Christina Howard, Black River High School agricultural education teacher & FFA advisor, conducted the Feed The World soil labs with her Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources classes and her Animal and Plant Sciences class.
Prior to the labs Howard’s class talked about the advantages and disadvantages of conventionally treated soil. The students set up a pan with both types of soil, separated by cardboard, then lifted the cardboard and let the worms decide which soil they liked best. By day 3, almost of the worms were on the organic side. Howard said, “The students were able to form some educated hypotheses as to why the worms chose the organic soil. This was interesting for them because very few of them have any organic farming knowledge.”
The second lab done was soil texturing using the feel flow chart and the soil triangle, as well as putting soil in a glass jar and shaking to watch the soil particles settle, heaviest to lightest. School custodians dug soil pits outside to allow students to evaluate erosion, texture, depth, slope and layers. Howard said that doing the labs outside really helped to reinforce what they’d learned in class. As a final reward the class made a “soil profile” out of different snack items (pudding, cookies, brownies, cool whip, gummy worms, chocolate chips, etc.) and enjoyed eating it.
Howard commented, “I would definitely recommend the FTW workshops. The facilitators do a great job! The information and equipment provided are user-friendly and helpful for those that do not have funding to purchase items. I also applied for a FTW grant and received $500. We plan to buy some kick seine nets, waders, and other outdoor equipment to use in our spring lessons. We are really looking forward to that!”