educational resources. If you are interested in recommending a new resource, please submit this resource at the bottom of the page.
| AUDIENCE | DESCRIPTION | LINK | ORGANIZATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult (general public) | The Purdue Soil Health photo and video library gives you easy access to photos and videos that may be useful in your efforts to inform and educate others about soil health. | http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/soilhealth/videos.html | Purdue Extension |
| Adult (general public) | The Purdue Soil Health photo and video library gives you easy access to photos and videos that may be useful in your efforts to inform and educate others about soil health. | http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/soilhealth/photos.html | Purdue Extension |
| Adult (general public) | Soil Basics includes lessons on soil origins, profiles, components, structure, pesticides, and ag soils. | http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/soilhealth/soil-basics.html | Purdue Extension |
| Adult (general public) | Soil Health section topics include how a healthy soil should look and smell, economics, increasing OM, and urban gardening. | http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/soilhealth/soil-health.html | Purdue Extension |
| Adult: sustainable agriculture educators | This resource hub from For the Love of Soil offers teaching materials, including slides, assignments, videos and virtual field trips, for use in soil science courses. | https://www.fortheloveofsoil.org/educate | For the Love of Soil |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Cover Crop Topic Room: Bulletins, fact sheets, books (online and print versions available), PowerPoint presentation templates, infographics, images, illustrations. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Topic-Rooms | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Cover Crops & Soil Health Images, Illustrations, and PowerPoint Templates: topics include cover crop economics, cover crop selection, biodiversity, water quality, impacts of cover crops and soil health, ecosystem services of cover crops, etc. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Topic-Rooms/Cover-Crops/Cover-Crop-Images-Library | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Managing Cover Crops Profitably: A book (offered online and in print) exploring how and why cover crops work, and provides all the information needed to build cover crops into any farming operation. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Cover-Crops-Profitably-3rd-Edition | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Building Soils for Better Crops: A book (offered online and in print) offering a one-of-a-kind, practical guide to ecological soil management. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Cover Cropping for Pollinators and Beneficial Insects: A bulletin (available online and in print for free) to help farmers and ranchers use cover crops to encourage populations of pollinators and beneficial insects on farm while also addresing other resource concerns. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Bulletins/Cover-Cropping-for-Pollinators-and-Beneficial-Insects | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Alternative Continuous-Cover Dairy Forage System for Profitability, Flexibility and Soil Health: A fact sheet available online about an "alternative continuous-cover forage" system that is based on soil health management and applicable to dairy farmers | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Fact-Sheets/Alternative-Continuous-Cover-Dairy-Forage-System-for-Profitability-Flexibility-and-Soil-Health | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health: An online database of videos and presentations from the 2014 National Conference on Cover Crops and Soil Health, including breakout session presentations on cover crops and soil health. Also, included in this link is the ability to watch the "Cover Crop Innovators" series - a video series of farmers who are cover crop innovators and how they've made cover crops and soil health work on their land. | http://www.sare.org/Events/Cover-Crop-Conferences/National-Conference-on-Cover-Crops-and-Soil-Health | SARE |
| Adult: farmers, ranchers, agency representatives (USDA, EPA) non-profit organizations, sustainable agriculture educators | Cover Crop Innovators Video Series: a video series of farmers who are cover crop innovators and how they made cover crops and soil health work on their land. | http://www.sare.org/Events/Cover-Crop-Conferences/National-Conference-on-Cover-Crops-and-Soil-Health/Cover-Crop-Innovators-Video-Series | SARE |
| Grades 2 - 4 | Mighty Mini Microbe’s Tale, coloring book | To order: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/health/?cid=nrcseprd1360615 To view/download:https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/national/soils/health/ |
USDA NRCS |
| Grades 3 - 5 | Elementary school curriculum. Focusing on grades three through five, the curriculum’s activities take the student on a journey through the benefits of irrigation, including agriculture, landscape and its history. | http://www.irrigation.org/IA/Resources/Elementary_School_Curriculu/IA/Resources/Elementary_School_Curriculum.aspx | Irrigation Associaton |
| Grades 3 - 5 | WhoBuddies Elementary school materials: books and activity sheets | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/ia/home/?cid=nrcs142p2_011809 | USDA NRCS |
| Grades 4 - 10 | Soil Health Infographics | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1143889 | USDA NRCS |
| Grades 5 - 8 | Purple Plow: Soil and Food Challenges (Student and Teacher guides) | http://www.purpleplowchallenge.org/about/ | American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture |
