Young soil scientists learn to love dirt

  In May, a busload of Edmunds Elementary School children from Burlington, grades K-2, arrived at the Shelburne Farm Barn for a field trip.  The field trip’s focus?  Everything about soil.
            Over the course of the day, the children, led by Shelburne Farms educators Amy Chambers, Christina Goy and Ariel Krolick, acted as “soil scientists.”  Students learned about positive environmental practices, including recycling and putting food scraps into the compost bucket.  In fact, they began the day’s activities by making a “compost cake.”  Sitting in a circle, the children were assigned the roles of carbon, nitrogen, soil, and critters.  After all being “mixed” together, the cake was complete, and helped educate the children on what makes up new soil.
            The students were then divided into three smaller groups to embark on soil adventures.  Each child shared their favorite food and tried to make the connection of how it originated in the soil.  Everything from strawberries to chicken to pizza was somehow connected back to the ground.  Shelburne Farms educator Amy helped them understand that, “Everything we eat comes from soil.”
            The field trip even gave the Edmunds children the chance to get down and dirty in the soil.  They took a trip to the garden and then to the forest to compare and contrast the temperature, color, and texture of the soils.  Meanwhile, the kids got to explore the woods, lifting up logs to find millipedes, spiders, and salamanders.

The entire field trip, which lasted until 1:30 p.m., gave the children an early education on soil, good environmental habits, and sustainability—values that they can continue to practice once they leave the farm.  With compost buckets already implemented in their Edmunds classroom, the students are well on their way to continuing the lessons learned at Shelburne Farms.. Participating teachers included Janet Bellavance and Melissa Nutting. Additional field trips are planned later in May.

Photos and Story by Carolyn Fox, Shelburne Farms Communication Intern. 2008

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