You may have already heard that 2015 will be the Chinese Year of the Sheep …
Photo by Rob via Wikimedia Commons
But did you know that it’s also been declared by the UN as the International Year of Soils?
International Year of Soils 2015: Healthy Soils for a Healthy Life courtesy of FAO
There would be no sheep without soil. In fact, there would be no life as we know it without the unsung substrate we so often dismiss as “just” dirt.
Okay, wait—why is soil THAT big of deal? Inquiring minds want to know …
Allow me to tickle your sense of wonder in the next two minutes by sharing this:
Boring?
Not for a moment.
Symphony of the Soil is a riveting drama complete with joy and tragedy, passion and triumph, wisdom and hope. It’s a story we all share.
“Drawing from ancient knowledge and cutting edge science, Symphony of the Soil is an artistic exploration of the miraculous substance, soil. By understanding the elaborate relationships and mutuality between soil, water, the atmosphere, plants, and animals, we come to appreciate the complex and dynamic nature of this precious resource,” explains the film’s website. “Filmed on four continents, featuring esteemed scientists and working farmers and ranchers, Symphony of the Soil is an intriguing presentation that highlights possibilities of healthy soil creating healthy plants creating healthy humans living on a healthy planet.”
Image courtesy of Symphony of Soil via Civil Eats
To celebrate the International Year of Soils, the Symphony of the Soil website will be streaming the full feature film for FREE through December 12, 2014. Watch Symphony of the Soil here.
Now, this is where the spirit of giving kicks in …
This is a movie everyone should see. Perhaps most importantly, school kids with fertile minds need to know what’s going on beneath their feet, behind their food. That’s why classrooms need to have access to Symphony of the Soils in the coming year. But educational funds are in perpetual drought throughout many parts of the nation, and not every school can afford the Educational Collection, which is licensed for use in schools, universities, libraries, and educational organizations.
So Lily Films has created an Educational Gift Program that allows us to purchase or contribute to the purchase of the Educational Collection (which consists of Symphony of the Soil and two DVDs of short films called Sonatas of the Soil Volume I and II) for a community that may not have the resources to purchase it.
Visit the Educational Gift Collection site to make a donation that will help sow appreciation for our vital soil in the growing generation.
Thanks, MaryJane for this information. I look forward to watching the whole film soon. I also shared this site with my friend who works for our public school system on a new program that brings farm to school in a variety of ways, including growing lettuce for school kitchens for lunches. This film might be a resource for the program that will be of great interest and a source of learning for the students of the program.
Thanks MJ for sharing this important information. I watched the film last night, it was a bit long but fascinating . I learned a lot, as I am sure anyone will who watches it. I think every older school child should see this as well all lawmakers that control our farming laws and practices. It should be crammed down the throats of all Monsanto executives ! It is a bellwether of the future of our planet.
The fertile valleys of the Punjab in the film brought back memories of my years spent in Northern India. it is the best land in India and considered its breadbasket. It’s good to know that they are beginning to go back to sustainable agriculture there.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where I live, has the richest and best soil in the USA and we are scraping off the topsoil and then paving over it , it is heartbreaking! We have the highest producing farmland in the country and we are losing it. The Lancaster Farmland Trust –
( http://www.lancasterfarmlandtrust.org/)
can’t move fast enough to save it.
I will highly recommend this film to all my farming and gardening friends, as should all you Farmgirls out there !