All over the earth, all the time, tiny microbes are eating and eating and splitting and splitting, changing one thing into another. They are the invisible transformers of our world - the tiniest lives doing some of the biggest jobs
Nicola Davies ‘Tiny Creatures - The World of Microbes’
Image from Follow Your Gut: a story from the microbes that make you by Ailsa Wild, Lisa Stinson, Briony Barr and Gregory Crocetti. Illustrated by Ben Hutchings
I have known Gregory for many years now and it was alot of moons ago that we first stuck microscopes under kids eyeballs together so our worlds and worldviews are somewhat woven together, however, I was still joyously surprised when I received Gregory’s offering to Here We Are and heard how he so very succinctly and eloquently seemed to express my own thoughts around the phrase. Did I just inadvertantly get Gregorgy to write the objectives of the Here We Are project for me? This has been a task that I have struggled with. I speak in jumbles and it can take me trecherous journeys down long, unwieldy and challenging paths to find the words to describe and explain my thoughts concisely (take this paragraph for example) so I do feel a mild sense of guilt that I accidentally outsourced that to Gregory. Just another reason to be grateful for you Gregory and look out for your words appearing as my own soon!!
So yes, this is a potent package as I am sure you also feel and experienced listening to this recording so I just want acknowledge your efforts and expert communication Gregory. I repeat -
The phrase Here We Are affirms our presence, our belonging and our interconnectedness to planet Earth but it also challenges us to act, to care for the systems that sustain us, to honour the symbiotic relationships that define us, and to question what it is to be a human being.
I don’t really think anything more needs to be said here as its a bit of mic drop moment really but I’ll admit Gregory has opened the microbial can of worms with this one and we will not be putting the lid on that one for a few weeks and as per usual its all very timely so I do want to let a few microbial tales escape now.
Vermicomposting ie. worm farming was my gateway to the enchanted world of microbes but it was hard earned. The benefits of worm farming are immense as a low cost, home based waste reduction solution that results in free vermicastings and liquid fertilisers for improving soil fetility and structure. This was enough for me to generate the fortitude to transform a phobia of wiggly slimy soil dwelling organisms created by an unfortunate encounter whilst playing Return of the Jedi as a child into probably my first local environmental initiative - a community vermi compost project including free workshops constructing worm farms out of recycled polystyrene fruit boxes. I cringe now at the naivete and lack of understanding my passion overshadowed but it is still an impressive psychological feit and testimony to the power of worms if nothing else.
It was only later that I really discovered what was going on with worms and the invisible communities they were creating, nurturing and disseminating and the magical microbial pathways they were weaving. As microbes started revealing themselves to me a portal to an enchantment with the world exploded open. Microbes bring magic, power and purpose into your life... That is if you find it magical that food scraps are turned into compost and milk can turn into cheese. And worms are the interface, the intermediary, the manifestation of their presence, the indicator of their efforts.
So as I mentioned I had already turned a worm phobia into a passion, singing songs about soil sandwiches and proselytizing about compost when I got the opportunity to study with soil biology pioneer and founder of Soil Foodweb Dr Elaine Ingham in the early 2000’s in Northern NSW. This was literally one the the greatest weeks of my life I could not believe I was getting to learn about microbes and soil and how to use a microscope. Everyday was spent exploring microbes within the context of collaborating with them and plants to save the m*thaf@#kin world! I felt like an ecstatic sponge - with a pitchfork.
"If we want clean water, we have to get the biology back in our soils. If we want to grow and harvest crops, we have to build soil and fertility with time, not destroy it. The only way to reach these endpoints is to improve the life in the soil." - Dr. Elaine Ingham
Elaine Ingham died just a few weeks ago on February 16th this year so I feel this is a timely opportunity to share my gratitude for the impact she had on me. I still hear her saying her distinct Midwestern (?) accent everytime I’m in garden “you gotta get the biology back the in the soil. You gotta have the fun-jai, bacteria and protozoa in your carm-post or you goin’ anaerobic” and the visual of trees dumping cakes and cookies into the soil to feed their microbial communities changed and still changes everything for me. This is was mind blowing to learn at the time that plants used a significant proportion (20-40%) of their photosynthates to invest in and generate their microbiome and a diverse microbial population around them in the soil. That these sugars serve as immediate energy sources for rhizosphere microbes and influence community composition and surplus carbohydrates are translocated from leaves and are discharged via exudates providing an alternative lens though which to view interactions between plants and soil organisms also send powerful messages about generosity and reciprocity and the importance of community.
So thank you Elaine Ingham for enriching my world and soils of the world and tirelessly making basic microscopy accessible to so many people so that we can all begin to make the invisible visible and appreciate and nurture them.
So this mantra ‘making the invisible visible’ also entered my manifesto at this time and what better way to promote my new soil friends than through fashion of course so I started hand painting microbes onto shirts and wearing them in the hope of raising their profile and bringing them into the conversation. My label never took off but I definitely had a conversation or two and enhanced my weirdo rep 10 fold. Actually I think this would be really popular now I need to do a collab with Gorman for sure!
And in a very Dad joke kind of way I also incorporated the quip whenever I had the opportunity that when you get to know microbes you You never have to feel alone again! I admit I still use this - cause its true! and when you embrace this truth its really, really, exciting and beautiful and comforting ….and sometimes creepy. I still kick myself that I was blown away when it dawned on me that we have evolved in intimate partnership with microbes so of course we and all life are dependent on them for our health. It’s pretty shameful how hyperbolic we are about our species achievements - these guys literally can survive almost anything and have made almost everything possible.
