1016 Balmoral Road, Victoria, BC, Canada V8T 1A8

Not Just Dirt!

How Soil Supports Our Planet

Dirt is essential to life on Earth.

Farmers grow food crops, such as wheat, barley and corn, in soil. We mine the soil for resources that we use in manufacturing and for fuel. Soil is used in the construction of roads and buildings, and it provides food and habitat for animals that live both underground and above ground. But soil can be easily destroyed by human activity and natural disasters. Pollution, deforestation and the effects of the climate crisis are damaging soil at an alarming rate. Explore the biological and economic importance of soil to living organisms, the threats it faces and why we must preserve and conserve soil for the future. Let’s dig in and get the dirt on soil.

Written by: Sheryl Normandeau
Illustrated by: Coming soon
Orca Footprints
Format: Hardcover
Ages: 9-12
Pages: 48
Dimensions: Coming soon
Originally published in North America: Fall 2025
All rights available excluding North American English

Please enter your password to download an ARC. If you need a password, contact alison@orcabook.com.

Sheryl Normandeau is a lifelong gardener and holds a Prairie Horticulture Certificate and a Sustainable Urban Agriculture Certificate. She is a freelance writer specializing in gardening writing, with hundreds of articles published. Sheryl is a regular contributor to Herb Quarterly, Gardener for Canadian Climates and Prairie Garden, and she is the author of Save Our Seeds: Protecting Plants for the Future and The Little Prairie Book of Berries. She also works at the public library. Sheryl lives in Calgary.

Coming soon