Community Science
Resilient Soils Project
Mapping microbial solutions for soil pollution
Join the ProjectAbout
Soils across the United States carry the lasting imprint of industrial activity, agriculture, and waste management. Environments where microbial life continues to persist under chemical pressure. These unseen communities are not passive — they adapt, reorganize, and evolve in response to contamination. The Resilient Soils Project is a community science initiative from The Two Frontiers Project (2FP) that empowers individuals and organizations to explore these microbial ecosystems. By collecting soil samples from chemically influenced environments, participants help uncover how life adapts to modern, human-shaped landscapes and generate data that can inform future approaches to land recovery and environmental resilience.
PARTICIPATORY
Whether you have access to a local site or are part of an organization working in impacted environments, your samples contribute directly to real research.
SCIENTIFIC
We focus on understanding the soil microbiome using culturing and DNA sequencing to identify which microbes are present and what they may be capable of.
IMPACTFUL
The results build a growing resource of microbes adapted to contaminated environments. This knowledge creates a foundation for future research into soil remediation, ecosystem recovery, and more resilient land management.
Sites of Interest
Process
HOW IT WORKS
SIGN UP
Fill out a short questionnaire to join the project and tell us about your site.
GET YOUR KIT
We'll send you everything you need to collect samples, no special tools required.
COLLECT & SHIP
Follow simple instructions to gather soil samples, then return them using prepaid shipping.
SEE THE IMPACT
Your samples contribute to microbial culturing and DNA analysis, helping build knowledge around soil health, contamination, and recovery.
Questions
Frequently Asked
Partners
COLLABORATORS & SUPPORTERS
Team
Seed: Erin Miller, Alison Mehlsak, Emma Castiglione, Emma Loewe, Tresha Paarman & SeedLabs Team; 2FP: Krista Ryon, James R. Henriksen, April Johns, Maya Lipstein, Braden Tierney