Celebrating Soils
Tara McCaughey is the Head of Technical Services at Syngenta Canada. Since 2014, 4-H Canada and Syngenta Canada are empowering youth to learn how to safely feed the world and take care of our planet.
What better time to celebrate soils than Soil Conservation Week! We realize that soil is the foundation of all life on Earth. Without it, we couldn’t grow the food we need to live. But the soil we depend on is at risk from many different threats. So, we’re doing everything we can to help you protect it.
That’s why we’re excited to support the Dig Into Soil initiative 4-H Canada introduced in 2021. We so appreciate your enthusiastic response to this program! More than 400 kits were distributed to 4-H clubs across the country in spring 2021. For those that are looking for more flexibility, an online version of the initiative’s Activity Book is available for download now at 4-h-canada.ca/dig-into-soil.
Dig Into Soil provides hands-on learning experiences for you to learn how healthy soils contribute to addressing climate change. We hope it empowers you to learn about soil conservation and champion soil conservation activities in your community, especially now that the growing season has begun.
This initiative is only one aspect of the global effort (championed by the United Nations) to conserve the soil beneath our feet. National Soil Conservation Week is a great opportunity to highlight the importance of soil. Consider these facts:
- 95% of the food we eat comes from the earth’s soil.
- Only about 7% of Canada’s land is suitable for agriculture, and that number is shrinking year by year as our population grows.
- By improving soil health, we can partially offset the negative impacts of climate change. Healthy soil is more resilient to the impact of extreme precipitation and drought events.
While this is a week where we shine a spotlight on soil and soil health, we know we need to consider soil health 365 days a year. It’s one of the reasons Syngenta is partnering with 4-H Canada as the Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security Pillar sponsor to bring projects such as Dig Into Soil to you, our future leaders.
We know that 4-H’ers today are global citizens, keen to learn more about food production through club projects and independent learning. Fostering that interest is core to Syngenta’s ambition to help safely feed the world and take care of our planet.
Please join us on this journey by making soil health a priority in your community and on your farm. Your actions can play a key role in enhancing biodiversity, improving soil fertility, and adopting practices to reduce, capture and store carbon more effectively. Canada and the world is counting on you - the next generation of leaders - in the fight against climate change – from the ground up.
National Soil Conservation Week runs from April 17-23, 2022
Author: Tara McCaughey - Head, Technical Services, Syngenta Canada