Produce a pudding profile

Soil is the foundation of all life on Earth, allowing plants to grow and serve as the base of the food chain for all wildlife. Healthy soil is vital for healthy habitats and ecosystems. This recipe will showcase how soil is separated into layers. These layers serve different but essential functions. 

• Topsoil — This is the highest soil layer where plant roots start to grow, and decomposers like worms live and help to break down organic material, like dead plants. This layer is a mix of materials from the parent rock layer and organic material. 
• Subsoil — This layer is rich in minerals that have filtered down from higher layers. Subsoil stores water and minerals for plants to use.
• Parent rock — This is the layer from which most soils are created. Materials in the parent rock layer break down to become the base of soils in higher layers.
• Bedrock — Though it's the deepest layer in a soil profile, bedrock isn't actually soil. This layer is made of thick rocks like granite, basalt and limestone, and it supports all higher soil layers.

Next time you're planting a garden or see erosion on the side of a hill or stream, notice how the soil looks. Each layer has a different color, texture and thickness. Think about how to use these differences to recreate a soil profile using the recipe below.

Access a printable version of this recipe.

Step 1) Assemble the ingredients to make your soil pudding profile.

Step 2) Put about a dozen Oreos of each color into two separate bags.

Step 3) Crush the Oreos inside the bags, then dump them into two separate mixing bowls.

Step 4) Follow the instructions on the pudding box, mixing the ingredients in a bowl or cup.

Step 5) Begin by placing the largest chunks of regular Oreos at the bottom of the glass. These will serve as our bedrock. Then, add enough pudding to completely cover the top of the Oreos. Repeat this process three more times, starting with regular Oreo to represent parent rock, then vanilla to represent subsoil, and finally regular again for the topsoil.

Step 6) Add your decomposers and enjoy!