Feast in the cow dung

This book is part of a series for both children and adults called *Invisible Miracles*. It helps explain the free ecosystem services that nature provides. In this installment, we get a deeper understanding of what happens in natural pastures where ecological cows graze without the use of deworming agents. Many deworming agents also kill insects.

"Plop! A wonderfully sloppy cow pat lands on the ground, and the party begins! Flies, mosquitoes, and beetles are the first guests, but birds, frogs, and hedgehogs also find delicious treats in and around the dung pile. And underground, centipedes, springtails, and earthworms wait—along with the king of soil creatures: the earthworm! As the larger and then smaller animals eat the dung, it breaks down so that nutrients can be absorbed by the roots of plants."

This book tells the story of how cow dung and other organic materials are broken down and transformed into nourishment for new plants and animals. It introduces the creatures involved in the nutrient cycle, from dung to soil to plants, and back again when animals eat the plants, making new manure. Decomposition is one of nature’s vital ecosystem services—a miracle invisible to the human eye but essential to life on Earth, especially for us humans.

Kalas i Komockan (The Party in the Cow Dung) is the fourth book in the *Invisible Miracles* series, which tells the story of nature's diversity and interconnectedness through words and illustrations. This version has been adapted into a children's book from the photo-illustrated *Invisible Miracles* book. With text and imagery, the books spark imagination and the desire to grab a magnifying glass and go out into nature to discover your own miracles.

Text by Inger Källander, teacher, farmer, and author. Illustrations by Anna Helldorff, an illustrator and former preschool teacher.

Published by Pärspektiv Förlag & Motus Media.