Part laboratory, part atelier, this workshop took a group of year 8 students at Pakenham Secondary College on a journey into soil; the vast and bio-diverse underworld on which our food systems depend.

Over two days during National Science Week 2019, Scale Free Network worked with students to re-frame soil health from the perspective of microorganisms, explore soil biodiversity through images and discussion, and expand ecological imaginations and knowledge through storytelling (‘Nema and the Xenos’), direct observation through the microscope and collaborative drawing.

Here is a review of the workshops from Pakenham Secondary College with some lovely testimonials from the students themselves!

Thank you to Nick Rose from Sustain: The Australian Food Network and Allison Barrie (Pakenham Secondary College) who invited us to become part of this much wider initiative – ‘Growing the Future: Pakenham Community School Farm and Food Project‘. Thank you to Max Godber (Hands On Learning program) who hosted us in Pakenham.