Image: Mapping soils, Tom Koerner/USFWS, CC BY

We're about halfway through the research area review on soil contamination that we started in late January. What's happened since we started and what's still to come? Read on for a brief update!

New materials and resources

Below are some new questions, activities, and wiki pages on Public Lab that came out of conversations with community members:

• Question: What are other ways to assess soil contamination, besides directly measuring contaminant concentrations?
• Question: Does anyone have experience with remediation of contaminated soils? What are some different options?
• Question: Are there ways to trace detected soil contaminants back to the polluting source?
• Activity: How to find out past and current uses for an area of land - A getting-started activity for people interested in eventual soil testing.
• Wiki page: Bioassay - Resources on another way to assess soil contamination. Includes links to a guide on a DIY bioassay procedure using lettuce seeds!

Conversation spotlight

The Public Lab community has responded to the questions posted above with fantastic ideas and insights. In case you missed it, this comment by @DanielleS on bioremediation is chock full of information and includes a link to an excellent factsheet she created on "Bioremediation for Urban Gardeners." Check it out!

We've been holding weekly Open Calls to talk about soil and are keeping notes on soil-related updates in this notepad.

What's next

• Our OpenHour on March 8, 8:30am PT / 11:30am ET, on (Soil!) Stories from the Underground. We'll gather with community members to share our stories and collective learning moments around investigating soil.
• We'll continue to post new resources and update existing pages on soil contamination. Look out for materials on evaluating soil test results and remediation.
• We're still having soil-themed Open Calls every Tuesday until March 30. Drop in any time!
• We're getting ready for our soil review wrap event on March 31 when we'll share highlights from the whole review. Look out for an event post with details soon.