UC Davis Soil Judging Team

Join us to support the Soil Judging Team Support Fund

Soils are central to everything. Soils grows our food, filters our water, stores carbon, and physically supports the ecosystems and cities we live in. We walk over it every day, but soil judging is where students learn to stop, observe, and pay attention to what is right below them. Climbing down into a soil pit to read the land’s textures, layers, and history, and working out what it means for farming, restoration, engineering, and the climate.

Two years ago, the UC Davis Soil Judging Team made history. UC Davis placed third at Regionals for the first time in more than thirty years and went on to the National Contest in Wisconsin, finishing sixth out of twenty-eight teams. Many of the students had never seen a soil pit before joining. We've only grown and continued working since then, and this year we're taking on something new. We are hosting the regional competition at UC Davis for the first time ever. That means digging the pits, mapping the sites, and expanding opportunities for students from other schools to connect with each other and the landscape we are in.

Our team is run entirely by graduate student volunteers who put together weekly lectures, weekend field practices, overnight training trips, and every mile of travel to competitions.

That's why we are reaching out; for support to continue the gift of teaching undergraduates about the soil below us! A donation of any size helps cover the real costs for teaching our students: vans and fuel, gear, food and lodging, entry fees, and the added costs for hosting Regionals this year. It also gives students invaluable field experience outside a classroom setting, a reason to explore diverse areas of California many students would not see otherwise.

Whatever you can give keeps UC Davis students in the field, in the soil, and outside!