World Soil Day

Soil isn’t an inert growing medium, it’s alive — in fact it’s home to a large portion of earth’s genetic diversity. Teaming with billions of bacteria, fungi, and other microbes soils are an elegant, symbiotic ecosystem.

As a living ecosystem, we can support soils as they provide nutrients for plant growth, absorb and hold rainwater for use during dryer periods, filter and buffer potential pollutants from leaving our fields, roads and sidewalks, and provide habitat for all the organisms that call the soil home and contribute to its health, from a actinomycetes to beetles.

At USI we celebrate and support our urban soils by increasing their visibility and describing their values and functions across communities and industries.

Visit our NYC Soil Survey and send us your urban soils for testing and detailed interpretations. When Governor’s Island reopens, visit our permanent installation of NYC soils (by borough) at Swale House.