Earthworms Rock

The temperatures are rising, more fresh offerings appear at the farmers' market, and the observation of longer days in the wake of setting the clocks ahead still, somehow, comes as some sort of revelatory surprise. Spring has sprung, and my thoughts have turned to hermaphrodites.

Actually, my thoughts have turned to earthworms, which in fact do contain both male and female reproductive bits. But while the manner in which earthworm nightlife and courtship might unfold may be best left to the imagination (or to the side altogether), the earthworm merits appreciation for its environmental contributions.

Healthy, balanced soil is absolutely fundamental to producing fresh, nutritious food, and the earthworm does an astonishing bit of heavy lifting in maintaining good soil conditions. They will completely process an active soil profile in a few months, stimulating microbial activity, aerating the soil, improving its ability to absorb moisture, and breaking down organic matter into useful nutrients. It’s a very impressive resume.

A wonderful recent book by Amy Stewart told me far more about the earthworm than I imagined to be knowable, and I have to recommend The Earth Moved as a surprising, entertaining and informative foray into a class of critter we don’t often think about.

Any experienced gardener already knows worm as friend to the soil they tend. If you’re curious or just starting out, there’s no better resource than the Natural Resources Conservation Service. I’ve long thought these folks (formerly the Soil Conservation Service) to represent government at its very best: science as basis for service. If you want to learn more about your local soils, how to work with them, how to preserve them, or maybe just a bit more about earthworms, the NRCS has for decades served the public by providing documents and outreach to inform and engage us.

But back to worms, and beyond what they do, I’ll close with a consideration of what they represent. As Earth Day approaches, our thoughts and our discourse will understandably head down a path of what it is we can do, do differently, should not do, and so forth, to support and heal the planet. At the same time, it may help us to remember that we have many allies in environmental conservation. Sometimes the best thing to do is for us to step back and allow them to help.