Team Leader, Pedosphere.com & Professor Emeritus, University of Alberta

The Problem

In a recent article published in the Journal of Natural Resources & Life Science Education (Vol. 37:117-124, 2008), Dr. Mary E. Collins addressed the question "Where have the soils students gone?".

The objectives of her paper were: (1) to present the information obtained by the subcommittee on undergraduate education of soil scientists, (2) to state the perception of soil science, (3) to discuss how the lack of undergraduate students in soil science affects the quality of graduate students, (4) to offer possible ways to increase the enrollment of students in our courses and as majors, and (5) to question the future of our science.

One of the key recommendations of the committee for attracting undergraduate students to Soil Science was:
 
"Courses in the soil science curricula must be changed and modernized so that the content is more appealing to today’s students. New courses should also be added to curricula to meet the rapidly changing technology. Changing the name of a course or department is not likely enough. Course content should be regularly evaluated to determine if the material is relevant and "appealing" to attract students."

The Solution

The pedosphere.com team has created a number of educational resources in order to: (1) raise the profile of the discipline of Soil Science; (2) show how Soil Science is or can be integrated with other disciplines in Earth System Science; (3) set a global educational standard which would aid in the evaluation and transfer of credits for Soil Science courses among different institutions around the world; (4) help instructors deliver Soil Science courses using a systems approach to address current issues in agriculture, forestry, ecology and environmental sciences; and (5) generate a global awareness of the importance of Soil Science to humanity.

In our second phase of growth, we are aiming to become knowledge managers and active global educators. We are in the process of building an extensive repository of Soil Science knowledge through partnerships with major international organizations and also become an active player in online global Soil Science education.

Our Inspiration

The most inspiring statement that is driving us is the following excerpt from an address made by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Ninth Award Cycle of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (New Delhi, India) on 27 November 2004:
 
"... man is God's noblest creation to whom He has entrusted the stewardship of all that is on earth. Each generation must leave for its successors an enhanced and sustainable social and physical environment. I am sure every responsible citizen in every part of the world would share this aspiration."

Service to Pedosphere

The sum total of all the soils is termed as the "pedosphere". The pedosphere is the skin of the Earth and only develops when there is a dynamic interaction between the atmosphere (air in and above the soil), biosphere (living organisms), lithosphere (unconsolidated rocks) and the hydrosphere (water in, on and below the soil). The pedosphere is the foundation of life on this planet. It needs to be studied, valued, enhanced and treated in a sustainable manner. Our goal is to be a catalyst for creating a greater awareness for the pedosphere!

I welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. Please e-mail me at njuma@pedosphere.com

Noorallah Juma, Ph.D., P.Ag.
Team Leader, Pedosphere.Com