OUR FEET UNDER AWESOME IT’S ABOVE YOUR HEAD The Earth we live on is perfect for us it has everything we need to live Just go outside and look around you Look up and you will see the sky above You’ll feel the warm sun on your face as it lights up the world You’ll see the clouds bringing the rain and you’ll breathe in the lovely fresh air 4
IT’S AMAZING ALL AROUND YOU All around you there are plants that we can eat trees that clean our air and buildings for shelter Earth is covered in amazing landscapes There are golden deserts bright white ice sheets and lush rain forests Humans have built some amazing things too Thousands of years ago our ancestors built pyramids and stone circles We are still building incredible things today including whole new islands RAIN FOREST STONEHENGE PALM JUMERIAH DUBAI PYRAMID LOOK DOWN But have you ever thought about looking down All of these buildings trees and structures are rooted in the shifting sands and soils of Earth All of that important soil beneath our feet is often forgotten about It might just look like boring brown stuff but it’s so much more than that There is lots to be found down in the ground so let’s dig into the soil and see what we can uncover 5
SUPER SOIL AND MEGA MUD One gram of soil can hold between 5,000 and 7,000 types of bacteria Around 0 01 percent of the total water on Earth is stored in the soil It can take 500 years for nature to make just 1 inch 2 5 cm of topsoil learn more about topsoil on pages 10 and 11 Some of Earth’s soil is made of stardust The remains of stars get pulled to our planet by gravity 6 There’s so much to see Up here on the street But it’s even more interesting Under our feet
FACT FILE SOIL Soil is loose material that lies on the surface of the land Soil is made of rocks minerals water and air Soil contains a mixture of living things and dead things Half of soil is empty space The empty spaces are called pores SOIL TYPES MAIN CLAY SOIL LOAMY SOIL SANDY SOIL SOIL MATES People who study soil are called pedologists Pedologists study what’s in soil This can include the living things that use soil as a habitat the microorganisms that live there and the materials the soil is made from Pedologists will take samples of soil to make sure it is healthy They might travel all over the world in order to do their super soil science 7
