Fredonia team member Tyler Spears and another competitor during the event. Mr. Spears is determining soil texture using the “feel” method.
Fredonia's first ever Soil Judging team competed in the Northeast Regional Soil Judging contest, held in early October at the University of Maryland in Easton.
Two Fredonia Geology majors - Tyler Spears of Forestville and Shane Lindquist of Allegany, N.Y. ̶ participated in the three-day intercollegiate competition held for schools across the nation. For the competition, students learn how to describe and categorize soil profiles. Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences Assistant Professor Matthew Purtill noted, “Soils are a vital component of our Critical Zone and soil judging is a type of mini-field camp for soil scientists.”
Fredonia competed as a joint team with University of Pittsburgh-Johnston, and was one of only two New York schools to participate in the regional competition (Brooklyn College was the other institution).
Dr. Purtill added, “For our first time competing, the team did awesome and learned a tremendous amount about soils, geomorphology and hydrology. Although we didn't qualify for nationals this year, we hope to do so next. As our fellow teammates from University of Pittsburgh said ̶ not only did we expand our horizons, we also learned how to name them.”
Funding for the students to attend the competition was provided by Fredonia’s Office of Student Creative Activity and Research (OSCAR). Purtill noted that without the office’s support, it was doubtful that the students could have afforded to attend the competition.
The regional contest was a qualifier for the National Collegiate Soils Contest sponsored by the Soil Science Society of America.
