Notes

Digging the Soil

I'm a scientist now. But I still recall how creepy science once felt. I was in fourth grade and had a hands-on kind of teacher. One day we were in a forest, and I had to stick my hands in soil. Then I had to pull out bugs! My teacher was all fired up when she announced that we would explore the hidden world beneath our feet. She was also thrilled to tell us that, in the forest, we were being held up on the backs of thousands of bugs! But, back then, I wasn't feeling so excited.
​
We put on our gloves. As we began to dig the soil with small trowels, kids complained. They made bad jokes, too. Two kids actually said the field trip really bugged them.
​
Once we started to dig, though, things changed. The soil really was alive. It was full of things we couldn't see, like bacteria. It was also alive with things we could see, like beetles and worms. Our teacher also pointed out nearby animals that had homes in the soil. We saw burrowing owls, groundhogs, and mice. Each one of them, she said, was part of a complex food web. Each helped break down and change things such as dead leaves and branches. In the process, each was adding minerals to the soil. And because of that process, she explained, we humans can live and eat. The soil needs those processes in order to produce plants that all animals eat. The soil, she said, was always a work in progress.
​
Later, we saw the soil under the microscope. That's when we got to see some of the bacteria. I was amazed at how busy and alive the world beneath my feet really was. I didn't say it then, but I was thinking of a new bad joke. I was thinking, "Hey, I dig this soil!" I guess I should have told my teacher that. The fact is that digging the soil changed me. It is one of the many things that made me love science.