repair, restore, revitalise, grow

Our soils provide us with food, fibre, shelter and nourish the Earth's biodiversity, but we need to restore life back into soils in order for them to perform their vital functions. Let's revitalise and regenerate this precious resource. Learn about the fascinating soil ecosystem, how to sequester carbon back into soil, ensure food security, restore ecosystems and biodiversity.

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about

This course is designed to promote science-based understanding of the soil ecosystem and its function in abundant food and fibre production, and bush regeneration, based on biological and ecological plant growth principles focused on the soil/plant microbial communities. The course addresses the simple solutions to the threats of our very existence including climate change, food security, species extinction and pollution remediation. You will learn the principles, theory as well as practical application of the information whether you’d like to apply it to your backyard garden, a large scale food production system or in ecosystem and biodiversity conservation efforts.

learn to

1. Cultivate nutrient dense crops and healthy native vegetation

2. Sequester carbon back into soil

3. Effectively conserve biodiversity from the ground up

4. Prevent weed, pest and disease proliferation

5. Prevent loss of topsoil, erosion and soil degradation

6. Build soil structure and drought resilience, ensure water infiltration and mitigate flooding

7. Remediate pollutants from soil and the environment

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Soil Restoration Course introduction

Welcome to the Soil Restoration Course, designed to explain the soil ecosystem, highlighting the microscopic life forms (the soil superheroes), essential for healthy plant growth and biodiverse aboveground ecosystems. In this video I elaborate on the importance of understanding the soil ecosystem in order for us to restore it. I then introduce the principles of the soil food web (the poop loop) and give an overview of the eleven Units on which the Soil Restoration Course is based.

coure overview

1. Introduction to soil formation, composition and degradation

2. Soil ecology and the soil food web organisms

3. Bacteria and their function in soil structure, plant nutrition and immunity

4. Root symbiotic fungi in plant nutrition and immunity, carbon sequestration and soil structure formation

5. Saprotrophic fungi in plant nutrition, carbon sequestration and soil structure formation

6. Protozoa and their function in nutrient cycling

7. Nematodes in nutrient cycling

8. Cultivation of microbial diversity with a focus on fungi via thermal composting

9. Vermicomposting - the role of earthworms in optimal microbial diversity and plant production

10. Practical application of soil restoration methods and examples of what’s possible

11. Course recap, summary and practice

course delivery

The course is an online engagement of ten pre-recorded units divided into several video lessons supported by Q&A sessions. In addition to the online content derived from the latest research, you will learn how to cultivate and apply soil restoration amendments to revitalise soils with essential life.

course duration

Watch pre-recorded lessons at your own pace via the Soil Restoration Course playlist on YouTube and send in any questions to givingsoils@gmail.com. Q&A videos will be based on your questions.

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course presenter bio

Sandra Tuszynska (PhD) is an agricultural scientist, a soil microbiologist and mycologist (a fungi enthusiast) who provides education and consultation on enhancing microbial soil ecosystem processes and feels passionate about science communication. Her goal is to inspire and work with land managers to restore soil microbial diversity, ensuring carbon sequestration, food security, biodiversity conservation and pollution remediation.

Sandra is also a popular public speaker and science communicator who delivers community education and citizen science engagements to restore and document biodiversity in natural ecosystems. She wants to share the education she has gained to support those who wish to work with nature in creating a healthy and abundant future for generations to come.

this course is a gift

The course covers over 40 lessons of course video content so far, it is based on current knowledge gathered through scientific research literature, which I have collated into the course with images to complement the content.

This work is a synthesis reflecting my background in agricultural science, focused on soil/plant microbiology honours and PhD research. It is an expression of my love for the soil ecosystem and my passion for education, offered free of charge as a gift, which I hope to continue for years to come. If you would like to support this work please click the pink button below, your contribution is greatly appreciated and allows me to continue creating ever more educational content related to restoring the Earth’s ecosystems.

Alternatively you can use this global direct bank transfer:

Account holder: Sandra Tuszynska
Swift/BIC: TRWIAUS1
Account number: 219164767
BSB code: 774001

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course content

Course overview and introduction to soil formation, composition and destruction - learn about how soils form, the role of biological activity in soil formation, soil mineral composition and its significance, and how soils are destroyed

Ecology of soil and the soil food web organisms - meet the key soil microbes and their interactions in releasing mineral nutrients from soil and providing these to plants, ensuring plant nutrition and plant immunity, and how these organisms create soil structure for moisture retention, carbon sequestration and pollution remediation

Bacteria and their function in soil structure and plant nutrition - discover the key bacterial functional groups, their roles in soil structure formation and plant nutrition, their interaction with other soil life forms, and why bacterial diversity is the key in a healthy soil ecosystem

Fungi in plant nutrition and immunity, carbon sequestration, soil structure formation and impacts on fungal biomass such as fire - understand the importance of fungi in soil ecosystems and how these often missing microorganisms are vital in sequestering carbon back into soils, the importance of plant symbiotic fungi in plant nutrition and immunity and of saprotrophic (decomposer) fungi in nutrient cycling and soil structure formation

Protozoa and their function in nutrient cycling - discover the various types of protozoa (unicellular animals) including amoebae, flagellates and ciliates which consume bacteria releasing plant available nutrients, their interactions and roles in the soil food web ecosystems

Nematodes in nutrient cycling and dispersal of bacteria and fungi - learn about the microscopic worms which form the bulk of the weight of all organisms on the planet and how as predators of bacteria, fungi and other nematodes, they ensure nutrient cycling while moderating the soil food web, driving ecological succession

Ecological succession - understand the concept and principles of ecological succession in the soil, it’s dependance on the soil microbiome structure and how it dictates plant ecological succession driving biodiversity; understand how disturbance of soil biological structure forces ecological collapse creating the need for weed proliferation to drive soil restoration

Carbon sequestration - understand the processes which sequester carbon into soil, how organic matter, its quality and quantity is transformed by microbial processes and sequestered into soil aggregates forming humus

Cultivation of microbial diversity through various composting system with a particular focus on vermicomposting - learn how to cultivate a functional soil microbiome to ensure soil food web structure necessary for optimal plant growth; learn various composting methods, how to feed and look after the organisms that form soil, their requirements and reliance on organic matter and their plant host

Practical application of soil restoration practices - learn through practical examples how to apply the cultivated microbes to soil ecosystems in farming and ecosystem restoration efforts, the practices that support the cultivation of beneficial soil/plant microbes, soil detoxification and carbon sequestration

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Questions?

Contact givingsoils@gmail.com for more information

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