Soil Health Initiative
Our Program
The SWCD provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and conservation planning for urban farmers and gardeners on practices that build soil health and improve water quality. Started in 2015, support from the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, the National Association of Conservation Districts, and Clean Water Indiana has enabled the SWCD and its Soil Health Specialist position to be a local and statewide resource in advancing sustainable agriculture.
Soil Health Guide
The Soil Health Guide provides growers with background information on soil health, and how to manage for soil health in the field.
The Soil Health Initiative encourages growers to use a suite of conservation practices. The goal of these strategies is to improve soil health, plant health, nutrient efficiency, and the soil’s ability to infiltrate, store, and clean water.
Demonstration Garden
Our educational vegetable garden incorporates crop rotation, cover crops, mulching, minimal soil disturbance, nutrient management, and wildlife plantings for beneficial insects and pollinators.
Contact us if you wish to schedule a garden visit or tour and stay connected with our newsletter and events page for hands-on workshops. The garden is located along Eagle Creek Trail within the Mayor’s Garden at West 56th Street and Reed Road in Indianapolis.
See this MAP for directions.
Technical Assistance & Workshops
Growers are encouraged to contact the SWCD for technical assistance on conservation practices and soil health management. The Soil Health Specialist provides one-on-one assistance, educational webinars, on-the-ground workshops, and access to technical resources. The Marion County SWCD’s soil heath initiative also assists the USDA-NRCS and the Indiana Conservation Partnership with training and adapting technical standards and programs to urban agriculture.
Find our soil health workshops here.
Grower Profiles
Environmental Resilience & Conservation
Soil health is an approach to managing soil to its optimum potential.
Healthy soils are a key component of environmental resilience.
Climate Impacts
Healthy soils store carbon, are more resistant to droughts, reduce soil erosion risks, and support a broad diversity of plant and animal life.
Nutrient Cycling
Healthy soils require less nutrient inputs: they store, transform, and cycle carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, and many other nutrients.
Water Conservation
Healthy soils absorb and help regulate water, manage the effects of flooding, and can filter and buffer nutrient and sediment pollutants.
Soil Regeneration
Healthy soils support a balanced biological community, and are a living ecosystem that provide a quality foundation for sustained growth.
Watch the 4 videos below as an introduction to soil health.
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
Volume 4
