Prepsoil

PREPSOIL will adopt a proactive approach to engage with a wide range of stakeholders. The aim is to create spaces for collaboration and knowledge development that can be developed over the long term. In addition, PREPSOIL will provide an improved knowledge base and awareness level on soil health among a wide group of stakeholders. PREPSOIL's web portal is intended as the European "one-stop-shop" where all information, resources and digital tools to engage different groups will be gathered.

SLU Competence Center for Advisory Services is involved in WP6. This work package is called Promoting education, awareness and engagement for soil health among different interest groups in society. In WP6 there are two three sub-projects, of which SLU Competence Center for Advisory Services is responsible for two, 6.2 and 6.3.

6.2: Soil knowledge and good examples of soil education for young people

6.3 Improving vocational, professional and lifelong learning in soil management

6.2 is about:

1) finding and rewarding good examples of soil education and

2) producing webinars on agricultural, forestry and urban soils with the target group of primary and secondary school teachers. This will be done in collaboration with national educational actors.

6.3 has three aims:

1. To assess the awareness and understanding of soil health among actors working as advisors/consultants in agriculture and forestry as well as actors with power to influence urban land management at municipal/regional level.
2. To explore the soil knowledge of these people and how they develop their competence.
3. To explore how the concept of soil health is manifested in practice in their professional work. Initially, a web-based survey will be conducted, which is addressed to the actors. The aim is to assess awareness and understanding of the soil health concept and how these actors translate this into their respective professional roles. Secondly, six regional case studies will identify key public/private advisory initiatives as well as grassroots initiatives. Representatives from these will be engaged in focus group interviews to explore strengths, weaknesses and possible improvements in how these can learn and develop collaboratively on soil health issues. This also includes how a potential use of virtual platforms (such as the web portal) as part of these actors’ knowledge and innovation systems could be used.

The results of the case studies will form the basis for a joint trans-European analysis led by SLU, which will address methods for collaboration and learning on soil health and proposals for how this can be scaled up through further exchange and collaboration using both traditional and virtual methods.

Funding: Horizon Europe.
Principal investigator in Sweden: Jennie Barron, Department of Soil and Environment.

Project duration: 2022–2024.