Soil Circle offers comprehensive soil testing to aide in agroecological and holistic land stewardship. We provide technical support for individuals and groups, helping to translate soil science and testing into an actionable soil health plan for their project. We provide consultation at every step in the soil testing process—from collecting samples, to lab analysis, to data interpretation. We believe that attending to the soil is foundational to the liberation and sovereignty of peoples as they struggle for self-determination and a dignified food system.
Our Team
cole rainey
(all pronouns)
Cole is a seed keeper, agroecologist, artist, organizer, and educator. As a 5th-generation Californian and a descendent of early settlers, Cole is committed to a lifelong practice of rematriation and reparations. They believe in the radical power of Earth stewardship to heal communities, reclaim ancestral traditions, and lead us towards collective liberation.
Cole earned a PhD from UC Berkeley in 2024 at the intersections of soil science and agroecology. Cole’s study of seed, soil, and liberative practice have taken many forms: conducting soil ecology surveys, conspiring with monarch butterflies to re-imagine the commons, creating land-based educational programs, conducting performance art pieces with seedlings, and supporting mutual aid efforts across the Bay Area.
zai wang
(they/she)
Zai is an interdisciplinary naturalist whose background is in Soil and Watershed Sciences. Formerly a USDA-NRCS Soil Scientist, Zai has worked with farmers and land conservancies to survey land and map soil types to support conservation land stewardship practices. They have gained a wide breadth of ecologic knowledge from mapping Anza Borrego Desert State Park, working with soil microbial reduction in subaqueous soils with the Wetland Pedology lab of the University of Maryland, and surveying permafrost soils in the remote Copper River Basin, AK. Zai is excited to increase equitable access to knowledge of land by supporting soil sampling and site surveys for farmers, community projects, and home gardeners.