AERI's Soil Stewardship Program - Welcome!
- Sari B. Dersam
- Apr 15
- 4 min read
April 15, 2026
Sari B. Dersam
Welcome to the first newsletter for the Soil Stewardship program through the Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute! AERI is a small, Montana-based nonprofit operated by home-grown Montanans, and we're so thrilled to start this journey with you all.
Some of you are essential partners in our research and education efforts, while others are just getting started. Welcome all!
This program covers a diverse set of topics, including soil health, soil remediation, microbiology, native plants, ethnobotany, traditional practices, and many other multidisciplinary topics!
If you're interested in getting updates about this program, please send an email to:
info@alpineresearch.org
or
sari@alpineresearch.org
I promise your subscription to this list will not be too "spammy". I will primarily send you updates about upcoming events and recent happenings. On average, I will send emails to this list fewer than once per week (probably about once a month, unless I'm advertising events!). We always appreciate any support you can give to AERI and our mission, even if it's just spreading the word!
Upcoming Dates:
Some of you have been asking about submitting soil samples for assessment, learning more about soil remediation methods, and research plots. I am happy to coordinate with you one-on-one if we can schedule a time!
Additionally, I am available on these days if you would like to discuss anything in person or submit a sample for biological assessment. I am also happy to talk about anything else related to soil, research, or just life in general, so feel free to say hi! :)
Arbor Day, Whitehall Community Center, Friday, April 24th, 12 pm to 3 pm
L-Town Soup, Livingston, Elks Lodge (downstairs), April 29th, 5:30 pm to 8 pm (come early or stay late as I will not be available during presentations)
Give Big Fest, Bozeman, Ferguson Farmer's Market, April 30th, 5 pm to 8 pm
(Emigrant area), May 2 - 3 (reach out to coordinate)
If you are interested in submitting a soil sample on any of these days, please contact me via email, text, or phone call beforehand to ensure we can get it scheduled!
Memberships
If you haven't already, we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership base. AERI memberships start at just $10/year, granting you access to all blog posts. Our Basic membership ($25/year) grants access to all blog posts and to the volunteer field projects we host every year. These projects primarily focus on our archaeological research. However, workshops on soil health, ethnobotany, and other botanical topics will be embedded into the project programming. Contact us to learn more!
AERI Annual Report:
Be sure to check out the annual report!
Recent Happenings
AERI directors, Scott and Sari Dersam, presented an ethnobotany workshop at the Montana Archaeological Conference this past weekend. The workshop focused on human-manipulated patches of spring beauty (Claytonia lanceolata) and on Sari's and Scott's research on human foragers who lived at high elevations in Montana's Beartooth Mountains.
At the workshop, Sari and Scott discussed what these patches reveal about the human foragers who occupied these mountain landscapes. They also discussed research methods that could detect past human presence in spring beauty patches that lack archaeological evidence. Sari and Scott plan to incorporate new methods to test their hypotheses by observing soil health and spring beauty patch characteristics across various contexts. They will compare these markers in patches currently in use against historically maintained patches.
Spring beauties are small ground-tubers found at high elevations from about 7,500 ft to 10,000 ft. Native American culture groups, along with native species such as deer, elk, voles, bears, and ground squirrels, used spring beauties extensively in their diets. In some parts of North America, spring beauties are still harvested using traditional methods. Stay tuned for upcoming blog posts and presentations on this topic and other ethnobotany topics! Join our membership to ensure you don't miss out!
One more thing!!
AERI would like to send a heartfelt thank-you to YES Compost for their very generous donation! YES Compost donated 5 cubic yards of compost and worm castings to help us start a restoration project at the Yellowstone Gateway Museum (YGM) in Livingston. AERI and YGM will collaborate on a plan to convert portions of the lawn into native plant beds. These beds will gradually become an exhibit that educates the public about native plants and the native peoples who tended them. This process will take time, but we are so grateful for this initial donation!
Sari B. Dersam
Alpine Ecosystems Research Institute (AERI)
Soil Biology Research and Education Director
Archaeological Researcher
Learn more:
AERI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that focuses on research and education around the natural and cultural histories and contemporary human-environment relationships in mountainous ecosystems. We synthesize our research findings with traditional wisdom to improve human-environment relationships and conservation practices in these beautiful landscapes.
AERI conducts research in and around the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), which is culturally significant to at least 49 affiliated tribal groups either through ceremony or as a direct homeland. We respectfully acknowledge the peoples on whose traditional territories we reside and work. We work to honor their relationship to these lands, since time immemorial, and to follow their example in caring for this place for generations to come.
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