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Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. They are the foundation of our food systems, providing clean water and habitats for biodiversity. Their preservation is inherently connected to the safeguarding of our cultural and natural heritage, as healthy soils contribute to climate resilience, and lay the foundation of the global economy and prosperity. Unfortunately, soil degradation is becoming a major concern, with an estimated 60 and 70% of European soils being unhealthy. Soil is a fragile resource that requires carefully management and safeguarding for future generations. One centimetre of soil can take hundreds of years to form, yet it can be lost in just a single rainstorm or industrial accident.

While soil scientists and land professionals have been ringing the alarm for the past decades, the lack of awareness and education of the general public about the importance of soils for humans and ecosystems has become a concern. This hinders the vitally important transition towards sustainable soil governance and highlights the need for enhanced soil literacy.

SOILSCAPE is a 4-year project, funded by the European Union, designed to support the implementation of the Mission “A Soil Deal for Europe”, aiming to promote the transition towards healthy soils by 2030. In line with this, SOILSCAPE will leverage the expertise of soil scientists, cultural and creative industries, artists, and civil society organisations to promote soil preservation across Europe and beyond.

The project aims to facilitate this transition through a collaborative journey. By increasing soil literacy and promoting a deeper understanding and awareness of human-soil relationships, SOILSCAPE will enhance care for soil as a natural resource. By fostering closer collaboration between soil scientists, land specialists, researchers, public authorities, artists, and communities, the project encourages a collective commitment to soil preservation.

This will be achieved by creating a dynamic and territorial network of 8 so-called “Artistic and Creative Soil Orchestras” (ACSOs), that celebrate soils through creative approaches. Led by partner organisations from across Europe, who will take the role of ‘Orchestra Conductors’ (OCs), they will gather 15-30 stakeholders each to spread the activities and progresses of SOILSCAPE and amplify the soil-related events and messages of international organisations, such as FAO and UNESCO.

The soil Orchestras will focus on the fundamental linkage between soils, human population, and health, leveraging arts-based initiatives across Europe and beyond. The resulting Symphony will seek to address the challenge of changing society's perceptions of soils by engaging artists, citizens, soil professionals and institutions through innovative communication campaigns, participatory art-science, and broader cultural initiatives together with creative science-based soil activities.

SOILSCAPE has 6 main objectives:

1. Understand and build upon the current societal perceptions of human-soil relations;
2. Design and conduct a self-sustainable network of 8 Artistic and Cultural Soil Orchestras (ACSOs), engaging multidisciplinary European actors to increase soil literacy in society;
3. Unleash the power of arts for improving soil literacy through transparent and dynamic funding initiatives;
4. Empower citizens and professionals to positively care about and for soils;
5. Highlight successful initiatives and reach participants in a yearly Soil Literacy Festival;
6. Extend the Symphony beyond Europe and encourage capacity-building.

Based on these objectives, the project’s expected outcomes are:

• Increased societal awareness of the importance of soil, the challenges it faces, and of the impact of individual decisions on soil. This is manifested by an increased engagement in the protection and restoration of soil health;
• Opportunities for creatively engaging in soil protection offered to the wider public, supported by soil-related arts products and innovative methodologies;
• Mobilisation of cultural and creative industries, artists, and civil society organisations to work together with universities, research institutes, public institutions, and citizens to increase soil literacy in society;
• Enhanced capacities of public and private institutions at different levels (e.g. European, national, regional, and local) to creatively engage with the public to promote sustainable soil management.

The project consortium is coordinated by the French Soil Science Society (AFES) and involves 19 organisations from 11 countries, including UNESCO through its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe. UNESCO will coordinate the initial mapping and analysis of the current landscape of soil-art narratives, stakeholders and human-soil activities.

• French Soil Science Society (AFES), France [Coordinator]
• United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), France
• Reframe.food (RFF), Greece
• University of Göttingen (UGOE), Germany
• European Rural Development Network (ERDN), Poland
• CleanTech Bulgaria (CTBG), Bulgaria
• Serralves Foundation (SRV), Portugal
• German Soil Science Society (DBG), Germany
• Clust-ER of Cultural and Creative Industries (CER), Italy
• Cologne Game Lab (CGL), Germany
• Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology (LUT), Finland
• French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), France
• Euroquality SAS (EQY), France
• ANCI Toscana, coordinator of HuMUS (ATA), Italy
• University of Coimbra, UNESCO Chair (UoC), Portugal
• Receptive Field (RF), Belgium
• World Agroforestry | Secretariat of Coalition Action for Soil Health (ICRAF), Kenya
• Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FIBL), Switzerland
• Bern University of Applied Science (HAFL), Switzerland

In the context of SOILSCAPE, UNESCO is:

• Leading Work Package 1 dedicated to analysing the present societal and mental landscape of human-soil relations across scales;
• Conducting networking activities with its designation systems and programmes;
• Providing international outreach to the project activities;
• Involving its networks in South-East Europe, including National Commissions for UNESCO, UNESCO ASPnet schools, UNESCO Chairs and Centres, IHP and MAB committees;
• Striving to ensure compliance of the project actions with the SDGs, fostering the involvement of youth, raising soil education, and leveraging the protection of cultural and natural resources;
• Providing the good practice of the UNESCO’s Ocean Literacy Portal as an example to develop a user-friendly and interactive Soil Literacy Portal.

• 28/06/2024 Spreading open and inclusive Literacy and Soil culture through Artistic practices and Education
• 30/12/2024  Uncovering perceptions and connections with soil

AFES

Francesca Bampa – Project officer, Science unit, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe f.bampa@unesco.org

Matteo Rosati – Programme Officer, Culture unit, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe m.rosati@unesco.org