October 11, 2011

Sarno Wins 'What Soil Means in My World' Video Contest

"Soil: Our Nation's Greatest Natural Resource," a video by UNL extension educator Elizabeth Sarno, has been awarded the top prize in a national contest hosted by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). Developing the video with Sarno was UNL electronic media producer Kurtis Harms and assistant producer Jeff Wilkerson.

To celebrate its 75th anniversary, SSSA hosted a contest for people to share videos on "What Soil Means in My World." The winning videos show a range of views and styles extolling the value of soil.

For Sarno, soil represents one of America's greatest natural resources.  "If we don't consider it in that context — a resource — as a nation we'll be missing our chance to be a world leader.  How can you be a leader when you're inadvertently exporting one of your greatest resources down to the Gulf.  Sometimes we focus too much on profit and miss the bigger picture," she said.

A farmer and UNL extension educator and organic project coordinator, Sarno practices what she teaches — employing farming methods that help protect the soil from erosion.  She advocates the use of conservation measures such as cover crops and increased biodiversity, as well as federal programs that support the practice of conservation measures.

Sarno would like to acknowledge the cooperation of Nebraska farmers Larry Stanislav of Abie and Keith Burns of Bladen who allowed their farms to be filmed for this  video.

View Winning Videos

See these and other SSSA videos on YouTube:

Overall Winner: "Soil: Our Nation’s Greatest Natural Resource"
by Elizabeth Sarno

Soils and Food Security: "I Love Food -- I am in Love with Soils"
by Priscilla Mebong Mfombep

Soils and Water Quality/Quantity: "Urban Beat"
by Julie DeMeester

Open Topic on Soil: "Earth.Soil"
by Georgia June Goldberg

Why They Were Chosen

Sara Uttech of the SSSA said the winning videos exemplify

• how soil is used or viewed in global issues (climate change, health, economic, and sociality),

• the impact of soil on local to world events, and

• soil as a natural, ecological, and environmental resource,

The videos were judged on content clarity, message, creativity and being memorable, accuracy, and production quality.

Learn more about the Soil Science Society of America and the What Soil Means in My World" contest.  Vist the SSSA Special Events page for more information on events celebrating their 75th anniversary.