Healthy soil is made up of much more than silt, sand, and clay!
Attention school and community garden volunteers, coordinators, and educators! This FREE Soil Health Workshop is for YOU!
Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) has a long history of working with our local farmers and ranchers to develop good soil health practices for their crops, fields, and pastures. Now, with the support of the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), and the Gray Family Foundation, the Clackamas SWCD is bringing soil health education to K-8 teachers, school garden volunteers, and community gardeners by offering a FREE Soil Health Workshop on Saturday, October 14th, from 8:30 – 2:00, at Center for Research in Environmental Studies and Technologies (CREST Center) in Wilsonville.
Why Does Soil Health Matter?
Healthy soils help to protect many of our natural resources, including maintaining animal and plant biodiversity, contributing to water quality, and storing carbon, which can help slow climate change.
Poor soil health leads to compaction, runoff, erosion, and loss of organic matter in soils.
School and community gardens provide a living laboratory for investigation-based learning. Working with soils gets kids outside and engaged in learning by doing. Teaching about soil prepares our students to better understand their world and to conserve natural resources throughout their lives. And now, teachers have access to a soil curriculum that meets Next Generation Science Standards that makes soil health lessons attractive and appropriate for teachers and their students!
Visit the extensive garden at the CREST Center.
What Are We Doing About It?
This October, Clackamas SWCD is delivering the same valuable information we already provide farmers to our teachers and garden managers. Our upcoming workshop, offered in collaboration with CREST Center, Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and Western SARE (Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education), covers the basics of soil health, showing how to care for the soil in the garden with an emphasis on preparing for winter. Participants will have a chance to get their hands dirty while trying out student activities. The workshop will also provide some guidance on attracting and managing volunteers.
Preparing for the Winter Garden: A FREE Soil Health Workshop for School & Community Gardens
- Saturday, October 14, 2017
- 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Center for Research in Environmental Studies and Technologies (CREST Center) in Wilsonville.
For more information or to register for this workshop, please contact Cathy McQueeney at cmcqueeney@conservationdistrict.org or at 503-210-6012.