Gardener and author of “Building Soil: A Down-To-Earth Approach” Elizabeth Murphy, who goes by Ea, was the first presenter in the City of Renton’s Free Gardening Classes series.

The series allows for virtual and in-person opportunities for locals to learn everything they need about composting, growing your own food and some gardening “hacks” for living in the Pacific Northwest.

Sponsored by Saving Water Partnership, Murphy’s class, which is the only in-person part of the series, took place May 7 at the Renton Community Center. Armed with a copy of her book, papers with a wealth of tips, a slideshow-type presentation and a vast knowledge of gardening, Murphy taught the room about “Compost and Amendments the Natural Way.”

A soil scientist, Murphy explained the importance of biodiversity and how soil will help the planet be more resilient to climate change and help with food insecurity.

“By 2050, we will need to feed another 2 billion people,” said Murphy, adding that 33% of the world’s current soil is moderately to severely degraded. “We need sustainable soil practices as it will reduce 40% of greenhouse gases.”

Murphy, who has been gardening her entire life and has a “passion to make soil productive and healthy,” spoke about the importance of living soil, of composting and soil amendments, which are “anything mixed into topsoil to promote healthy plant growth.”

“Healthy soil is living soil,” she said. “Soil is alive, so soil is really like a living, breathing organism, and to have a good healthy soil, you want to treat like it’s a living, breathing, eating organism. When you start thinking of the soil like that, that puts a lot of things in perspective. For instance, if you are just feeding your garden with chemical fertilizers, you are not feeding that whole soil organism.”

The next class in the series is virtual on Tuesday, June 3. The class, led by Jessi Bloom, is called “Top 10 Eco Gardening Hacks.” Registration is at rentonwa.gov/register.