Cultivating ecological awareness in middle-school students through short interactions with urban soil ecosystems

Urbanization is a strong socioecological force which alters plant and animal communities and shapes how people perceive and connect with their surroundings. Although urban soils may be overlooked as being inert or uninteresting, urban greenspaces harbor rich belowground biodiversity which facilitates many urban ecological functions. We leveraged urban soils to introduce middle-school students to the hidden diversity beneath their feet and its implications for urban ecosystem function. Over two years, approximately 900 fifth- and sixth-grade students engaged in an interactive lesson and scavenger hunt activity, where they explored the biodiversity in local greenspaces, focusing especially on soil organisms. We observed measurable increases in students’ knowledge and, perhaps more importantly, stronger emotional connections to the organisms they discovered, which in turn fostered a sense of ownership over their care and preservation. In addition to fostering curiosity about urban soils, the activity appeared to deepen students’ broader ecological understanding, encouraging them to view their neighborhoods not as biologically limited urban landscapes, but as dynamic ecosystems that they themselves are a part. Our experience shows that immersive soil-based lessons can enhance young students’ environmental literacy, and personal connections with local greenspaces.