Fwd: [OFSSGN Garden Educators] Resource share! OSU: Free soil testing for school gardens notify them by 3/1!
Amoreena Guerrero
From: Melina Barker via ofssgngardeneducators list <ofssgngard...@npogroups.org>
Date: Thu, Feb 23, 2023, 10:29 AM
Subject: [OFSSGN Garden Educators] Resource share! OSU: Free soil testing for school gardens
To: <ofssgngard...@npogroups.org>
Passing along an opportunity to get your school garden soil or compost tested for free! Details below.
Dear Oregon K-12 schools,
We would like to invite your school to participate in a free survey to analyze heavy metals in your school garden soils and/or compost.
Why Participate:
School gardens provide many benefits to children; however, some soils and/or compost may harbor concentrations of heavy metals which can adversely impact children’s health. The Oregon School Garden Food Safety Training & Documentation Manual1 recommends that “Soil should be tested for lead, arsenic and other major metals and contaminants. If you are using the existing soil (rather than bringing in new soil), a one-time test should be sufficient.” If you choose to participate in this survey, we will analyze heavy metals in your school garden soil and compost (without charge) and determine whether the concentrations meet Public Health Screening Levels2 for soil.
Who will be conducting the research:
Dr. Rothenberg will oversee all aspects of this project. Over the last 15 years, Dr. Rothenberg’s research has focused on children’s exposure to heavy metals and health impacts. She has served as principal investigator on grants from the U.S Department of Agriculture, U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Oregon Sea Grant, and Oregon Department of Education. She has also analyzed heavy metals in school garden soils and compost in Albany, OR., including pre-K, elementary, and middle schools.
Benefits to participating:
We will send you the results, along with suggestions if concentrations of heavy metals exceed Public Health Screening Levels2 for soils. If participating, you will also receive a free educational soil analysis kit from LaMotte (or similar), which teaches your students about the properties of garden soil, and the connection between soil health and what is grown in the soil.
Next steps:
a. By March 1, please confirm your interest by responding to this email, and providing your school’s mailing address.
b. In early March, we’ll mail you instructions and supplies to sample your soil and compost. We will also include a box with pre-paid postage, to mail your soil samples back to Oregon State University.
c. After we receive your soil/compost samples, we’ll mail you the educational soil analysis kit.
d. Once the analyses of heavy metals are completed (within 2-3 months), we’ll email you the results.
We thank you for your time and consideration. Do not hesitate to respond if you have any questions regarding this project or Dr. Rothenberg’s research.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Brittanie White
OSU Research Assistant
Email: whi...@oregonstate.edu
Sarah E. Rothenberg, D.Env.
Oregon State University
School of Biological and Population Health Sciences
Environmental and Occupational Health Program
103 Milam Hall
Corvallis, Oregon, 97331, USA
Email: sarah.ro...@oregonstate.edu
Webpage: https://health.oregonstate.edu/people/sarah-rothenberg
Office: +1 541-737-3732
References:
1Oregon School Garden Food Safety Training & Documentation Manual, 2016. https://www.oregon.gov/ode/students-and-family/childnutrition/F2S/Documents/entire_binder_aug2016.pdf
2Oregon Health Authority, 2017. Healthy Soils: Information about testing your yard or garden. https://sharedsystems.dhsoha.state.or.us/DHSForms/Served/le9745.pdf
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