Scottish Curriculum for Excellence
They say: " Too readily dismissed as ‘dirt’, and usually confined in a curricular context within the boundaries of science, soils offer unlimited possibilities for interdisciplinary learning across the Curriculum for Excellence, particularly within the key contexts of Learning for Sustainability and Health & Well-being.
Soils in the Scottish Curriculum.
Higher Education
"Soil science forms part of many undergraduate and post graduate degrees in the Scottish Higher education sector. However, it is mostly taught as a module within a wider science topic such as environmental science, earth science, agriculture and geography.
There is also a vibrant soil research community in Scotland. Soil scientists can be found in many of our universities (for example Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Stirling) as well as in a range of specialist research institutes (for example the James Hutton Institute and Scotland’s Rural College)".
"The world beneath our feet - Connecting soils and curriculum was developed by the soil community in Scotland to celebrate the 2015 International Year of Soils"They remind us: " We call it soil, earth, dirt… It can be squidgy, clayey, sticky, gritty, slick, stony, dusty… We can describe it as peaty, loamy, rich, chalky…
How many more words can you find? Can all soils be described in the same way? It is much easier to engage with a story when you can relate to the characters or the topic so help bring books to life by reading tales that link with your children’s practical experiences outdoors such as gardening"
They have a lot of school resoources, including 'Happy families' - consisting of various families of living constituents.
Citizen Science in Scotland to see contributing projects. They say:
"Help us to improve our understanding of soil. There are a number of portals and apps out there which allow you to find out more about the soil beneath your feet and others that ask you to collect information on your soils." (Should we go for it?).
And look how the soil animals bring the soil to life.
