Living Soil

Overview

This module is an introductory but wide-ranging introduction to understanding and investigating common garden soil types and applying the principles of sustainable soil management. It will give a good grounding in the core components of a healthy garden soil community and explain the ecological functions of these including their role in the wider environment. Learners will be encouraged to explore their own practices and impacts on soil, both direct and indirect.

This module will enable learners to understand the characteristic and functions of a healthy soil community and apply the principles of sustainable soil management to their personal practices. This distance learning course enables you to study from home and participate in an online community of other students learning about soil. The module is delivered through Blackboard, our online learning environment and learners will be able engage in collaborative learning via live teaching sessions during the module. This module can be combined with the Introduction to Permaculture module, as part of the Permaculture Design Certificate taught by the tutor and accredited by the Permaculture Association of Britain. 

Programme

Activities and tasks will be embedded into each unit so students can practise the techniques they have learned and develop their skills. Alongside the learning materials on Blackboard the tutor will be on hand via email to answer any queries and provide guidance throughout the course. For this course, the tutor has planned 3 x 1-hour online seminars.

Week 1 - Welcome video (pre-recorded) Unit 1 - What is a healthy soil? What are its functions? Inputs & outputs.

Week 2 - Unit 2 - Soil investigations.

Week 3 - Seminar, 60 mins; Unit 3 – Living soil: worms, microbes and ‘weeds’!

Week 4 - Unit 4 – Soil building and restoration.

Week 5 - Seminar, 60 mins; Unit 5 – Ethics & principles to guide your practices.

Week 6 - Unit 6 – Soil management plan.

Week 7 - Seminar, 60 mins – Q & A about the course content & assignments.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

1. Understand and describe the main components of a healthy soil and the range of soil functions in the local and global environment.
2. Understand and describe what influences and degrades soil function.
3. Conduct simple soil investigations to ascertain texture, pH, permeability, carbon content and the role of soil indicator plants.
4. Apply permaculture ethics and principles to soil restoration and give examples of how to reverse degradation.
5. Produce a plan for creating & managing a living, ecologically functional soil for a local context. 

Assessments

1. Describe a healthy soil and its functions with reference to a list of factors that cause soil degradation - 500 words (40% of the overall mark)
2. Design a sustainable soil management plan for a specific site. To include a survey of the soil using soil investigation techniques with respect to texture, drainage, pH, carbon content and living indicators (e.g. worms and/or plants) - 800 words (60% 0f the overall mark). 

Reading Suggestions

1. See this list of titles available via Aberystwyth University: https://rl.talis.com/3/aber/lists/F9BF5B62-F680-CF9E-6171-F3C7E91F5849.html?lang=en&login=1
2. Soil Care & Management by Jo Read (old publication but clear & informative – you might find a second-hand copy online)
3. Garden Organic Soil Information Pack http://www.gardenorganic.org.uk/soil-information-pack 

Entry Requirements

This course is for everyone. No previous experience is needed and there are no formal entry requirements.

What Do I Need?

As this is an online course, you would need the following:

• Internet access.
• Access to a laptop or computer with a web camera and microphone; the use of headphones might also benefit.
• Use of the Chrome web browser where possible.