This presentation will be a bit autobiographical, explaining how persistent curiosity led to permitting a rural composting facility, then to a teaching job and other academic pursuits. Then we will delve into the fascinating world of soil biology (where I am still a student). We will consider soil as the “Foundation of Creation,” and the blessing of farmers and of American agriculture, both small-scale and industrial. After almost four decades as a civil engineer working in large and small private sector consulting firms, permitting and designing landfills and water resource projects, and assisting with environmental responses to freight train derailments, Beth Keister stepped back from the professional engineering world to “complete her liberal arts education” and take on a role as an adjunct professor at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, teaching an entry-level environmental science course and getting to know the next generation.