My soil-ful journey started during my undergrad, where I felt deep apathy and grief about the climate crisis. I found hope when I discovered soil’s potential to help mitigate climate change when regenerative practices are employed.

This insight drove me to continue my education with my masters in Environmental Management – Sustainable & Resilient Communities Track at Western Colorado University, in Gunnison Colorado. It was during my first semester when a guest lecturer Dr. Rebecca Ryals, spoke about her incredible work in California on the Marin Carbon Project, which showed how a single compost application on rangelands could significantly boost net ecosystem carbon storage, biomass production, and soil water-holding capacity. Inspired, I planned my own compost amendment study on the irrigated pasturelands near campus. In 2019, we applied ~2 inches of Class A biosolid compost and monitored the soil effects, publishing our findings in Agriculture, Ecosystem and Environment in 2023. In fall of 2024, we took our 5 year timepoint samples, and are excited to delve into the results on this long term experiment.

After graduating with my MEM in 2020, I accepted a full-ride position in Dr. Ryals’ Agroecology Lab at UC Merced, pursuing a PhD in Environmental Systems with a focus on soil health and carbon dynamics. In Fall 2024, I completed my degree with a dissertation entitled “Rooted in Health: Benefits of Compost and Cover Crops to Soil Health in California Nut Orchards.” To kick off this research, we conducted an extensive baseline sampling down to 1 meter. This revealed that orchard soils in the Central Valley are severely degraded, with very low levels of soil organic matter, making them especially vulnerable to climate change impacts.

As millions of acres are currently planted with nut orchards, it’s an awesome opportunity to improve soil health and see how these orchards can be managed to store more carbon and become a carbon sink, aiding in climate mitigation for California. We found that orchards responded quickly to the yearly additions of compost and cover crops, with positive significant changes in soil’s biological, chemical, and physical components to a depth of 30 cm. We also discovered that the soil’s microbiome was significantly influenced, with increases in abundances of phyla of fungi and bacteria involved in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling.

Since graduating, I’ve worked as a soil science consultant across the Western US, including Hawaii, supporting farmers, ranchers, and non-profits in improving soil health. My goals are to develop management plans, conduct carbon accounting, and lead large-scale projects that facilitate the transition from conventional practices to more holistic and regenerative approaches, building climate resiliency and enhancing carbon sequestration.