Soils have been neglected for too long. We fail to connect soil with our food, water, climate, biodiversity and life. We must invert this tendency and take up some preserving and restoring actions. The World Soil Day campaign aims to connect people with soils and raise awareness on their critical importance in our lives.
Soil is the basis for food, feed, fuel and fiber production and for services to ecosystems and human well-being. It is the reservoir for at least a quarter of global biodiversity, and therefore requires the same attention as above-ground biodiversity. Soil is made up of organic remains, clay and rock particles, found on the Earth’s surface. It contributes to food, reduces biodiversity loss, and secures energy. Problems like deforestation, bad agricultural practices and pollution causes soil degradation and erosion.
Soils play a key role in the supply of clean water and resilience to floods and droughts. The largest store of terrestrial carbon is in the soil so that its preservation may contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The maintenance or enhancement of global soil resources is essential if humanity’s need for food, water, and energy security is to be met.
The History of World Soil Day
In 2002, the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) made a resolution proposing the 5th of December be World Soil Day in order to celebrate the importance of soil as a critical component of the natural system and as a vital contributor to human well-being. 2015 was also declared to be the Internationals Year of Soils in hopes of raising as much awareness as possible about the enormous role soil plays in food security. Unsurprisingly, so far it’s mostly been the global community of 60,000 or so soil scientists who have been the ones celebrating the day the most. The chances of us ordinary folk exchanging ‘Happy Soil Day’ cards in the near future remain minimal, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to appreciate the important roles that soil plays in our lives (even if it is darn hard to scrub off the carpet when your nearest and dearest feline friends leave muddy footprints on their way to the kitchen).
One way to always help our environment is to recycle. By utilizing recycling receptacles from the Fibrex Group, you can easily collect glass, plastic, paper and organics at home, work or at school.
Work Play Recycle
|
