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UBC Theses and Dissertations
A process for the development of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment : community-based action research with organic growers in the Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, Canada Wagner, Julia Marie
Abstract
Soil health is a critical element of sustainable agriculture and a central tenet of organic agriculture. Soil health assessment is an information-gathering process intended to contribute to soil health management decisions. In this context, this thesis addresses two key objectives of an exploratory, community-based action research project conducted in the Similkameen Valley (British Columbia, Canada) with a small group of organic growers and local resource people, namely: 1) to describe organic growers' current approaches to soil health assessment; and, 2) to explore the concept of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment as a means of improving British Columbia organic growers' capacity for soil health assessment. The project activities included: an initial participatory workshop, a written questionnaire, review of growers' soil test records, a field day, semi-structured interviews, collaborative development and trials of a systematic soil health assessment strategy, and a final participatory workshop to discuss the trial results and evaluate the project, along with a written evaluation. Growers' existing approaches to soil health assessment were primarily: informal, individual, integrated with management activities, and based on sensory observation and management-based assessments, with limited use of assessment tools developed by the scientific community. The complexity of soil health impinges on individual growers' capacity for more systematic soil health assessment. Therefore, the collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment trials provided a learning forum, to connect growers and resource people to address this complexity by sharing experiential and scientific knowledge. The process contributed to growers' knowledge of their own soils and of issues beyond their own farm; demonstrated the possibility of grower cooperation to achieve economic efficiencies; and nurtured social energy. Facilitation skills and time demands were challenges for maintaining the participatory nature of the process. Overall, determining how to appropriately balance or integrate scientific and grower knowledge (a desirable goal shared by all participants and also found in the literature) requires further consideration. Based on our experience, I proposed a framework for the development of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment strategies. I recommend further experiences with this framework in other communities, and with longer time frames, to evaluate its effectiveness and relevance in different contexts.
Item Metadata
Title |
A process for the development of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment : community-based action research with organic growers in the Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, Canada
|
Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
|
Date Issued |
2005
|
Description |
Soil health is a critical element of sustainable agriculture and a central tenet of organic
agriculture. Soil health assessment is an information-gathering process intended to contribute to
soil health management decisions. In this context, this thesis addresses two key objectives of an
exploratory, community-based action research project conducted in the Similkameen Valley
(British Columbia, Canada) with a small group of organic growers and local resource people,
namely: 1) to describe organic growers' current approaches to soil health assessment; and, 2) to
explore the concept of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment as a means of
improving British Columbia organic growers' capacity for soil health assessment. The project
activities included: an initial participatory workshop, a written questionnaire, review of growers'
soil test records, a field day, semi-structured interviews, collaborative development and trials of a
systematic soil health assessment strategy, and a final participatory workshop to discuss the trial
results and evaluate the project, along with a written evaluation. Growers' existing approaches
to soil health assessment were primarily: informal, individual, integrated with management
activities, and based on sensory observation and management-based assessments, with limited
use of assessment tools developed by the scientific community. The complexity of soil health
impinges on individual growers' capacity for more systematic soil health assessment. Therefore,
the collaborative, bioregionally-adapted soil health assessment trials provided a learning forum,
to connect growers and resource people to address this complexity by sharing experiential and
scientific knowledge. The process contributed to growers' knowledge of their own soils and of
issues beyond their own farm; demonstrated the possibility of grower cooperation to achieve
economic efficiencies; and nurtured social energy. Facilitation skills and time demands were
challenges for maintaining the participatory nature of the process. Overall, determining how to
appropriately balance or integrate scientific and grower knowledge (a desirable goal shared by
all participants and also found in the literature) requires further consideration. Based on our
experience, I proposed a framework for the development of collaborative, bioregionally-adapted
soil health assessment strategies. I recommend further experiences with this framework in other
communities, and with longer time frames, to evaluate its effectiveness and relevance in different
contexts.
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Genre | |
Type | |
Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-12-11
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0092023
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
2005-05
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.