July 29, 2015 — In celebration of the International Year of Soil 2015 (IYS), the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) is coordinating a series of activities throughout the year to educate the public about the importance of soil.  August’s theme is “Soils Support Health.”

According to August’s IYS monthly leader Nick Comerford, “the nutrients that you get from your food come from soil. Food that is grown in fertile soil—full of good elements and minerals—packs more nutrition than food grown in less fertile soil.” Comerford is a soil scientist at University of Florida.

Here are some facts about soils and human health:

1. Underground, life is full of diversity—there are millions of different microbes living in the soil.
2. This biodiversity helps keep populations of disease-causing bacteria low.
3. The antibacterial drugs Penicillin and Streptomycin were developed from soil microbes.
4. The nutrients in your foods come from elements in the soil—so healthy soils mean healthy foods.

As part of their celebration of IYS, SSSA developed a series of twelve 2-minute educational videos. August’s “Soils Support Health” video can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys/monthly-videos. Educational materials can be viewed at www.soils.org/iys by clicking on the August tab.

Follow SSSA on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SSSA.soils, Twitter at SSSA Soils.  SSSA also has a blog, Soils Matter, at http://soilsmatter.wordpress.com/.  Additional soils information is on www.soils.org/discover-soils, for teachers at www.soils4teachers.org, and for students through 12^th grade, www.soils4kids.org.