Melbourne University students explore soil careers with Goulburn Valley schools

Students and researchers partner with Goulburn Valley schools to spark early interest in soil science and build drought resilience

Over 500 years ago Leonardo da Vinci observed: “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot.” This reflection, shared by Dr Peter Fisher – Victoria’s Regional Soil Coordinator based at the Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub (Vic Hub) – remains relevant today amid declining numbers of soil scientists across Australia.

In response, the Vic Hub, which is led by The University of Melbourne, has teamed up with the Melbourne Public Humanities Initiative (MPHI) and the University of Melbourne Executive Master of Arts Program (EMA), to run a project proposed by Dr Fisher that will investigate how young people perceive soil science careers in agriculture. This will help to design better engagement and pathways for students to enter the soil science workforce.

To understand what school students perceive about the importance of soil and related careers, 17 students from the EMA course, together with their Head of Program, Dr Anna Kosovac, and Dr Fisher, visited schools in the Goulburn Valley.

Dr Kosovac said, “The Executive Master of Arts students are part of a work-integrated learning subject where they run a real-life project for a client as part of their degree. We are excited to run this subject outside of Melbourne, to really connect with regional areas. It’s the first time we’ve done this.”

The students first spent several weeks working in Melbourne to design the investigation, and then spent a week at Melbourne University’s Dookie Campus for field work. During school visits, the EMA students engaged with both primary and secondary classes, gathering insights about when and how young people consider career choices in agriculture and soil science.

Dr Kosovac said, “Young people choose their career earlier than we think – often in late primary school, so we wanted to explore perceptions across both secondary and primary levels.”

Working in collaboration with MPHI’s Dr Seth Robinson, the EMA students applied humanities-based research techniques – particularly story-telling – to uncover how students and teachers think and talk about soil. This creative approach aimed to reveal not just what students know, but how they relate to soil as part of their community and environment.

The project, which is currently underway, will results in a collection of anonymised student and teacher reflections, as well as recommendations for fostering greater interest in soil-related careers. Findings will be shared with participating schools and the broader community later this year.

The project was made possible through support from Victoria’s Regional Soil Coordinator, Vic Hub, which is supported by the Australian Government’s Future Drought Fund, as well as through the MPHI.

Vic Hub Director Dr Sara Hely said supporting the project aligns closely with the Hub’s mission: “Good soil management is fundamental to drought resilience. We’re proud to support initiatives that engage young people in understanding and caring for this vital resource.”

Dr Fisher said that 95% of the world’s food production is based on the thin layer of soil around the planet – “a layer that, proportionally, is about 10,000 times thinner than the skin of an inflated balloon”.

He noted Australia’s soils are older and more fragile than in many parts of world and need careful stewardship from future generations of scientists and land managers.

“Since the introduction of western agriculture, these soils have further suffered from erosion, declining soil organic matter, compaction, and increasing chemical contamination.

“Over the past two decades, Australian soil scientists have made important changes to farming systems that improve sustainability and productivity, but it is important to have more young people pursue a career in soil science if we are to continue to maintain this vital natural resource.”

For more information about the Vic Hub’s work please visit the Vic Hub website. To keep up to date, sign up to the Vic Hub newsletter: https://vicdroughthub.org.au

Media Contact

Samantha Schelling, Communications
Victoria Drought Resilience Adoption & Innovation Hub
samantha.schelling@unimelb.edu.au | mobile: 0403 106 404