There are numerous times in my life when collaborating with microbes has reinvigorated my life… and TBH my social network and communication skills. They have dragged me out of my shell and forced me to interact with other human holobionts during my Fermentation Friday events and without a doubt remind me everytime of how powerful we are together everytime I make compost, excuse me - we make and disseminate compost. And it is so encouraging, especially at this time to hear Gregory share and remind us that
Microbes, the smallest of beings, play fundamental roles in shaping every ecosystem on Earth.
Their quiet labour,
breaking down nutrients,
cycling carbon,
supporting biodiversity and more,
offers a profound lesson in the power of small collective actions to contribute,
however quietly,
to the flourishing of the whole.
We gotta keep on keeping on and take inspiration and humility from microbes as ‘they are the invisible transformers of our world - the tiniest lives doing some of the biggest jobs’ (from Nicola Davies wonderful intro picture book Tiny Creatures - the World of Microbes) .
So how to make the invisible visible for children? Gregory has some fantasic suggestions but I want to highlight one in particular:
Harness the power of stories. Stories are powerful tools for communicating complex ideas and abstract concepts. Narrative approaches are also a great way to explore relationships and foster emotional connections between humans and the more than human world.
I don’t generally make claims about the efficacy of my work because lets face it who the hell knows aaand I am lucky enough to not have to do formal student assessments YAY (don’t tell anyone) which also means I have no evidence to back up any claims. I also believe you probably can’t measure or potentially even identify half the benefits and impact of this type of learning and it varies but is no less important for each individual student whether its a paradigm shifting power punch revelation about the universe or the first time you’ve had the opportunity or been brave enough to eat a fresh vegetable. However, this revelation I received two weeks ago from a group of students felt very reassuring. Allow me to explain.
It was one of my most courageous moments of my life when I took the plunge and decided to try teaching entirely through oral storytelling. This was just over two years ago.
Two weeks ago in our follow up practivities post oral storytime I was expanding on the suggestion from the story that the soil was like the living skin of the earth and we started exploring whether and how soil was ‘alive’. (Note: using these fantastic resources from Life Rocks) Worms are still the gateway I rely on for teaching and creating connection with living soil and our medium for communicating with the microbes.
So as I was about to start reintroducing the role of worms and extolling their virtues when a student reminded me that two years ago when they were in grade 1/2 I had told them the story of Lumbricus rubellus aka Ruby the worm who was the bus/taxi/passenger train of the soil transporting microbial organisms through the soil building tunnels as they went. ‘All aboard!’ they would call as they chomped their way through the soil, dropping microbes off in their poo deliveries and picking others up as they travelled and adventured around the soil. Well I was beside myself, especially as perimenopausal me barely remembered telling the story myself and was flabbergasted that they remembered and then empowered that we had this incredibly creative yet solid foundation to continue exploring the living soil. They remembered the microbes riding on Ruby and that they had them on their skin and in their bellies too. It turns out though that it wasn’t just the magical genious of a couple of children who had remembered it was literally everyone who had heard the story because each week since then I’ve made reference to the story and all of the children who had been present for the original tale two years ago remembered it and remembered Ruby the soil taxi/train!!
So that has provided enough encouragement and impetus to continue to lean into the psychotechnology of storytelling - not that I was contemplating stopping as it is the most exciting and enjoyable things I get to do but defintely a bonus to think it is actually effective teaching strategy as well. So yes, Gregory I concur harness the power of storytelling! and Gregory has so many great stories to discover with children or inspire and inform yourselves. These incude the Small Friends Books series which combines cutting-edge scientific research, rich narrative and beautiful illustrations to tell stories that describe symbiotic partnerships between microbes and larger life forms.
Titles like:
The Squid, the Vibrio and the Moon
as well as
Follow your gut a story from the microbes that make you
The Invisible War: A World War I Tale on Two Scales
Gregory, Gregory, Gregory thank you so much for sharing your considered words for Here We Are. Here We Are I can’t believe it - parsing this existance together with the aid of microscopic lenses and a big heart. I appreciate you and all your microbial madness. Thank you Gregory Crocetti.
There are many kinds of consciousness, but there is only one kind of life. The kind that’s in you. The kind that’s in lichens and ferns and oaks and cities of coral dreaming in sun-rich seas. We name things based on differences, but don’t fail to love all that we share together.
Remember.
We are all strange animals, so, act like it.
Pep Talk Jarod K. Anderson
Dr Gregory Crocetti is a microbial ecologist, science educator, writer, and advocate for microbes. His PhD and post-doctoral research explored the roles of different populations of bacteria in a range of environments — including those found in mouse intestines, sponges, seaweed, stromatolites, and sewage — with his peer-reviewed scientific articles having been cited over 1,000 times. He is co-founder of Scale Free Network.
Gregory also co-creates award-winning picture books and graphic novels about microbes and their symbiotic partnerships with larger forms of life, including the Small Friends Books series (www.smallfriendsbooks.com).
Read: Follow Your Gut
Endless thanks to the audio, visual and editing legends of Here We Are:
Matt Woodham Treat Lightly
Music by Michael Garfield ‘Listening to plants
