The Soil Food Web Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that carries forward Dr. Elaine Ingham's life's work to support farmers, land stewards, and soil enthusiasts by teaching the fundamentals of the Soil Food Web Approach to land management.
Our approach includes accessible methods of assessing soil life and growing and applying beneficial soil biology to restore living soil in any context. Through our online and in-person programs, we educate and support our global community of soil regenerators.
To honor and grow Dr. Elaine Ingham’s legacy of empowering communities to restore and protect the Earth’s soil and living systems by sharing, teaching, and learning about the soil food web, pursuing knowledge related to soil, plant, and planetary health, incubating regenerative agricultural and ecosystem practices, and building community and financial support for soil food web teaching, research, and practice.
Healthy, living soil in every terrestrial ecoregion on the planet that is nurtured by local communities who understand why soil health is the foundation of ecosystem, agricultural, planetary, and human wellbeing.
1981
Elaine Ingham earns her Ph.D. in…
1985
Dr. Ingham co-authors “Interactions of Bacteria,…
1985–2002
Postdoctoral research at the University of…
1996
Elaine founds Soil Foodweb Inc., bringing…
2010–2013
Dr. Ingham teaches at Maharishi University…
2014
Elaine establishes the Environmental Celebration Institute,…
2019
Dr. Elaine Ingham creates the Soil…
2025
As Dr. Ingham retires from teaching,…
2026
Dr. Ingham passed away on February…
World-class education in soil biology, from foundation courses to Soil Food Web Consultant status, with workshops in a growing list of ecoregions and support that makes learning accessible.
Replicating key experiments, opening our trial and case-study data, and advancing microscopy and lab methods — so more people understand why the soil food web works and how to apply it.
Ecoregion hubs that integrate education, composting, liquid amendments, microscopy, and consulting; partnerships with farmers to trial and document soil food web practices where they live.
A global network of students, volunteers, donors, and advisors who add their support to increase accessibility, resilience, and depth of knowledge to our urgent mission.
Founder
Executive Director
Executive Committee
Executive Committee
Executive Committee
Director of Operations
Advanced Programs Lead
Growth, Partnerships, and Permaculture
Science Lead and SFW Mentor
Marketing Associate
SFW Mentor
Farmer, SFW Consultant & Mentor
Farmer, SFW Consultant & Mentor
SFW Consultant & Mentor
SFW Consultant & Mentor
SFW Consultant & Mentor
SFW Consultant & Mentor
SFW Permaculture Lead
SFW Consultant & Mentor
IT Department
Science Contributor
School Administration Officer
Technical Innovation Specialist
Dr. Elaine Ingham pioneered research in soil biology across the final four decades of her life and made her science radically accessible, so that anyone, anywhere, could learn to restore the soil beneath their feet.
This Foundation is her living legacy, and we hold it with care: not by asking the world to take her word for it, but by opening her science for the world to prove.
Soil Food Web Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Soil Food Web School is a program of the Soil Food Web Foundation.
EIN: 39-4439236
Registered office: 5441 S Macadam Ave Ste N, Portland, OR 97239
Oregon DOJ: Charitable registration #71264
Launched: October 2025
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