Report

Wonder the World Vol.1: “Discovering the world beneath our feet”

Mahi from India, who got her Master’s degree in environmental sustainability and she is so passionate about the environment, wants to share with us all about the topic of Soil. And she also wants everyone to keep in mind the importance of the environment and what we can do.
She has joined many Kumon English Immersion Activities (KEIA) since 2016 and has been continuing to support children’s growth and contribute to society in her own way through her passion.

Discovering the world beneath our feet！

Namaste everyone. My name is Mahi and I am from India. I came to Japan in 2015 to study at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU). At my university, I learned in depth about environmental issues and felt motivated to think of solutions to them. So, I pursued my master’s in Environmental Management at Kyoto University. Now, I work in Tokyo in an environmental consulting company.

It is autumn now, my favorite season! Did you all enjoy the autumn foliage? It is so magical! These amazing trees exist thanks to the help of many magic ingredients. But a very important ingredient is right below our feet: the soil! 5^th December is World Soil Day. To commemorate, let us explore the world beneath our feet together!

The source of soil’s magic

Soil gets its magical powers from all the microorganisms that live in it. 1 teaspoon of soil contains more living things than there are people on this planet! There are so many different kinds of organisms in the soil!

Quiz 1. How many of these organisms have we discovered?

1. 50%
2. 25%
3. 10%
4. 1%

The answer is 4. We only know 1% of the billions of microorganisms in the soil. These undiscovered organisms help us in important ways.

They have the amazing ability to take back the nutrients from things we call “waste” (like kitchen waste, body waste, leaf litter, animal carcasses, etc). The plants then take up these nutrients and give us delicious and nutritious food. So the next time you eat delicious persimmon, remember that the microorganisms in the soil helped create this!

Let us find out more ways the soil helps us!

Quiz 2. Can you tell the difference between these two pictures?

1. A is sand and B is fertile soil
2. Soil in A has less carbon content and Soil in B has more carbon content
3. Soil in A cannot hold water but soil in B can hold water
4. All of the above

The answer is 4) All of the above!
Sand (picture A) is very dry and often found in deserts or beaches. Fertile soil (Picture B) is often found near rivers or on the farm. It is good for growing plants. The soil in A has less carbon content compared to B. Every living being has carbon in its body, including us. So, when animal, plant and human waste goes into the soil, the carbon is also added back. Unlike sand, fertile soil has structure because of its carbon content. This helps absorb and store water. Water is very important to us all. Thus, sandy soil cannot hold water, unlike fertile soil. This is why picture B has more plants growing in it than picture A.

Without carbon content, our soil will turn into sandy deserts!

As you can see, what we consider “waste” is very useful to the soil. This ‘world soil day’, let us remember its importance in our lives. Since soil loves “waste”, we can try to compost our kitchen waste! If you want to try composting, click on this link to create compost in a cardboard box:

• https://www.city.nagoya.jp/kankyo/page/0000060262.html (courtesy of Nagoya City office in allowing to share)

I hope you all enjoyed reading this article. Can’t wait to see you all in another article!

Let us find out more ways the soil helps us!