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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Observe how different soils affect the plants which grow there - their health as well as the species composition. |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Do a soil touch test i.e. rub soil between your fingers - does it have big grains like sand or minuscule grains like clay, or is it soapy like silt? Roll soil into a sausage, can it stay like that (indicating clay)? Try with different soils. |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Test soil to find out if it's acidic or alkaline. Use a pH kit and/or do a home test e.g. add 2 spoonfuls of soil to a jar, add vinegar, does it react? If so you have alkaline soil. Add 2 spoonfuls of soil to another jar, add distilled water and baking soda - does it fizz? If so you have acidic soil. |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Do a soil jar test to find out what percentage is sand, silt and/or clay. Compare soil from different places. Compare with results from soil touch test. |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Sing a song about soil textures (e.g. "There's three different types of mineral in soil"). |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Find out about acidity and alkalinity in soil, how it affects plants that grow there, and how plants affect the pH of the soil (e.g. conifers make it more acidic). |
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Soil and stone |
Soil textures and soil tests |
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Compare the different properties of sand and clay (e.g. how much water and air it holds, what happens when you stand on it, which holds more nutrients etc.). |
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Soil and stone |
Indicator species |
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Observe different plants which grow spontaneously locally, investigate how/whether this relates to the soil there. |
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Soil and stone |
Indicator species |
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Identify common local plants and discuss what they can tell us about the soil conditions (e.g. rushes indicate wet, nettles indicate rich soil). |
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Soil and stone |
Indicator species |
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Experiment with changing the soil conditions to see if that affects the plants which grow there spontaneously (e.g. in a grassy area with small rushes (Juncus species) growing in a straight line this may be due to soil compaction. One could dig a section in the row and leave another area untouched. Return months later to see the changes in what plants are growing spontaneously there). |
