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July 24, 2025
Managing soil as an ecosystem
The Texas Master Naturalist, Hill Country Chapter, will host a talk with Texas Master Naturalist and Citizen Scientist of Soil Regeneration Jane Duke, PhD, on Monday, July 28, at 7 p.m.
The Soil Food Web is the interaction of organisms in the soil to create a natural balance of ecosystem services for nutrient recycling, water regulation, and carbon sequestration. Managing your soil as an ecosystem involves understanding soil succession and how to amend soils to meet the needs of plants or crops you want to grow. Duke will share why soil is an ecosystem, and how to evaluate the microorganisms in your soil and to create compost, compost teas, and compost extracts to improve and regenerate your soil.
Duke became involved with soil improvement while living with her husband on a horse farm in Oak Point, and growing wheat and sorghum in Bovina, near the New Mexico border. In 2021, Duke was certified as a Soil Food Web Lab-Tech in soil analysis. These days she is on the Board of the Elm Fork Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists and is the NICE (Natives Improve and Conserve Environments) coordinator for the Trinity Forks Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), as well as being active in Texas Organic Food & Growers and Texas Beekeepers associations. Jane earned an MA in Environmental Philosophy from UNT and a PhD in Consumer Economics and Environmental Design at Texas Tech.
There is no charge to attend. The talk will be held at the Guadalupe Basin Natural Resources Center, 125 Lehmann Drive, Suite 100 in Kerrville. Online attendance via Facebook livestream and Zoom are also available. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please pre-register using this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84850885770
Doors will open at 6 p.m., with light refreshments served. Starting at 6:30 p.m., the Chapter will hold its monthly business meeting, with the presentation by Dr. Jane Duke beginning at 7 p.m.
The Soil Food Web is the interaction of organisms in the soil to create a natural balance of ecosystem services for nutrient recycling, water regulation, and carbon sequestration. Managing your soil as an ecosystem involves understanding soil succession and how to amend soils to meet the needs of plants or crops you want to grow. Duke will share why soil is an ecosystem, and how to evaluate the microorganisms in your soil and to create compost, compost teas, and compost extracts to improve and regenerate your soil.
Duke became involved with soil improvement while living with her husband on a horse farm in Oak Point, and growing wheat and sorghum in Bovina, near the New Mexico border. In 2021, Duke was certified as a Soil Food Web Lab-Tech in soil analysis. These days she is on the Board of the Elm Fork Chapter of Texas Master Naturalists and is the NICE (Natives Improve and Conserve Environments) coordinator for the Trinity Forks Native Plant Society of Texas (NPSOT), as well as being active in Texas Organic Food & Growers and Texas Beekeepers associations. Jane earned an MA in Environmental Philosophy from UNT and a PhD in Consumer Economics and Environmental Design at Texas Tech.
There is no charge to attend. The talk will be held at the Guadalupe Basin Natural Resources Center, 125 Lehmann Drive, Suite 100 in Kerrville. Online attendance via Facebook livestream and Zoom are also available. If you wish to attend via Zoom, please pre-register using this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84850885770
Doors will open at 6 p.m., with light refreshments served. Starting at 6:30 p.m., the Chapter will hold its monthly business meeting, with the presentation by Dr. Jane Duke beginning at 7 p.m.