From Roots to Reciprocity: Listening, Learning, and Growing with Soil 🌱
Speakers
Hosted by Sonder Edworthy, Teacher (Calgary Board of Education)
with Founding Collaborators:
Dr. Miwa Takeuchi, Learning Sciences, University of Calgary
Dr. Kori Czuy, Manager of Indigenous Connections, Spark Science Centre
Dr. Tatenda Mambo, Sustainability Studies, University of Calgary
Dr. Mathew Swallow, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Mount Royal University
Episode 1: Planting the Seeds – Grassroots Pedagogy and Soil as a Medium of Connection
Soil Camp began as a grassroots summer camp and research partnership in 2021 near Calgary, rooted in Treaty 7 territory. It centres the voices of racialized and refugee children, many of whom carry deep inter-generational ties to the Land, disrupted by displacement.
The episode introduces soil as teacher, classroom, and friend. Mushrooms, worms, wetlands, and compacted soil become metaphors for resilience and connection. Collaborators reflect on how soil is overlooked in education, yet serves as a transdisciplinary medium linking diverse disciplines and communities.
Listeners are invited to consider their relationship to soil – even if they think they don’t have one. Soil Camp insists that Land has agency, and learning with the soil requires humility, reciprocity, and care.
“…we can honour the agency of the Land…treat the Land as teacher, instead of [simply] something to be stepped upon…”
– Kori Czuy
Episode 4: Soil, Dirt, and Dreaming with the Land – Insights on Soil’s Reformative Force
This episode resumes the conversation from Episode 1, featuring Dr. Miwa Takeuchi, Dr. Kori Czuy, Dr. Tatenda Mambo, and Dr. Mathew Swallow. The discussion starts with the difference between soil vs. dirt and its parallel to displaced communities. It then deepens the themes of connection and reciprocity introduced earlier, offering reflections from the Soil Camp founders and collaborators on how to truly listen to the soil – its stories (through observable patterns, colours, and textures, ie., compaction, etc.), mechanistic explanations vs. its agency, its needs (ie., voids) vs. our needs (ie., to grow crops), and giving back what it gives to us (ie., nutrients, natural remedies – daikon radish).
“How can we dream with soil?”
A Listener’s Reflection
These episodes invite listeners to reflect upon the substrate under your feet – as more than growth medium or inert substance. But to philosophize further, as you challenge assertions counter to soil’s “voice.” Soil has reformative and healing potential for our communities and future generations, if we honour its agency (as teacher), listen and share its lessons through research or shared cultural practices, and exercise reciprocity. Soil undisturbed by us, regenerates itself; humanity has taken a conservationist (protector) role – but the wisdom of the Land has more to teach us – as Soil Camp founders and members learned (and continue to learn) through listening and observing it’s living archive. It has been enlightening to share in the reflections of these experts from diverse backgrounds, as they lead activities that improve community, their practice, and grow together – with soil (and ‘other-than-human’ beings) as the source of connection. Join in the conversation with a cup of your favourite tea!
– Diana Larrivee (Librarian, Calgary Board of Education)
Produced with support from CJSW Campus & Community Radio (90.9 FM | cjsw.com)
Soil Camp 