Getting to Your Roots: The Soil Food Web
Saturday, January 17, 2026
9:30 am to 4 pm
Thrive Recreation Center
1950 S Valley Pkwy, Lewisville, TX 75067
Join the Friends of LLELA for our annual Native Landscape Seminar at Thrive in Lewisville.
This year’s event, Getting to Your Roots: The Soil Food Web, will feature Jeff Lowenfels. He is a leader in the organic gardening movement and one of the most entertaining lecturers on the subject. The event also includes three respected local soil-health experts who will be live at Thrive.
Jeff will appear via Zoom and discuss soil health, the role of bacteria in the soil food web, and how home gardeners can use this information to improve plant health.
The author of award-winning and bestselling books:
<> Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’ Guide To The Soil Food Web
<> Teaming With Nutrients: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition
<> Teaming With Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae
<> Teaming With Bacteria: the Organic Gardener’s Guide to Endophytic Bacteria and the Rhizophagy Cycle
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Additional local experts will round out the day, including:
<> The Basics of Dirt with John Sackett: John has been with the USDA for twenty years, most recently conducting soil surveys and with farmers and ranchers to better understand soil as an important resource.
<> Soil Testing and Soil Fertility with Dr. Vanessa Corrisher-Olson: Vanessa is a distinguished Extension Forage Specialist and Professor with Texas A&M AgriLife, renowned for her expertise in forage management across Texas.
<> Soil Food Web Principles Applied at a North Texas Nature Center with Dr. Jane Duke: Jane is a restoration ecologist, educator, and passionate advocate for biology-driven land renewal.
Registration
~~ Option A – in person; all speakers including group live viewing of Lowenfels followed by discussion: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/getting-to-your-roots-the-soil-food-web
Whole day $30.00, includes coffee & pastries; lunch is not included but food trucks will be on site.
~~ Option B – online only; Lowenfels only: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/getting-to-your-roots-the-soil-food-web-option-b-onlinelowenfels-only
Virtual, $20.00
Online with Jeff Lowenfels: 1 to 3 pm. Registrants will receive a Zoom link one week prior to the event.
Presenters’ Bios
<> Jeff Lowenfels (Lord of the Roots), is one of the most humorous and entertaining lecturers and writers on the organic gardening circuit. He is a reformed lawyer who went back to his childhood roots to become a leader in the organic gardening movement. He is the author of a series of award-winning and bestselling books, three of which have become bibles for organic growers worldwide, including Teaming with Microbes, Teaming with Nutrients, and Teaming with Fungi. Full bio.
<> John Sackett: A 20-year veteran with USDA, he started work with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service as a Soil Scientist while working on a bachelor’s degree in Agronomy and Range Management and a master’s degree in Soil Science at Tarleton State University. An early project involved developing soil maps in several Texas counties. For the last 13 years, he has been in Soil Conservation working with farmers and ranchers to better understand the soil resource.
<> Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson is a distinguished Extension Forage Specialist and Professor with Texas A&M AgriLife, renowned for her expertise in forage management across Texas. Her research and outreach focus is on optimizing forage production and utilization—improving yield, persistence, and input efficiency while supporting environmental stewardship and profitability. She has provided critical guidance on selecting appropriate Bermuda grass varieties and managing forage quality through the timing of fertilizer and harvest.
<> Dr. Jane Duke is a restoration ecologist, educator, and passionate advocate for biology-driven land renewal. She serves on the local boards of the Texas Master Naturalists and the Native Plant Society of Texas, completed the Soil Food Web Foundation Courses, and was certified in 2023 as a Soil Food Web Lab Technician. Jane holds an MA in Environmental Philosophy from the University of North Texas and a PhD in Consumer Economics and Environmental Design from Texas Tech University. At the Clear Creek Natural Heritage Center, Jane leads hands-on restoration efforts, which bring a grounded, practitioner’s perspective on how Soil Food Web principles look when applied under real Texas conditions.
Featured image courtesy of USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.