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The Compass

The Understory: Life in the Soil

Life in soil: The psychology of soil in California

Duration: 27 minutes

First broadcast: on BBC World Service AustralasiaLatest broadcast: on BBC World Service East Asia

Available for over a year

Isabelle Legeron travels to California, a part of the world whose soil holds a complex history. She meets the indigenous Californians reviving ancestral methods of tending to the land, and the soil scientists exploring the impact of colonisation and agriculture on the soil of the Golden State.

With indigenous Californian land steward Redbird (Pomo/Paiute/Wailaki/Wintu), director of the California Indian museum Nicole Lim (Pomo), indigenous ecologist Dr Melissa Nelson (Anishinaabe/Métis/Norwegian), indigenous educator Sara Moncada (Yaqui/Irish), professor Paul Starrs (USA) and soil scientists Suzanne Pierre (India/Haiti/USA), Kenzo Esquivel (Japanese/Mexican/USA) and Yvonne Socolar (USA).

Presenter: Isabelle Legeron
Producer: Sasha Edye-Lindner/ Kate Bland
A Cast Iron production for BBC World Service

(Photo: Native crops at Heron Shadow, California. Credit: Sara Moncada) Show less

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