4th Global Soil Biodiversity Conference

Tony and Rachel attended the 4th Global Soil Biodiversity conference and presented this poster in Victoria, BC this April. The conference focused on current science around soil, and looking at ways to inventory and access biodiveristy. Soil has been an overlooked part of ecosystem science until recently, when it was estimated that soils support 59% of all life on Earth! Soil is a key component of the wetland restoration success, and protecting soil is a huge part of the work of planting native plants.

Our poster session was well received, being one of a handful of Indigenous projects highlighted at the conference. Along with UBC’s work on forest gardens, Stqeeye’ was there to represent the local work being done to repair broken soil systems. Soils are easily disturbed and destroyed by industry. Repairing soil is a slow process, where some of the presentations showed that soil repair work took 14 years to show an effect in biodiversity yields measured. Soil is limiting resource, and must be protected. Topsoil is critically at risk around the world from erosion and degradation by agriculture and deforestation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says 90% of the world’s topsoil could be degraded by 2050. The Global Soil Biodiversity Conference aims to bring together scientists working on soil protection and innovation from across the globe. We were grateful to be able to highlight our work on Salt Spring.