Beneath our feet is a dark, fragile and amazingly unexplored world teeming with life, or at least it should be, in places it still is. We are witnessing a surge of wonderful rewilding and organic gardening projects. Even a new Chelsea garden design for children about soil health!
This picture book was inspired by the global realisation that the state of our soils, a vital store of carbon and source of our food, is currently cause for great concern. The disastrous effects on soil structure and biodiversity from decades of intensive agriculture using pesticides and chemicals has taken it's toll.
As creatures of the world above ground we humans have difficulty relating to this dark hidden world, but we should pay more attention to it. The fauna, flora and fungi of the soil sustain plant growth and biodiversity above ground, hold valuable secrets and display amazing resilience, and complex co-dependencies.
As insect numbers plummet, we have realised that the artificial fertilisers and pesticides are toxic to soil creatures. They are like the ‘canaries in the mine’ with their population levels directly indicating soil health.
This picture book informs and entertains the young audience of mini beast hunters who are encouraged to go out with their magical magnifying glasses and explore the jungle like environment of predators and prey. The story takes them down into the layers of topsoil witnessing lifecycles, birth, death and drama in the leaf litter with their new springtail friend as guide. Realism, resilience and hope are the themes woven through the story.
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