By Elizabeth Kovacs

Canberra local, Dr Susan Orgill, a renowned “soil influencer”, is one of three finalists in the 2025 Landcare General Jeffery Soil Award. 

Named after former Governor-General Michael Jeffery (the first National Soils Advocate), the award recognises individuals who, like its namesake, care for soil health and are educating or inspiring others.

Dr Orgill’s work has seen her lead talks at the National Press Club, Parliament House and as a keynote speaker at international conferences.

Working with growers, farmers and institutions to better understand how soil can be utilised and improved, Dr Orgill also works closely with Landcare to help produce new scientific research or promote workshops and events. 

“I think people just inherently think soil is really boring, but I reckon that is the biggest challenge for discussions at a barbecue,” she says.

Starting the conversation early means explaining simple things such as the difference between soil and dirt. 

“Soil is living, and dirt is just something in the wrong place,” she says. 

From pot plants on an apartment balcony to veggie patches and primary producers, Dr Orgill reckons soil health concerns everyone. 

“I’m a soil scientist and people don’t make direct contact with me unless they’re from a rural community,” she says.

Despite working in agriculture for 25 years – these days she’s chief scientist at Impact Ag Australia – Dr Orgill’s past may surprise her clients: she’s always been a city girl. 

“Not living on a farm has given me a fresh perspective,” she says. 

“I appreciate the complexities of agriculture and I’m a very curious person, so I enjoy what science can do to help grow our food and that’s through building healthy soil.

“The dream has always been to do what I love, and I love working with farmers and in soil health.” 

Dr Orgill says Canberra’s location is the perfect place to start the right conversations. 

“We’re surrounded by a thriving agricultural community,” she says. 

“We’ve got a literate community within Canberran in terms of soil and environmental literacy and people are really interested in knowing where our food comes from and how it’s been grown. 

“As the bush capital, we are surrounded by farmland and nature, and have that really easy connection, as well as research institutes such as CSIRO, ANU and UC.” 

She started working with carbon in soils before it was considered a “sexy climate mitigation tool”. 

The 44-year-old soil scientist and mother of two, completed a PhD in soil carbon in 2016. 

It was at the ANU, where she initially studied water science, that she fell in love with soil science. She moved straight into field practice after graduating, working as a soil health extension officer in Queanbeyan. 

“We used to travel around and run workshops with farmers on practices to build soil health and understand why soil is different in different parts of the landscape,” she says. 

Dr Orgill’s kids have also grown up in suburban life, although she says they’ve tagged along to her field work and know that it’s an important field of science. 

Her son Rupert provides a different take on her life in an assignment titled Dirt to Soil he wrote for his year nine class: “[Mum’s] career isn’t defined by her accomplishments, but rather by her unwavering passion for this field of work and her commitment to making a difference in the lives of not only next-generation farmers, but us as well.”

The 2025 Landcare General Jeffery Soil Award winner will be announced at Landcare’s conference on the Gold Coast on September 23.