A new, easy-to-read primer for the student and layperson by Ecologist Steven Apfelbaum and illustrated by Rob Dunlavey explores the value of soil to all life on Earth.

Today, with growing concern for dwindling resources, there is a new sense of urgency to better understand and care for soil (what many of us misguidedly call “dirt”) and our very real connection to it. In fact, “our lives may depend on it.“

Written for high school and older students, and lay, business, and professional audiences, “S” is for Soil! and its cast of soil characters—the pointy-nosed “springtail” prominent among them—guides the reader with clarity and humor through the essential and often complex understandings about soil. 

“S” is for Soil! was produced in partnership with the Lower Sugar River Watershed Association with funding support from the Janelia Foundation. A companion teacher’s guide entitled Digging into Soil: A Garden Practicum has been created by Kids Gardening of Burlington Vermont in cooperation with the authors and with LSRWA and is available to download at no cost on their website.