Soil safety after fires

[Garden To Table - GTT]

I'm hoping to lean on the experience of others who've been unfortunate enough to deal with this already...  Our community (Louisville and Superior, Colorado) suffered a recent catastrophic wildfire that destroyed over 1000 homes.  Of our 17 partner schools, at least 3 are located close enough to the fires to have significant exposure to the ash from all of those burned homes.  (As are other nearby schools who have gardens that aren't partners of ours, but we'd like to be able to support them through this so that they can use their gardens for healing in the spring.)

The district replaced the playground wood chips at impacted schools this past weekend.  It's evident that we should test our garden soils and think about possible remediation.  Does anyone have any experience or advice to share on this?  My outreach to our local Ag Extension office has gone unanswered so far, but I'll keep trying.  

Side note - all of our employees are safe and none of us suffered damage in this fire.  Thanks in advance for any advice or resources you can share!

Lindsey LeCuyer

Program Director

www.gardentotable.org

[MICHAEL TOWNSEND]

I hate to hear that anyone must go through such devastation though I am encouraged by your desire to help. While I've never had to deal with something like this, I've worked closely with our local extension office and do soil testing for our school sites through their university. If you haven't gotten an answer yet from their office, I can assure you that they are working on it. One of the ways to get a more specific/detailed soil test is it to reach out directly to the office at the university that handles the soil testing. I've included what I believe to be your soil testing center. If I can help in any way, please do feel free to reach out.

Lab phone

(970) 491-5061

Lab customer service: soiltes...@colostate.edu 

https://agsci.colostate.edu/soiltestinglab/

Soil, Water and Plant Testing Laboratory - Soil Testing Lab How to Submit a Sample. Take a moment to review the steps for submitting a soil sample. We want ensure you submit a successful sample. The Soil-Water-Plant Testing Lab does not test for pesticides or herbicides agsci.colostate.edu

 

Ben Townsend

Farm to School Program Manager

Nutrition Services | Shelby County Schools

3176 Jackson Ave | Memphis, TN 38112

Direct Phone: 901-416-0093| Mobile: 901-487-4592

town...@scsk12.org

 

Together, we MUST BELIEVE.

Together, we WILL ACHIEVE.

Together, we are REIMAGINING 901.

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Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2022 3:13 PM
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Subject: EXTERNAL - Soil safety after fires

 

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