
Coming just at the end of 2015, the International Year of Soils, a new organization has launched to promote soil health and research. The Soil Health Institute will work with farmers and ranchers, public- and private-sector researchers, universities, government agencies and policymakers, industry, environmental groups, and consumers. It’s an evolution of the Soil Renaissance, an initiative established in 2013 by the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and Farm Foundation to advance soil health ensure that soil is taken into account in land-use management decisions.
With more than one million organisms in a single teaspoon of Earth, soil is the starting point for plant, animal, and human life. It is the foundation for society, providing the basis for food production, healthy families and economies. But soil can erode, deplete and wear out. Now is the time . . . to invest in our soil like never before. Together, we can unify, restore and protect this land, so it may enrich our lives.
The Soil Health Institute aims to be a resource for information, set soil health standards and measurement, build knowledge about the economics of soil health, offer educational programs, and coordinate research in all aspects of soil and soil health. In contrast to the many short-term initiatives that focus on a single aspect of soil management or on just one region, the institute will coordinate long-term research efforts. In announcing the Soil Health Institute, Bill Buckner, president and chief executive officer of the Noble Foundation, said, “Leonardo DaVinci once mused ‘We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.’ Hundreds of years later that sentiment is just as accurate. The Soil Health Institute will provide much needed research funding so we can better understand our soil. We will make that research publicly available, so we can work together to provide solutions for improving our soil and protecting it for our children and grandchildren.” The Noble Foundation will provide initial financial support for the new institute as it enlists private and public organizations to help fund its activities. You can find the institute’s website at http://soilhealthinstitute.org. The StormCon Deadline Is Here! Wednesday, December 9, is the last day to submit an abstract for StormCon 2016. The conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN, August 22–25, 2016. We are looking for abstracts in the following conference tracks:- BMP Case Studies
- Green Infrastructure
- Stormwater Program Management
- Advanced Research Topics
- Water-Quality Monitoring
- Industrial Stormwater Management
- Stormwater Management for Solid Waste Facilities
From the institute’s website:
With more than one million organisms in a single teaspoon of Earth, soil is the starting point for plant, animal, and human life. It is the foundation for society, providing the basis for food production, healthy families and economies. But soil can erode, deplete and wear out. Now is the time . . . to invest in our soil like never before. Together, we can unify, restore and protect this land, so it may enrich our lives.
The Soil Health Institute aims to be a resource for information, set soil health standards and measurement, build knowledge about the economics of soil health, offer educational programs, and coordinate research in all aspects of soil and soil health. In contrast to the many short-term initiatives that focus on a single aspect of soil management or on just one region, the institute will coordinate long-term research efforts.
In announcing the Soil Health Institute, Bill Buckner, president and chief executive officer of the Noble Foundation, said, “Leonardo DaVinci once mused ‘We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.’ Hundreds of years later that sentiment is just as accurate. The Soil Health Institute will provide much needed research funding so we can better understand our soil. We will make that research publicly available, so we can work together to provide solutions for improving our soil and protecting it for our children and grandchildren.”
The Noble Foundation will provide initial financial support for the new institute as it enlists private and public organizations to help fund its activities.
You can find the institute’s website at http://soilhealthinstitute.org.
The StormCon Deadline Is Here!
Wednesday, December 9, is the last day to submit an abstract for StormCon 2016. The conference will be held in Indianapolis, IN, August 22–25, 2016. We are looking for abstracts in the following conference tracks:
- BMP Case Studies
- Green Infrastructure
- Stormwater Program Management
- Advanced Research Topics
- Water-Quality Monitoring
- Industrial Stormwater Management
- Stormwater Management for Solid Waste Facilities
For more information, including the complete call for papers and an online form for submitting your abstract, visit www.StormCon.com.
Janice Kaspersen
Janice Kaspersen is the former editor of Erosion Control and Stormwater magazines.