World Soil Day

Today is World Soil Day.

In 2013, the UN General Assembly designated 5^th December as the first official World Soil Day. Each year the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) names a theme: this year’s theme is soil and water, a source of life.

Soil is a natural filter, purifying and storing water as it soaks into the ground; one cubic meter of healthy soil can retain over 250 litres of water. Properly hydrated soil can slow soil erosion, maintain fertility and boost biodiversity. Did you know that there are more living organisms in a tablespoon of healthy soil than there are people on our planet?

But at third of all soils are degraded and since the middle of the twentieth century, the level of vitamins and nutrients in the food we grow has decreased dramatically. We could increase food production by more than 50% if we managed our soils more sustainably.

There are events and celebrations on the FAO’s webpage. Join in, have fun and then email Wiltshire Council (Contact: Tracy Carter, Director of Waste and Environment. Email: tracy.carter@wiltshire.gov.uk Tel: 01225 713258) to ask why the council does not collect food waste when it is known that 50% of all food waste can be composted safely and used to improve our impoverished soils.