Montana Soil Health Week
April 1 - 7, 2025
Join in the celebration of Montana’s 2nd Annual Soil Health Week!
In 2023, the Montana Legislature passed a bipartisan resolution designating the first week of April as Montana Soil Health Week and the first Wednesday in April as Montana Soil Health Day.
The weeklong celebration is designed to raise awareness about how healthy soils can increase crop yields, strengthen food security, create greater climate resiliency, and improve nutrition. Soil Health Day and Week highlights the work of everyone stewarding soil health across Montana.
Essentially, all life depends upon the soil … There can be no life without soil and no soil without life; they have evolved together. — Charles E. Kellogg, USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, 1938
2025 Scheduled Events
Tuesday, April 1, 2025
From the Ground Up: Montana’s Soil Health Week Celebration Kickoff Event
Virtual celebration featuring Liz Carlisle and many more! Open to the public. Virtual on Zoom. 6:00pm-7:30pm. Register Here!
Dirt Rich Insights: The Critical Link Between Healthy Soil and Healthy Humans
Alissa LaChance, owner of Dirt Rich Food Scrap Pick Up & Compost, will lead a deep dive into the interdependence between the health of our soils and the health of humans, animals and our climate. Come learn why healthy soil matters and how you can take action in your garden, community, and where you shop, presented by Abundant MT. Open to the public. Virtual on Zoom. 2:00pm-3:00pm. Get More Information and Register Here!
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 Montana Soil Health Day!
Montana Soil Health Week Legislative Luncheon
Join Senator Gillespie, NRCS Montana’s State Soil Scientist, and others in person at the Montana State Capital in Helena to celebrate our most precious resource! Open to the public. 12:00pm-1:00pm. Register Here!
Madison CD Soil Testing Workshop
Are you curious about what’s going on beneath your feet? Join Kaleena Miller and the Madison Conservation District for a free workshop in Ennis about soil testing, and what you can do to help your plants and soil thrive. For more info, contact (406) 682-3181 or maia@madisoncd.org. Open to the public. 5:30pm-7:00pm. More Information!
Montana Soil Health Week Film Screening: Common Ground
Join Sleeping Giant Citizen Council at the Lewis and Clark Library in Helena for an in-person viewing of the film Common Ground to be followed by a dialogue with local soil health advocates! Open to the public. 5:30pm. Get More Information and Register Here!
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Soil Health Presentation & Producer Panel
Join the Missoula Conservation District and Five Valleys Land Trust for a presentation by Dr. Tony Hartshorn on soil literacy and fostering healthy ag lands followed by a producer panel discussion. Free Lunch. Open to the public. 10:00am-1:30pm. Register by April 1 by emailing jenny@fvlt.org. More Information!
Friday, April 4, 2025
Rooting for Profit: A Financial Workshop and Soil Health Listening Session
Agricultural producers are invited to join Northern Plains Resource Council for an in-person workshop in Lewistown. Featuring Ali Moxley with Hopa Mountain and other conservation programming experts! Open to the public. 10:30am-3:00pm. Get More Information and Register Here!
Saturday, April 5, 2025
Soil Health Principles & Practices for Backyard Gardeners
Join Cottonwood Resource council and Kareen Erbe (Broken Ground) in Big Timber and learn the principles and practices behind building healthy soil in your garden. Strategies like composting, sheet mulching, and vermicomposting will be covered. Open to the public. Big Timber Carnegie Library Downstairs Meeting Room. 10:00am-1:00pm. For more information (406) 930-1682.
2025 Gold Country Master Gardener Symposium
Attend the 8th Annual Symposium at Carroll College Campus Center in Helena. A day full of Master Gardener-level continuing education presented by top notch speakers on the hottest topics! Open to the public. Registration closes on 3/30. $55 registration fee. 8:00am-3:30pm. Get More Information and Register Here!
How to Participate
As an Individual
Discover the wondrous world of Soil Health! Participate in this year’s Soil Health Week by posting on social media, attending soil health related events in the community, or activities in your own backyard!
With Your Organization
Examples of how conservation districts, partners, and other organizations can spread the word about Soil Health.
As a Producer
Dive in to these great resources and learn how you can improve your soil and bottom line. Consider contacting your local conservation district and attending events like the Montana Soil Health Symposium.
Resources
What can YOU do for soil health?
Get Your Soil Tested!
Learn about soil sampling and regional soil testing labs
Check out the Home Garden Soil Testing & Fertilizer Guidelines! This guide provides home gardeners tools to better understand and interpret soil test reports.
Rent Equipment!
Interested in renting equipment? The Missoula Conservation District has a Truax FlexII-88 No-Till Drill available for rent to use in Missoula and neighboring counties.
Check out your local conservation district to see what equipment and resources are available to rent in your area!
For Educators
Introduction Newsletter to Teachers and Schools
A newsletter written for educators with more information and resources.
Soils Activity and Coloring Books
Below are activity and coloring books and you can download and print!
The Soil Story Curriculum: Middle School Lesson Plan
The Soil Story Curricular Guide was created through a collaborative partnership between Kiss the Ground and Life Lab. It serves as a supplemental material for teaching middle schoolers Next Generation Science Standards.
Soils 4 Teachers
Soils for teachers website from the Soils Science Society of America. Their lessons and activities search can be filtered by age group/grade, specific topic, or resource/activity type.
Flyer and Social Media Resources
Videos
Soil Week Playlist
Soil Week Playlist from the Institute for Food and Agriculture. Some videos are storytime, some videos are soil demonstrations and activities for young children.
NRCS Soil Health Demonstrations
Soil health demonstrations playlist from NRCS Montana. Including: slake test, rainfall simulator, and infiltration test.
MT NRCS Soil Health Playlist
RCS Soil Health Playlist with many of these videos are interviews/focused on specific MT producers.
Montana Ag Live: Soil Health & Conservation
Discussion about soil health and conservation on PBS’ Montana Ag Live.
Past, Present and Future of Conservation Districts
This 10-minute mini-documentary details the inception of America’s conservation districts following the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and follows them throughout the ages as they’ve grown and strengthened from coast to coast.
General Resources
Montana Rural Employment Opportunities (REO)
Rural Employment Opportunities (REO) provides outreach and services in all of Montana’s 56 counties to more than 400 adults and 900 children each year as they struggle to support themselves and their families.
UN World Soil Day
Resources Include:
- Full Campaign Materials List
- Contaminants transfer
Poster about how soil contaminants impact human health via the food chain - Biodiversity Poster
Thank you to the Montana Soil Health Week committee and partners!
Soil Health Week Flyer
Download and print a one page or two page Soil Health Week flyer!
Five Slides
Set of five slides that districts can easily customize for their social media!
Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!
CANVA TEMPLATE
Simple Single Image
Ready to use social media image.
There is also a Canva template version that districts can copy and customize.
Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!
READY TO USE
Soil Health Principles
Ready to use social media image.
There is also a Canva template version that districts can copy and customize.
Clicking the template link automatically makes a copy of the project in Canva, so you’ll have your own version that you can customize without overwriting the original template. Customize away!
CANVA TEMPLATE