{"id":137495,"date":"2020-12-07T17:46:40","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T22:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/?p=137495"},"modified":"2026-01-05T14:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T19:51:14","slug":"bates-students-dig-into-the-science-of-dirt-in-a-historic-maine-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/2020\/12\/07\/bates-students-dig-into-the-science-of-dirt-in-a-historic-maine-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Bates students dig into the science of dirt in a historic Maine landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On a beautiful September morning, 15 Bates students hike a quarter mile through the woods of Freeport, Maine, shovels in hand, before emerging into a sunlit clearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spread before them is Pettengill Farm, a historic saltwater farm perched on an estuary of the Harraseeket River. Now owned by the Freeport Historical Society, the 140-acre property features a circa-1800 saltbox farmhouse plus fields, woods, apple trees, and a salt marsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a stunning vista.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guided by Holly Ewing, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, the students are part of \u201cSoils,\u201d an environmental studies course that digs into the science of dirt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof
Holly Ewing, the Christian A. Johnson Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, center, offers her gathered students last-minute guidance. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Farm Stand<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This fall, faculty had the choice to offer their courses in person or remotely. For Ewing, \u201cSoils\u201d needed to be taught in person. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe course absolutely relies on students being able to see, smell, and feel soils in a variety of landscapes,\u201d she says. \u201cThese field explorations make the properties of the soil tactile and help the students come to see soils as bodies in the landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ES
Environmental studies majors Jake Lawler ’21 of Cheshire, Conn., and Hayden Evans ’22 of Seattle, Wash., look at soil profiles along an estuary of the Harraseeket River with Holly Ewing. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The characteristics of soils are shaped by a variety of factors, she explains, ranging from vegetation, slope, drainage, and the parent materials from which they form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe physical, chemical, and biological properties we discuss in the classroom can be connected to what we have seen and done in the field \u2014 something that can clarify and connect concepts in a way that no textbook can.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Off to Dig<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At Pettengill, the students explored transitions in soil characteristics on the landscape and compared what they found in the field to how the soils are mapped in the areas\u2019s soil survey, which describes and classifies soil types and properties of soils<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students looked closely at soil structure, texture, and color among the different soil \u201chorizons\u201d \u2014 parallel layers of soil that have different characteristics from those above and below \u2014 that they unearthed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof
Sophia Miller \u201921 of New York City, uses a color chart to help her evaluate the type of soils at the Pettengill Farm. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe changes that can occur within just a few feet of each other are incredible,\u201d says environmental studies major Sam Gilman \u201922 of Mendham, N.J. He and his lab partner, Zoe Knauss \u201923 of Buffalo, N.Y., dug about eight holes during the course of the morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zoe
Zoe Knauss \u201923 of Buffalo, N.Y., and lab partner Sam Gilman \u201922 of Mendham, N.J., head off to their first location. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ewing had prepared students (including one studying remotely in New Hampshire, who dug her own holes there) for their fieldwork by teaching them about differences in soils and what causes those differences, from redox reactions to erosion. \u201cIt’s really cool to then have the ability to get outside and actually see how what we’re learning in class applies to real landscapes,\u201d Gilman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fieldwork in Ewing\u2019s class, including a recent trip to the local Thorncrag Bird Sanctuary, has been a blessing during a semester where so much has been curtailed due to the college\u2019s public health measures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve just been really thankful to have the opportunity to get off campus and get my hands dirty,\u201d Gilman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Zoe
Given the various constraints posed by the pandemic, \u201cit’s really cool to then have the ability to get outside,” says Sam Gilman \u201922 of Mendham, N.J. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Guided by a Mentor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As the students spread across the old farmland in Freeport with their analysis assignment in hand, Ewing, joined by Camille Parrish, a lecturer in environmental studies, moved from one group to another to check in and give feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stopping to talk to Sophia Miller \u201921 of New York City, Ewing used a knife to scrape off the face of the pit to expose a fresh surface for examination before departing to work with a group down at the river.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof
Ewing stops to discuss the soil with Sophia Miller \u201921 of New York City. The knife is used to scrape the side of the soil pit to expose a clean surface for examination. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ewing is Miller\u2019s senior thesis advisor and the duo have been working together intensely this fall. Because of the unusual semester, students are taking just two courses for 7.5 weeks (Module A) and then will take two more during Module B, which concludes in December with winter break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miller\u2019s two classes, the soils course and her thesis work, are both led by Ewing. \u201cShe\u2019s my only professor at the moment,\u201d Miller says. That\u2019s an interesting dynamic, she says, but \u201cit\u2019s been pretty incredible to get to know a professor on that level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Prof
During the fall semester, Sophia Miller \u201921 took two courses with Holly Ewing. “It’s been pretty incredible to get to know a professor on that level,” says Miller. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Further Afield<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As Miller takes notes, she explains what she\u2019s learned. This part of Pettingill was cultivated so the soil was often plowed up, mixing everything at the surface into one deeper horizon. Below that is clay, which might have been originally deposited when this area was covered by the ocean after the glaciers left. \u201cThere is a lot of clay that\u2019s pretty hard to dig through because it\u2019s so dense.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter, says Miller. \u201cExperiential learning has always been big for me,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s part of why I came to Bates.\u201d And particularly welcome this fall, when she\u2019s been spending so much time in her room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sophia
Sophia Miller \u201921 works in an open field as Camille Parrish, Ewing, a lecturer in environmental studies who joined the fieldwork, heads off to connect with other students.<\/em> That’s a circa-1800 saltbox house is in the background. (Phyllis Graber Jensen\/Bates College)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m socially more isolated than I have been in past years,\u201d she says. \u201cSo the opportunity to be around peers in a socially distant way, to get off campus, and be learning from Holly is especially special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This fall\u2019s fieldwork, and its collaborative nature, helped solidify Zoe Knauss\u2019 decision to declare her major in environmental studies. \u201cIt was super cool to be able to relate what we learn about in the classroom to the actual environment we are living in,” she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bates environmental studies professor Holly Ewing guides her students to historic coastal Maine farmland for course that digs into the science of dirt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":137517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"categories":[4,130,14,32,11012],"tags":[10760,10937],"class_list":["post-137495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-life","category-collaboration","category-faculty-staff","category-maine-and-new-england","category-student-life","tag-environmental-studies","tag-holly-ewing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=137495"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171569,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/137495\/revisions\/171569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/137517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=137495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=137495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=137495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}