Soil Culture Day Tour
The theme for the听22nd听World Congress of Soil Science听is听Crossing Boundaries, Changing Society听and this tour aimed to explore the ways in which soils have influenced communities, informed traditional practice, and continue to shape and influence society today.
The tour began by visiting听, home to听, where a guided walk demonstrated the integration of heritage and cultural priorities with education offering. Opportunities to view student build projects exploring traditional techniques including earth building, included alongside conversation with the Trust鈥檚 organic farmer and estate manager.
After departing Dumfries House, the tour headed for听听where delegates had the opportunity to explore the exhibitions on show, including听We are Compost 鈥听Composting the We. Afterwards, delegates participated in a dialogue event co-hosted by elected chair and co-chair of IUSS Division 4.5 History, Philosophy and Sociology of Soil Science, Dr. Alex Toland and Dr Anna Krzywoszynska.
About Dumfries House and The Prince鈥檚 Foundation
听provides holistic solutions to challenges facing the world today. They champion a sustainable approach to how we live our lives and build our communities, run a diverse programme of education and training for all ages and backgrounds, and regenerate and care for places where communities thrive and that visitors enjoy.
They work nationally and internationally, but at the heart of the organisation is the heritage-led regeneration of the听听estate and its wider community, where their principles and philosophies are explored and put into practice.
The walking tour demonstrated the integration of heritage and cultural priorities with an education offering. Soil science underpins our work within the science, field to form and farm to fork curriculum content and demonstrations of practice were shown. Opportunities to view student build projects exploring traditional techniques including earth building were included alongside conversation with our organic farmer and estate manager who will explain how we maintain our formal and informal landscaped areas and links into partner organisations such as Soil Association.
About the Glasgow Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) and Dialogue Event
听is Glasgow鈥檚 hub for the arts. They host a year-round programme of exhibitions, events, films, music, literature, workshops, festivals and performances. At the heart of all activities is the desire to work with artists, commission new projects and present them to the widest possible audience.
On occasion of the 22nd World Congress of Soil Science 鈥 Crossing Boundaries, Changing Society, an exhibition and educational programme,听, held at the听CCA听from 29 July to 10 September 2022. The exhibition features Absorption, a large-scale room installation of recycled soil materials by the Berlin-based artist Asad Raza, Gaia Glossary a research installation of literature, audio-visual resources and objects by the Weimar-based guest-curator Alex Toland, and an interactive installation in collaboration with CCA鈥檚 own Seed Library.
The exhibition and wider programme feature examples of radical composting that explore issues including food sovereignty, meal cultures, waste streams, allotment politics, right to land movements, seed saving initiatives, and soils as relational, subjective bodies in multispecies communities that demand attention and time in all forms of land stewardship.
Soil scientists, attending the WCSS were warmly invited to a dialogue event on August 5 at 3pm hosted by the newly elected chair and co-chair of IUSS Division 4.5 History, Philosophy and Sociology of Soil Science Dr. Alex Toland and Dr Anna Krzywoszynska. The event kicks off with several 鈥榩rompt talks鈥 and then transitions into 鈥渨orld cafe鈥 style small groups to focus on soil futures-making, reflecting on our experiences of soil connection, and collectively imagining what societies built on soil connections may look like. After the event, the organisers produced a rich narrative on the basis of shared ideas, which was performatively 鈥渃omposted鈥 into the exhibition鈥檚 research installation.
- Dialogue event led by the chair and co-chair of IUSS Division 4.5 History, Philosophy and Sociology of Soil Science; Dr. Alex Toland and Dr Anna Krzywoszynska
Dates:听Friday 5 August 2022
Departure Location:听Glasgow SEC
Finish Location:听Glasgow SEC
Board Basis:听Lunch, teas and coffees provided
PRICE:听拢80
