Exploring the soil food web through science and traditional knowledge

ORFC 2022 session

Exploring the Soil Food Web through Science and Traditional Knowledge

With Elaine Ingham, Daniel Tyrkiel, Rebecca Swan, Glyn Mitchell, Rob Small and Gillian Burke

US soil microbiologist Elaine Ingham spoke in-person at ORFC seven years ago. It remains the most popular online video in our archive with over 200,000 views. Her incredible knowledge of the soil food web, built up over four decades, has led to global recognition and the formation of her unique teachings at the Soil Food Web School. In this session, we will hear from Elaine, plus three of her students now putting their knowledge into two very different enterprises. The first, Daniel Tyrkiel, now runs the Soil Ecology Labaratory in UK which was set up to help conventional farmers in the transition towards organic and regenerative agriculture. The Lab is also engaged in replicating experiments on soil’s ability to sequester carbon long term. And Rebecca Swan and Rob Small join us from Growing Point in NZ, a community garden which combines science and mātauranga Māori knowledge with research solutions for healing soils, food systems and Papatūānuku or Mother Earth.