SOIL Biodiversity and Relationships:
Visual Study and Story
about Soil, Earthworms, Dandelions, and Humans.
Soil Story
The story starts with Soil. Soil is made up of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and even other smaller organisms; its purpose is to support life. For that reason, he is one of the oldest beings, only accompanied by water and air. Soil is around 4.5 billion years old; he's met dinosaurs, endured ice ages, received meteorites, saw man and woman from their first stages on the planet; he's been supporting life, us, from the begging.
He does this because he is a generous being. He allows living beings such as tiny organisms, plants, animals, and humans to live below, inside, in between, and on top of him, and he provides for them equally in the form of refuge, home, food, and medicine.
Few know that he does all these things because providing life for others allows him to live powerfully and continue enduring. However, after years of spraying chemicals on him, rough mining, oil extraction, deforestation, reef destruction, and more. He's grown weaker and weaker. His pursuits now take a considerable toll on him, but he's so generous that he never complains.
During one quiet noon, while the sun shined bright, the animals made music, and the humans were calm, he observed and listened as usual. Two beings caught his attention: an Earthworm and a Dandelion. They lived so abundantly within him that he had not followed them in a while. Sometimes when someone's presence in your life becomes so constant, we forget to pay attention and nurture them; he thought, with a smile full of nostalgia that washed away quickly.
He observed them. He felt them; they lived inside him at the end of the day. He felt the Earthworm most. Their eagerness to eat anything in a state of decomposition made them slide animosity thanks to their slimy bodies and capillary friction created by the microscopic hairs in their bodies.
While eating anything meeting the end of its cycle, the earthworms opened paths inside him that allowed him- the Soil, to hold his companions: Water and Air, nicely. They all support life in universal harmony.
At the same time, whenever the Earthworm ate and pooped, he felt cleaner and nurtured. They gave new life to the old and filled him with fresh nutrients that plants and other organisms could readily use. Earthworms helped him support life and renew himself, and he was grateful for that.
Then, he directed his attention to the happy Dandelion; she held her head up graciously, enjoying the sun's energy, and kindly receiving the tiny flower helpers that travelled the air. Her leaves felt very comfortable too, they kept him at a comfortable temperature. Her roots grew slow but strong; bit by bit, they embraced and held him together. The more her roots grew, the more they created physical stability for each other. The Soil was once again grateful for her life.
Thinking about it, both the Earthworm and the Dandelion adapted well and needed little attention from him. They liked to spend significant day moments together and helped each other survive.
On the other hand, the Earthworm had to be more patient due to the perennial nature of the Dandelion. She lived passionately during the warm days and created seeds of hope that had the mission to travel with the wind, meet new places, and eventually settle. During the warm days, the Earthworm could quickly move along her roots. But when the cold days arrived, the Dandelion had to say goodbye, die, and let other organisms, such as the Earthworm, eat the old and prepare the ground for new life to arrive in early spring. Somehow, when the sun lovers came and soaked the sun in, they produced good chemicals for the Earthworms, other organisms, and the Soil itself. The Soil was once again grateful. Both of these organisms nurtured each other's life and his through their actions and lives.
The Soil listened closely to their conversation; he heard the Dandelion telling the Earthworm that she was having more trouble growing nowadays. Humans were spraying chemicals everywhere and directly at her. Those chemicals killed her, and other beings, resulting in deteriorated soil conditions. The Earthworm replied, telling her that they-Earthworms died over those processes. He told her about large pieces of land where man constantly sprayed so no other organism or living being could eat or benefit from their production. He said, they wanted the fruits of nature to be: as they said, "flawless."
Soil knew this was true; he lost balance and strength in those places. The Dandelion and the Earthworm believed that men did not understand the first law of nature. In their eagerness to find material pleasure, control, and power in the form of a nutrient called "money." Some of them thought that they now depended on none and nothing, that they had control over everything and that everything's purpose was solely for their wellbeing and immediate pleasure. They had forgotten that nothing was completely independent of everything in this creation. Each piece of the grand design had the opportunity to exist thanks to and in relation to others that sometimes lived, worked, and looked radically different from them.
We are all dependent on each other, the Dandelion said; this knowledge does not make us feel overwhelmed or scared. It makes us feel grateful because we are never in this alone. After all, the universe is an infinite collaboration of love. We must do our part to survive, but other beings always aid this survival.
"YES!" Soil thought.
Human actions were not only weakening him. They were draining other beings in the creation as well. Their ardour for progress through natural resource exploitation was damaging natural equilibrium. They exist fast, consume fast, and don't measure consequences. Their velocity has made them forget the importance of cycles and their place within their ecosystem. Everyone and everything was hurt in the process, even humans.
Ultimately, Soil is old and wise. He knows that sooner or later, the balance will return with, or without humans. Still, he hoped that during a day when the sun shone bright, the animals made music, and the humans were busy in their affairs; someone would choose to listen, observe, and reflect upon the lives of two undervalued beings, such as a Dandelion and an Earthworm. Hopefully, that exercise would lead them to understand the infinite and universal collaboration that breeds life and how their choices either support or hinder life, their life.
