Soil Factory Summer School 2026
June 24, 2026
Experiential Soil Education
The Soil Food Web Dinner was an immersive activation at the first annual Soil Factory Summer School. For one night a crew visual artists, videographers, choreographers, musicians, poets and scientists became soil fauna and embodied the underground ecosystem, each role acted with unique tendencies and preferences to prepare a meal collaboratively. Newly minted soil dwellers donned costumes: earthworms hat, nematode crowns, springtail fascinators, bacteria capes, mushroom caps. We tested a simple idea: can we learn about soil nutrient cycling trough playful masquerade and culinary experimentation?
Equipped with blenders, skewers, and custom role constraints, six soil fauna teams cooperated to prepare a 25-person feast from scratch. The results were raucous and delicious.
The spread of ingredients for the soil fauna to forage from.
Presenting roles and rules .
Dinner preparations.
The Cast
Micro-arthropods
Shredders, Breaking down plant matter.
Nematodes
Specialized Feeders, Using specific mouth-parts to consume a diverse menu.
Bacteria
Aggregators, creating soil aggregates by secreting bio-glues, biofilms, and decomposing organic matter while feeding.
Fungi
Decomposers, Using external enzymes to liquefy organic matter and prey.
Earthworms
Ecosystem Engineers, Roving hosts shaping habitat and structure.
Scientists
External Observers, Documenting ecological phenomenona.
Reflections
The soil food web dinner is an incredible experience. An exceptional way of weaving soil science with embodied multi-species mimicry, play, and competitive cooking. Deanna is an experienced chef, a warm and playful facilitator, and a deeply knowledgeable host.
-Elle W Hendrickson
Skewey… I perceived the character on the aggressive slide. That might be a bias because of the visuals and what I am aware of. And frankly there is not a lot of stuff that can be skewed. Sauce noodles… it had to be just the right size, an apple and onion were too big.
If you had another tool than the skewer it would have been easier. Though you’d think it was versatile and it was limited in the end.
I felt I was stuck with a limited range of food I could skewer and I needed other tools. I would not do it again, the skewing business, I need a knife and cutting board. I felt heavily constrained. Maybe I wouldn’t be satisfied being a nematode. I can’t make any inferences for nematode nutrition. The nematodes must have no taste. They are too limited.
-Johannes Lehmann
I was a protozoa. I did not know much about the inner workings of soil before the experiment. Through this multisensory exploration I was able to learn and experience the lesson, almost ensuring a deeper understanding and impact. I was able to PLAY with soil and make new observations about the relationships between the elements of soil through our playfulness – especailly the scientists.
-Shannon Brooks
Definitely embodied the fungal world like I never have before. I felt all this broad connection with everyone and everything. It was like existing without a center. Out of all of these extensions I became very conscious of liquid oozing out.
-Linda Weintraub
As a mushroom, I extended my mycelial threads across the ingredients, as I, and my relatives, hyphae became interwoven, our enzymes dissolved the ingredients, creating slurries and sauces which others were able to take up and further enhance their cuisines. At times, we ventured into the questionable spaces of self-consumption, creating a delicious mushroom concoction that really highlighted for me the complex relationship mushrooms have with their environment.
-Andrew Boghossian