Davis - Blogs | Blog | Digging in the dirt

23 Mar

They’re coming to dig up some dirt around Morgantown, and it’s a good thing.

Students from 21 college and universities will descend on Morgantown March 25 in hopes of earning a victory as West Virginia University hosts the annual National Collegiate Soils Contest

Teams will have access to practice sites in the Morgantown area March 25-28. The individual judging contest is set for Thursday, March 29, with the group judging taking place Friday, March 30. Actual contest sites will not be revealed until the days of the events.

Collegiate soil judging provides training and practical experience for students interested in learning proper methods of soil and site evaluation used by professional soil scientists.

As a former member of the WVU Soils Team, Peg Reese, who is retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, understands the value of participating in soil judging.

“Many of the students are studying soil science, environmental science, agriculture or horticulture. The hands-on experience students receive helps them learn more and be more desirable as a potential employee,” she said. “It changed my life as it helped me get hired with NRCS and helped me do my job better in the early part of my career.”