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Third grade students at Phenix Elementary School have been busy studying about the importance of soil. They know that many of the things we depend on every day from food to medicine to clothes to shelter to oxygen and many, many other things come from plants. Soil is necessary for the growth of plants. Students have brought in soil and analyzed it.

Patricia Mays and Sara DeJarnette from Southside Soil and Water Conservation District visited our classes and discussed with students the importance of soil and taking care of it. Students learned that topsoil is only about 3 inches deep and that the subsoil in our area is mostly clay.

The bedrock in this area of the state is granite.

Mays and DeJarnette had students stand and demonstrate by how close or far they stood from each other, how close or spread out the molecules are in sand, silt, and clay and why loam (a mixture of the three) is the best type of soil for many crops. Students even learned that the state soil of Virginia is Pamunkey. Who knew playing with and learning about soil could be so much fun.