Dr. Ingham in Nevada City!

Dr. Elaine Ingham demonstrates composting technique at her 5-day course in January in Nevada City.

For many years, Dr. Elaine Ingham has been single-handedly leading agriculture toward a future of biological health.

Keisha Wheeler of Catalyst Bioamendments prepares a block of mycelium substrate to inoculate a tote filled with fungal food sources.

So there was considerable excitement around here when Dr. Ingham came to Nevada City in January to teach a 5-day microscopy and microbe-cultivation course, organized and hosted by our friends at Catalyst Bioamendments.

At Dr. Ingham’s weeklong courses, which she conducts regularly around the country, great excitement and shared enthusiasm is normal. Folks come from around the U.S. and abroad to learn from the source, as well as from their equally inspired classmates.

Just as you’d expect, the rest of us members of the Sierra Soil Biology Association were on hand to help. Brian Vagg of Sprouting Soil demonstrated the epifluoresence microscope, a tool that offers valuable ways of monitoring biological development in the field. There was also SSBA’s Rodney Hiemstra demonstrating the use of his recently perfected lab apparatus for extracting nematodes from bio-rich organic matter.

Brian Vagg, a founding member of SSBA, prepares the epifluorescence microscope for a demonstration.

Dr. Ingham is expected to return for another week-long course in May, so stay tuned for updates. Sign up for SSBA’s notifications if you haven’t already.