Out of all known habitats the soil is by far the most biodiverse and yet we know only a fraction of the information we know about other areas. I am near the beginning of my own ‘soil journey’, something that may sound a bit bizarre, but is a process of investigation that will be life longContinueContinue reading “Secrets of the soil: mycorrhizal fungi”
Tag Archives: soil
Are we doing enough in this International Year of Soils?
We are now over half way through this year which has been designated the ‘International Year of Soils’ by the UN. A quick google will discover that, actually, there are quite a lot of events happening around the world to highlight the issues surrounding soil – principally revolving around the risks of degradation. However, theseContinueContinue reading “Are we doing enough in this International Year of Soils?”
A Change of Focus for the UN
You are excused if you do not know that this year is the United Nations International Year of Soils in the same way that you would be excused if you were not aware that 2014 was the International Year of Family Farming. It has not been terribly well advertised. This is certainly true if you live inContinueContinue reading “A Change of Focus for the UN”
One Fifth of China’s Soil Contaminated
The title of this post says it all. China’s Environmental Protection Ministry has released a report of an official study conducted between 2005 and 2013, which showed that 16.1% of China’s soil and 19.4% of its arable land are contaminated, principally with excessive levels of cadmium, nickel and arsenic. It is well known that China’sContinueContinue reading “One Fifth of China’s Soil Contaminated”
Forging an Agriculture for All
Here is my latest ‘Activisionary’ article, getting to grips with engaging people in a food culture and analysing current (and future) opportunities for people to get involved with food localism. For more of my work at activisionary please visit http://activisionary.org.uk/author/ben-eagle/ The farmer-philosopher Fred Kirschenmann wrote an essay entitled ‘On Becoming Lovers of the Soil’ inContinueContinue reading “Forging an Agriculture for All”
thinkingcountry.com 