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| 2015 UMN Soil Judging Team Logo |
The 2015 Region V Soil Judging Competition will be held from 20 September - 24 September, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The University of Minnesota will be the hosting and Nic Jelinski, our 2013 and 2014 Soil Judging Team Coach, will be running the contest. Consequently, I (Ed Nater) will be coaching the team this year. I'm very pleased to have Erik Schilling, former UMN Soil Judging Team member (2012 and 2013) and graduate of the University of Minnesota, as the Assistant Coach for the competition. Dan Wheeler, Instructor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate and Director of the UMN's Wetland Delineation Certification Program, will also join us later on in the week to help our Team hone their skills for the competition.
The 2015 Contest will be the 58th Region V Collegiate Soil Judging Contest, its longevity a testament to the importance of this experience for students! The depth of experience students gain preparing for and participating in these contests - a 4-day intensive immersion in reading landscapes, describing soil profiles and making land use interpretations - is unmatched by any other set of experiences they will have during their undergraduate degrees.
We head to Grand Rapids tomorrow and have the Welcome Dinner at 6:30 at the Sawmill Inn, where we'll be staying. We'll be in the practice pits Monday through Wednesday, the Team will be in the competition pits on Thursday, and the Awards Breakfast will be Friday morning. I and some of the team members will make regular posts to this blog throughout the competition. We hope you'll follow along and share the link with others interested in our team and their experiences.
Go Gophers!
