Soil educational resources
For professionals
Queensland Government resources
Soil and land management information (including, fact sheets, best practice guidelines, technical reports and data) can be found in the:
Soil Sciences Australia (SSA)
SSA serves as the peak body for soil science professionals across Australia. The Queensland branch of SSA offers regular one-day refresher training courses on a variety of topics, including basic soils concepts and field skills. Many resources provided at previous refresher training courses are located on the SSA website. Also, the society administers the Certified Professional Soil Scientist (CPSS) accreditation scheme.
For students
Higher education
Queensland universities have undergraduate science degrees that offer at least one subject focused on soils. However, they do not offer programs entirely dedicated to soil science.
Many institutions offer subjects discussing aspects of soil management from civil engineering and public health perspectives. Some may be taken as stand-alone subjects by those who meet prerequisite requirements, or as electives by students enrolled in related degrees.
Contact universities directly if you are interested in undertaking soils subjects.
TAFE Queensland has certificate level courses on topics including horticulture and engineering. However, they do not offer soil-specific courses.
Primary and secondary education
Soil education is offered within several subjects at primary and secondary schools. These include:
- agriculture
- biology
- chemistry
- earth science (at a senior level).
A learning module for chemistry teachers is available focusing on acid sulfate soils.
The module provides training and resources to help senior chemistry teachers use acid sulfate soils as a case study when teaching acid-base chemistry and other laboratory techniques (e.g. titrations).
More information
Email soils@qld.gov.au.