Old Dairy Barn features documentary on soil

Warm Springs, Va. – A new documentary is being shown at the Old Dairy on Thursday night. Mary Hodges, the Executive Director of the Virginia Hot Springs Preservation Trust, is always looking for environmental documentaries to share with the community through the Trust. And she is excited to bring Symphony of the Soil to the Old Dairy.

“Symphony of the Soil is an extraordinary new documentary that was recently released,” says Hodges. “And it is about soil and it is not a subject that resonates with everyone, but it certainly should. Soil is essential to life on earth and it is one of our most essential resources. Thomas Jefferson was said to have commented that Civilization itself rests upon the soil’.”

The Hot Springs Preservation Trust along with the Warm Springs Valley Garden Club is sponsoring this screening. The film features farmers and scientists and presents information from ancient knowledge to modern day science.

“Today’s loss of soil is said to be contributing to the floods we’re seeing around the world and the drought conditions, contaminated drinking water, toxic algae blooms, all of these things are directly related to the soil,” says Hodges. “The film also examines our human relationship with soil including the use and misuse of soil in agriculture, deforestation and development.”

Symphony of the Soil will be presented Thursday evening July 19 at 7 o’clock at the Old Dairy in Warm Springs. Admission is free.

“It was just released in the last couple of months,” says Hodges. “And it’s directed by Deborah Koons Garcia. She’s known for a film that she produced in 2004 called The Future of Food. She is also known as Jerry Garcia’s widow, to a lot of folks. But she is a filmmaker in her own right.”

In order to ensure adequate seating, contact Mary Hodges if you plan to attend. She can be reached at 540-839-2407. Or by email at mary@homesteadpreserve.com