Under the Microscope: Living Soils

Under the Microscope: Living Soils

Learn about the tiny life in the soil that provide incredible ecological services!

By Compost Education Centre

Date and time

Sat, Jun 21, 2025 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PDT

Location

Compost Education Centre

1216 N Park St Victoria, BC V8T 3K5 Canada

Refund Policy

Refunds up to 7 days before event
Eventbrite's fee is nonrefundable.

About this event

  • Event lasts 2 hours

The soil under our feet is teeming with a web of microscopic life, whose complex interactions support all other terrestrial life. Healthy soils feature an intact and diverse microbial food web, which sustain nutrient cycles and maintain soil structure. Under the microscope, together we will observe living soil microbes, and gain an understanding of the different niches that they occupy within the soil food web.

We’ll finish by discussing the most effective ways to steward this living medium, and come away with a inspired understanding of the intricate ways life in the soil, supports all life on earth.


How to register for this event

You must pre-register for this event. You can obtain a free ticket through Eventbrite. You can also register for the event by calling our office at 250 386 9676 or via email by contacting office@compost.bc.ca

VERY IMPORTANT: Please be in touch if you are no longer able to attend but hold a ticket so we can make your space available to someone else.

Accessibility

The Compost Education Centre site has flat paths made of woodchips. The strawbale learning classroom is accessed via a wooden ramp and has a wide double door and a ramp leading up to it. Once inside everything is flat.

There is a single-stall gender neutral washroom on site. The washroom is not wheelchair accessible. There is a steep ramp from the wood chip pathway onto the washroom boardwalk, and a 2-inch step up from the washroom boardwalk into the washroom.

About the organization

The Compost Education Centre is located on unceded and occupied Indigenous territories, the land of the Lekwungen people— specifically the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. These nations are two of many, made up of individuals who have lived within the porous boundaries of what is considered Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Kwakwa'wakw Territory (Vancouver Island) since time immemorial. At the CEC we seek to respect, honour and continually grow our own understandings of Indigenous rights and history, and to fulfill our responsibilities as settlers, who live and work directly with the land and its complex, vital ecologies and our diverse, evolving communities.

Compost Education Centre memberships get you free workshops, discounts at garden centres around town and more great perks! Sign up or learn more on our website.

Frequently asked questions

What is your refund policy?

Workshop participants can receive a full refund up to 30 days after the ticket is purchased. To obtain a refund, email office@compost.bc.ca. Beyond 30 days, you cannot receive a refund nor switch your ticket to a different workshop.

What happens if I am unable to attend this workshop?

Please email office@compost.bc.ca to let us know you are no longer able to attend. If you purchased your ticket within 30 days of the cancellation, you can receive a refund.

Where will this workshop be held?

The workshop will be held in the Compost Education Centre’s minimally heated Strawbale learning classroom. Some portions of the workshop may be in the Compost Education Centre’s teaching gardens. The pathways are comprised of woodchips. Please dress accordingly for weather.

Is the event location wheelchair accessible?

The pathways at the CEC’s gardens are comprised of woodchips. There are three steps to get into the retail/office building. The strawbale classroom is accessed via a wooden ramp and has a wide double door and a ramp leading up to it, there is a lip in the doorway. Once inside everything is flat.

Is there a washroom at the event location & accessibility?

There is a single-stall gender neutral washroom on site. The washroom is not wheelchair accessible. There is a steep ramp from the wood chip pathway onto the washroom boardwalk, and a 2-inch step up from the washroom boardwalk into the washroom.

Will there be seating during the workshop?

There will be seating available for each participant.

Where should I park?

There is bicycle parking just inside the gate. Car parking is limited: • Three 2-hour parking spots at Haegert Park • On Saturdays, at the Victoria High School parking lots off Grant St and Gladstone Ave. • Unrestricted parking is available on some sections of Pembroke street.

How do I get to the Compost Education Centre?

The Compost Education Centre is located at 1216 North Park St. The closest bus stops are: Pandora Ave at Chambers St, Cook St at Balmoral Rd, Fernwood Rd at Grant St, and Bay St at Cedar Hill. The Compost Education Centre is accessible by bicycle, and there is ample bike parking available.

Tags

Organized by

Compost Education Centre

The Compost Education Centre, situated on unceded Coast Salish territories, is a non-profit organization with charitable status. The CEC’s mission is to encourage composting, local food production, and conservation, through education to residents living within the CRD. Created as a community resource, the CEC’s intent is to lower barriers to building skills that support soil stewardship and ecological sustainability. Two of the ways the CEC meets this goal are through free and affordable workshop series for adults, and a diverse, interactive, science-based educational program for students and their teachers. The CEC is mandated to teach people of all ages how to create a biologically active, organic garden amendment, as well as why composting and soil conservation are crucial practices for mitigating climate change.

Free