Soil Education for General Public and School Students in Taiwan

Soil is the foundation for plant growth, animal habitats, and human society; however, there are few people focus on the soil nowadays. Soil courses are limited in the current curriculum education of elementary and high schools in Taiwan. The soil exhibition tour was thus conducted and its main objective is to improve the understanding of soil resources and its importance on social human beings and environmental quality, especially for school students. The lessons about soil science and the new expression of art combined with the environment were prepared to convey. Graduate students firstly guided children to the school’s cropland on their campus and sampled soil by auger. Then they taught children how to describe the soil color via Munsell soil color charts, structure, consistence, and to determine textural class by feel method while going on a soil survey out of the classroom. Another topic, since the soil color was determined by developing processes and environmental conditions, it would be several kinds of hue. We collected soil samples from different counties in Taiwan. Teaching children doing the watercolor made of soil themselves and drawing the postcards, which shows the major soil characteristics, such as, textural triangle, six ecological functions, and soil profile on the cover following. The detail of the activities can be adjusted according to the population and the age of the participants; hence it’s suitable for general adults or students in the elementary and high schools.