Download the SCCC Soil Health and Conservation Partners Inventory here.
What is the purpose of the SCCC Soil Health and Conservation Partners Inventory?
The Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) has a rich history as the face and voice of soil conservation in Canada. The SCCC was founded in 1987 by a group of individuals under the leadership of Senator Herb Sparrow to advocate for the importance of soil conservation on a national scale.
The SCCC is the only national organization to concentrate on the issues of soil health and soil conservation within a broadly based landscape context. It works to build a greater understanding of the importance of soil as an essential resource to society by facilitating the exchange of information with all stakeholders. Healthy soils are the foundation of sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity and cleaner air and water for present and future generations.
SCCC is fortunate to have many great partners and collaborators whom we share a commitment to sustaining our soil resources. The Compost Council of Canada is one of those partners and we wish to acknowledge their input and assistance in this project.
Interest in soil health has increased in Canada for several reasons. Farmers are recognizing the link between soil health and the profitability of their operations, the increase in the resiliency of their soils to buffer weather and climate change. Many others are now recognizing the important role soil can play in providing solutions to other issues such as climate change, biodiversity and cleaner air and water. As a result, more individuals and groups are expressing interest in soil health and a willingness and or capacity to contribute to soil health action in Canada.
SCCC feels that to execute our role as a nationwide organization focused on soil health, it is important for us to develop and maintain a picture of other organizations that share our interest and commitment to soil health in Canada. That is the primary reason for this initiative.
How will this Inventory be used?
This Inventory should be considered a living document. SCCC will continue to add or remove organizations as is appropriate. With permission from partners, this inventory will be published and made available to all on our website ( www.soilcc.ca ).
Our intention is that users of the inventory are to:
- Help Farmers, Ranchers, and Soil Managers find advice and assistance in implementing soil health management systems.
- A tool that can facilitate information and knowledge exchange between individuals and organizations committed to soil health.
- A source of information for collaboration and cooperation between organizations in developing plans, proposals and projects to promote soil health in Canada.
How was the Inventory Created?
Between October 2020 and January 2021, we conducted 20 interviews with representatives from organizations across Canada who work in the field of soil health and conservation. We included a wide range of organizations in these interviews, from organizations who focus on a single municipality to organizations that operate all throughout Canada. The interviews were around 30 to 45 minutes in length, and they were conducted either by phone or through virtual meetings using Zoom or Microsoft Teams. The main objective of these interviews was to gain an understanding of the variety of expertise within soil health and conservation organizations, the kinds of services and programs these organizations offer, and the partnerships and networks between organizations in the field.
Our interviewees identified many other organizations involved in soil health and conservation. Following the initial interviews, we contacted the organizations that had been identified and invited them to be a part of the Partner Inventory as well.
What did we find?
This exercise proved to be highly informative and shed light on the significant amount of work being done in soil health and conservation in Canada. Our findings revealed that Canadian soil health and conservation organizations house a wide variety of expertise, from soil scientists and crop specialists to policy and government relations experts. This is an important finding because this variety of expertise is an essential foundation for advancing work on soil health in Canada. Additionally, the variety of expertise aligns with our findings regarding programming and services on offer; we found that these organizations provide a wide variety of programs and services, including planning and risk assessment, funding and incentives, research, outreach, education, and extension. Many organizations also support similar best management practices, which may present opportunities for collaboration on programming. Further, we found that many of these organizations are facing similar challenges, including erosion and harmful tillage practices, but that other challenges have also emerged that have a more uneven impact on soil health organizations depending on where they operate and their organizational priorities, namely climate change and accessibility of soil data.
Perhaps the most important finding is that virtually all organizations felt the need for more collaboration between stakeholders in soil health and conservation, and many see an opportunity to strengthen stakeholder networks and advance work in soil health at this point in time due to the increasing amount of attention the issue of soil health has received from federal and provincial governments.
What is next?
SCCC is working in partnership with the Compost Council of Canada and the Metcalf Foundation on a project entitled A Roadmap for Optimizing Carbon Sequestration in Canada’s Managed Soils. A component of the Roadmap will be a toolkit to help soil managers find assistance and technical information to support their efforts in implementing sustainable soil management projects. Farmers and soil managers will find this tool useful in locating local expertise to help them with their plans.
As a living document, the inventory will be maintained to reflect changes that include new partners and updates of existing partner capacities and programs.
To ensure this tool remains up-to-date, SCCC will:
- Monitor and analyze access to the inventory on our website.
- Survey partners and users to get their views on the usefulness of the inventory. and to propose improvements over time.
- Continue to make informal contacts with partners and users to evaluate the tool.
How do I access the information?
Go to www.soilcc.ca and follow the link to Soil Health and Conservation Partners. The SCCC Soil Health and Conservation Partners Inventory is accessible as a PDF document. Click the document link to download the Partner Inventory or to open it in your browser.
Partners have been organized according to the region where the organization operates. Within each region’s section, organizations based in that region are listed alphabetically. Entries include a profile, location, organization type, and website details for each organization.
How do I enter my organization into the Conservation Partners Inventory?
If your organization is involved in soil health and conservation and you would like to be included in the Conservation Partners Inventory, please contact us through email at info@soilcc.ca.