FAESS

05/01/2026

05/01/2026

The annual FAESS Hydric Soils Workshop was a huge success, bringing together nearly 100 participants from across the state!

Hosted at the TECO Building at Nature’s Classroom on April 24, this year’s workshop offered hands-on field experience and in-depth discussions at 8 soil stations, covering key hydric soil indicators across organic, sandy, and clayey soils.

A big thank you to our expert instructors, dedicated volunteers, and engaged participants for making this such a fantastic and impactful event.

As an all-volunteer organization, FAESS uses proceeds from this workshop to support programs including
· Indian River Envirothon,
· the State Land Judging Contest,
· Nature’s Classroom, and
· other soil and environmental education initiatives.

We’re grateful for your continued support and look forward to next year!

02/28/2026

FAESS members were proud to provide soil science training for students participating in the Indian River Lagoon ENVIROTHON competition! 🌱🌎

The ENVIROTHON is an academic competition for high school and middle school students that challenges teams in environmental topics including soils, wildlife, forestry, aquatics, and current environmental issues. Our members worked directly with students to help them better understand soil composition, land use, conservation practices, and why healthy soils are critical to protecting our natural resources — especially here in the Indian River Lagoon watershed.

Hands-on learning opportunities like this help students connect classroom knowledge to real-world environmental challenges. We’re always excited to support the next generation of environmental stewards and community leaders!

Thank you to everyone involved in making this event a success!

10/23/2025

UF Soil Judging - SE Regional Contest at NCSU
The University of Florida has been absent from the Regional Soils judging contest for many years. The 2024 team encouraged a new group of students to compete this year. While they did not make the top 5 teams they did a fantastic job and learned a ton! FAESS President Travis Richardson is proud to have coached Brooke Saunders, Izabelle Young, Cameron McMullen, and Weslee Howell for this year's competition in North Carolina. Travis drove the team to North Carolina for the competition and served as a judge for the contest. Brooke, Izabelle and Cameron are graduating this year - look for their resumes - they are awesome!

05/06/2025

The 2025 Hydric Soils Workshop is in the books! Thanks to everyone who attended the event last week. A big thank you to our expert soil scientists, researchers, and professors who took the time to guide participants through this unparalleled opportunity to gain first-hand experience with soil-based indicators of wetness. They delivered unique lecture material and lead field experiences not found anywhere else. See you at the next event.

02/25/2025

FAESS is a proud supporter of the Indian River Lagoon Envirothon. This year’s event was held last week at Friendship Park in Sebastian with students from Indian River, Brevard, and St. Lucie Counties participating.
Envirothon is an outdoor education competition encouraging student interest in natural resource conservation and environmental management.
County winners of the regional Indian River Lagoon Envirothon are eligible to compete in the statewide Florida Envirothon. A big thanks to FAESS past president Gregory Sawka and Donna Smith for their active role in helping with the event.

10/26/2024

Day 3; business meeting by the water, followed by lunch and then quick visit to the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park

10/25/2024

Day 2; Field trip, lunch, checking out local soils, dinner and presentation.

10/24/2024

Day 1 - meeting everyone that made the long trip south.