We explored the life of soil in the woods near home.

We dug a small sample of soil and talked about the multitudes of life that it contains

And the life that it provides.

We smelled it and handled it and rolled it into little clay-ey balls

Then we took individual samples of soil.

Everybody chose the “best” spot

And used a trowel to dig a hole.

We put samples into jars.

We added water collected from the stream.

We put lids on our jars and shake, shake, shake.

Then we left our jars down on the bench

And in a rare moment of quiet

We waited for the complexity of structure to reveal itself.

First sand

Then silt

Then later at home – clay.

All our samples were different and we tried to understand why.

How plants could help us be soil detectives

How different locations offer different opportunities and challenges

But how all have the potential to give the gift of life.