World Soil Day is held annually on 5 December as a means to focus attention on the significance of healthy soil and to advocate for the sustainable management of soil resources. Coolbinia Primary students learn about the importance of healthy soil through our ongoing Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation program. In addition, last term a group of Year 5s volunteered to participate in a STEM soil project, as part of a national competition conducted by Soil Week Australia. These students undertook this project mainly during Robotics Club and in their own time.
Coolbinia Primary School has been advised that our entry is a runner-up in the national Healthy Soils School Competition. Congratulations to the following students: Ava, Dorian, Eloise, Freya, Harshika & Taison. These students will receive a certificate acknowledging this achievement.
The competition judges reported that our students’ entry was:
“… wonderful and the students obviously had fun. The presentation was informative, showed good research, and importantly told the story well. The judges thought the entry comprehensively covered the topic, engaging with the audience to outline the key concepts.”
Dr Lewis, Mr Wilson and Mr Childs (STEM volunteer) are also recognized for their work mentoring these students throughout the project.
Here is the feedback from the students on the project:
‘The project was fantastic! It was interesting to research about soils and what helps to make healthy soils. We really enjoyed the hands-on experiments including measuring the electricity produced by the microbes using our digital MudWatts, moisture with Micro:Bits and pH with a pH testing kit. We also interviewed a few experts in the field who provided us with valuable information. We feel like we have learned lots that will enable us to take practical steps to care and improve our soil here at Coolbinia PS’.
Click here to view the winning entry:
The school will receive a prize of $100.00. The terms and conditions of the competition entry require that the prize money be used to further Coolbinia Primary School students’ appreciation of healthy soil, healthy plants, and healthy food.