| Grades 6 - 8 | Kiss the Ground teamed up with Life Lab to develop a middle school curriculum that allows students to understand the vital role soil plays on our planet. The 5-lesson curriculum, written to serve as supplemental material for the Next Generation Science Standards, teaches about the carbon cycle, photosynthesis, soil science, various agricultural practices, and concludes with a regenerative soil-based project. | https://kisstheground.com/soil_story_curriculum/ | Kiss the Ground |
| Grades 5-12 | Videos: The Hope in Healthy Soil, Chapters 1 - 7 | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TucmtBLmeyU&index=8&list=PL4J8PxoprpGaCb1k93_Y5pOm9b-9V1pMX | USDA NRCS |
| Grades 5-12 | Soil Health Theater: Soil Health Lessons in a Minute (6 video episodes) | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1048858 | USDA NRCS |
| Grades 8-12 | Fact Sheets: "Healthy Soils Are…" | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1193043 | USDA NRCS |
| Grades 8-12 | Fact Sheets: Soil Health Basics & Benefits | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detailfull/national/soils/health/?cid=stelprdb1049236 | USDA NRCS |
| Grades K - 12 | Soil lessons, activities, etc | Teachers: http://www.soils4teachers.org/ Students: https://soils.org/students Kids: http://www.soils4kids.org/home | SSSA - Soil Science Society of America |
| Grades K - 12 | Matrix of lessons plans and activities | http://www.soils4teachers.org/lessons-and-activities | SSSA - Soil Science Society of America |
| Grades K - 12 | The National Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix: an online, searchable, and standards-based curriculum map for K-12 teachers. | https://agclassroom.org/ | National Ag In The Classroom |
| Grades K - 12 | Matrix of Activities | https://agclassroom.org/teacher/matrix/ | National Ag In The Classroom |
| Grades K - 12 | Water Games and Activities, classroom lessons | https://www3.epa.gov/safewater/kids/gamesandactivies.html | Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) |
| Grades K - 12 | Natural resource education material - several soil activities | www.plt.org | Project Learning Tree (PLT) |
| Grades K - 12 | Soil Activities and Water education materials (water lessosn plans, books, guides, maps, posters) | http://projectwet.org | Project WET |
| Grades K - 12 And Adult | State Soil Booklets: Information on each "state soil" | http://www.soils4teachers.org/state-soils | SSSA - Soil Science Society of America |
| Grades K - 12 | Variety of links to activities and publications | https://www.fs.fed.us/learn/educators | US Forest Service |
| Grades K - 12 | Interactive soil education | https://www.blm.gov/nstc/soil/Kids/index.html | Bureau of Land Management (BLM) |
| Grades K - 12 | Learning Center: Books, bulletins, videos, curricula, fact sheets and much more! SARE's Learning Center is a treasure trove of sustainable agriculture information. Use the keyword filters or search box to begin exploring. | http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center | SARE |
| Grades K - 6 | Soil materials: lesson plans, activities | https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/edu/kthru6/ | USDA NRCS |
| Grades K - 6 | Games, lesson plans, fact sheets, videos, water challenges, videos | http://wateruseitwisely.com | Water Use It Wisely |
| Grades K - 8 | a five-year rotation for stewardship topics – water, soil, habitat, forestry, and a topic of interest (the highest grade level says grade 6 and above) | http://www.nacdnet.org/general-resources/stewardship-program/ | NACD - National Association of Conservation Districts |
| Grades Pre-K - 5 | My American Farm: Farm Games | http://www.myamericanfarm.org/classroom/games | America Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture |
| Grades K - 12 | DIG IT! The Secrets of Soil: Discover the amazing world of soils with interactive learning, images and information from the Dig It! The Secrets of Soil exhibit from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History. | http://forces.si.edu/soils/ | Museum of Natural History - Smithsonian |
| Grades K - 12 | Underground Adventure exhibit at the museum until December 31, 2020. Get a bug’s-eye view of the world when you magically “shrink” to 1/100th of your actual size—smaller than a penny—to explore an immersive environment of worm tunnels and soil chambers. This exhibition reveals soil to be home to an incredible diversity of living things, and shows how not a single plant or animal could survive without it. After regaining your regular size, become a soil scientist to investigate how life above ground connects to life below. | https://www.fieldmuseum.org/exhibitions/underground-adventure | Chicago Field Museum |
| Grades K - Adult | MO DIRT (Missourians Doing Impact Research Together) | http://modirt.missouriepscor.org/ | Donald Danforth Plant Science Center |
| Grades K-Adult | Soil intro; Soil Temperature; SMAP Soil Temperature; Soil moisture gravimetric; Soil Characterization; Selecting, Exposing and defining a soil characterization site; Horizon sampling | eTraining - Soils https://www.globe.gov/get-trained/protocol-etraining/etraining-modules/16867724/12276 | The Globe Program - Soils component - eTraining |
| Grades K-12 | The GLOBE Soil (Pedosphere) investigation is available in the six United Nations languages (select any of the following links to open the corresponding document): Arabic (2005 edition), Chinese (1997 edition), French (2005 edition), Portuguese (1997 edition), Russian (1997 edition), and Spanish (2005 edition). | Teachers Guide - Soils https://www.globe.gov/do-globe/globe-teachers-guide/soil-pedosphere | The Globe Program - Soils component - Teachers Guide |