The Erin chapter of Soil Health Coalition has received $70,000 in funding from Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to launch a project with 20 farmers and other local land managers to monitor the health of their soil.
The aim is to measure and improve the percentage of carbon in soils and increase the ability of the land to hold and filter water.
The project supports innovation and sharing of management practices that improve soil health and water quality. These improvements will protect ground and surface water, and help diminish the effects of flooding and drought.
“In addition to contributing to the sustainability of soil for future generations, healthier soils draw down and sequester excess carbon from the atmosphere,” said Ruth Knight of the Erin Soil Health Coalition.
On March 28, the second annual Our Common Ground event took place at the Erin Legion. The event featured the award-winning film Sustainable, a demonstration of water filtration through soils and a presentation by local farmer Owen Goltz.
On March 29, at Hillsburgh Baptist church, a farmer-to-farmer networking day included a keynote address by Alan Kruszel, chair of the Soil Conservation Council of Canada.
Participants in the Erin pilot project shared experiences with soil management practices and learned how soil carbon and water infiltration measurements can inform their decisions for change and improvement.
