It all started with the purchase of my first home, and a carrot that grew three stems in the front yard.
I became interested in soil health — the idea that the soil is a living ecosystem (not just a mineral substrate), and that the health of that soil ecosystem affects much more in our lives than we may realize.
When the soil ecosystem is healthy, soil absorbs heavy stormwater quickly, supports plant growth that minimizes erosion, and even sinks carbon from the atmosphere. I saw a way to put my growing interest in soil health into action toward the carbon neutrality goal that Agnes Scott College set for itself by 2037.
That’s how I started a pilot project to characterize the baseline soil health of the Agnes Scott campus, so that we could estimate the amount of carbon currently held in ASC soils and track the increase in organic C in our soils over time with intentional shifts to regenerative landscaping practices.
