How would you like to teach your students about a solution to global warming that is right under their feet? One of the biggest contributors to climate change is excess carbon in the atmosphere. The question of our generation is: How can we bring the carbon cycle back into balance? In this presentation, we’ll explore a free, online middle school unit in which students explore the incredible ability of soil to draw down carbon from the atmosphere and store it, allowing it to be used to make more nutritious food and build healthier ecosystems. The Soil Story Webinar and activity guide were created by Kiss the Ground, a nonprofit organization committed to inspiring global participation in soil regeneration, and Life Lab, a nonprofit that cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education.

Jessica Handy is a mother and a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who's interest in health began at a young age when she witnessed the ill effects poor eating habits had on those she loved most. She has spent much of her career in public health, helping to increase access to healthy foods in underserved communities and empowering families to take an active role in their health. After starting a home garden she began to learn first hand the profound connection that nutrition has to agriculture; an experience that completely transformed her mission as a nutrition educator. She now serves as the education coordinator for Kiss the ground and is an advocate for soil health because simply put healthy soil grows health food, and healthy food makes for healthy people.

Whitney Cohen is a teacher, trainer, and author with tremendous commitment to, and expertise in, inquiry- and place-based education; strategies for engaging diverse learners; school gardens; and the intersection between environmental education and public schools. At the time of this broadcast she was the Education Director of Life Lab, a national leader in garden-based education. Cohen presents hands-on workshops to educators and leads a national leadership institute for school garden support organizations. She has also written activity guides, including The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids, Food Corps’ Sprout Scouts and The American Heart Association’s Teaching Garden Guide. Cohen is a former middle school science teacher and at the time of this broadcast was teaching “Teaching Environmental Education” at UC Santa Cruz. She received a BA from Vassar College in Sustainable Community Development and an MA from UC Santa Cruz in Education.

Education Resources:

The Incredible Carbon Journey

Visualizing Carbon Pathways

Carbon Dioxide Removal

The Lifestyle Project

Carbon Calculator Activity

For more excellent resources on the Carbon Cycle, Lifestyle Choices, Agriculture and Climate Change, go to: https://cleanet.org/