Max Berkelhammer

As a freshman with wanderlust, I was quickly drawn into Earth Sciences –  the major that seemed likely to offer the richest opportunities to be outside. The type of field trips that drew me in, where students pile into a bus or van and crowd around a field site, has been shelved by COVID. Numerous creative alternatives have started to emerge at UIC and across the country including, for example, the use of “virtual field trips.”  However, for some classes, the benefit of tactile field experiences is difficult to replace while still meeting learning objectives. In the LAS class, Soils and the Environment, it became clear that finding a way to do fieldwork even under these circumstances was needed.   Soils need to be studied in situ and physical properties like their texture are best understood through direct interaction. In fact, some soil scientists even like to taste soils to assess the presence of certain materials such as clay!

We developed a field project for the students to assess the question of how soil texture (i.e. how much fine and coarse materials are present) and physical properties (such as how compact the soils are) impact the speed at which a soil can absorb water. Soils with the right texture and compaction can be important to limiting runoff and ameliorating the effects of climate change on local water pollution.

With this in mind, students were all given a physical kit that included a variety of simple tools to measure soil infiltration, texture, compaction, and moisture content. The students then fanned out across the city to green spaces such as parks, backyards, and the UIC campus. Every student made the identical set of analyses and then posted it to a live shared spreadsheet so everyone had access to data on approximately 30 different soils in the city.  Finally, each student was tasked with undergoing a set of self-designed analyses to use the data to test how soil texture and compaction influence the absorptivity of soils across Chicago. Despite the fact that students learned to make these measurements without any of the normal in-person guidance, the data was able to show clearly how the presence of coarse material like sand in soils significantly enhances the ability for a soil to absorb water.

Max Berkelhammer
Associate Professor
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences