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Healthy urban forests start from the ground up. The success of anything you want to plant from trees, to gardens, to pastures depends upon the health of your soil. This presentation will cover common contaminants found in Atlanta soil, basic soil care, and soil testing.

At a soilSHOP, you can learn if your soil is contaminated with lead. You can bring in a small bag of soil from your yard or garden and have it screened for free. You will get your soil screening result that same day. You will also get information about how to reduce your exposures to contaminated soil. Community and urban gardening offer numerous benefits. Some greenspaces may have chemicals like lead in the soil from past use of lead-based paint, leaded gasoline, and from nearby industry.

Do you know what’s in your soil? The name soilSHOP stands for Soil Screening, Health, Outreach and Partnership. It is an innovative health education and outreach tool for protecting people from the health effects from chemicals, like lead, in soils.

Lab technicians ask that you collect soil samples from your property and preferably dry it under the sun before bringing them in for testing. Learn how to collect a soil sample:

How to collect a soil sample

About Dr. Eri Saikawa: Dr. Saikawa conducts interdisciplinary research on the environment. She has worked on diverse projects that cover: 1) atmospheric chemistry (modeling aerosols and tropospheric ozone); 2) environmental health (assessing the adverse health impacts of air pollution); 3) biogeochemistry (modeling global soil nitrous oxide emissions); 4) climate science (estimating emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse gases), and 5) environmental policy/politics (analyzing the impacts of environmental standards and trade as well as analyzing policymaking processes). Learn more about the Saikawa Lab here.

Her main research questions are related to the source and the magnitude of emissions linked to air pollution, ozone depletion and global warming, as well as the impacts of these emissions on humans and on the society.

City in a Forest Certification: The City Forest Certification is Trees Atlanta’s newest community action program. This hands on program is designed to guide and empower everyday people with practical knowledge and skills. Neighbor by neighbor and property by property, we can grow and connect a network of forests big and small. By attending this program you can earn 1 Acorn towards your City Forest Certification

Trees Atlanta Annual Tree Sale: This is a great opportunity to know what your soil is like in preparation of tree planting season. You can stock up on Trees at our sale - online sales runs through October 7th and the in-person sale is on October 19th at the Carter Center.  

Additional Information:

• Doors open at 6:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served.
• Getting Here: Bike racks are located on the side of the building (near the silo in the Picnic Patio). We are approximately 1 mile from the Oakland City and West End MARTA train stations (Red and Gold Lines). Limited number of parking spaces are available at our location, in addition to limited street parking. Arrive early and head to Lee+White to enjoy dinner before a quick walk down the Atlanta BeltLine for the program.
• Registration Required. This event is free. Register to receive updates or reminders for this event. Please consider adding a donation when registering for a free ticket.
• Safety and Cancellation Policy: Learn more about our current Safety Protocols for In-Person Education Events.
• Questions: If you have any questions or comments regarding this event, please email education@treesatlanta.org.

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