Soil Storytelling: Developing a Seminar to Fuse Scientific Foundations with Artistic Expression.

Interest groups and corporations work in tandem with marketing and media experts to develop effective messaging campaigns; telling clear, concise stories that “sell” to the masses and directly influence consumer habits.  Scientific communication, on the other hand, has a stigma of lacking the ability to captivate wide audiences.  With scientific literacy in the general public fairly low, it is exceedingly important for scientists to improve their communication skills, adopting creative ways to translate science.

The Internet, which has supplanted television as the trusted source of scientific knowledge for 4 out of 10 Americans, provides an ideal platform for engaging and educating the 4 out of 5 Americans highly interested in new scientific discoveries.  While a plethora of quality, soil-related resources exist on the web; there is no centralized media hub, palatable to the masses, to capitalize off public excitement around science.

As such, we have created a project-based, student-led seminar, leveraging media and marketing tactics to communicate the value of soil in a way that evokes an emotional response, influences public opinion and inspires social change.  Through cross-collaboration between students from the sciences, arts, and business we have created deliverable products (website, educational resources, media content), as well as a curriculum, that fuse scientific foundations with artistic expression.

Storytelling proved to be an extremely effective medium for scientific communication.  Cross-collaborative group sessions fostered productive use of individual talents and an effective way to inspire creativity amongst scientists.

Capitalizing on the momentum from IYS, we aim to spread the word about the interconnectedness of soil and society, as well as create a social community for people from all walks of life to share their personal experiences with our most precious resource, encouraging one another to interact with and preserve the foundation of life on this planet.