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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:
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:
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. |
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Pedosphere.com :: Knowledge Managers :: Global Educators
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