ECHO - Engaging Citizens in soil science: the road to healthier soils

Citizen science for soil health

Basic information

Research information

Teacher information

Description

ECHO is a Research and Innovation Action co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It will last 4 years – from June 2023 to May 2027.

The project aims to engage citizens in protecting and restoring soils by building their skills and enhancing their knowledge on soils. Citizens will actively contribute to the project’s data collection, promote soil stewardship, and foster behavioural change across the EU.

With 16 partners from Europe and Scotland, including 10 leading universities and research organisations, 4 SMEs and 2 Foundations, under the coordination of the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, ECHO aims to collect data from up to 16,500 sites across Europe and Scotland in different climate and biogeographic regions.

 

ENGAGING CITIZENS IN SOIL SCIENCE: THE ROAD TO HEALTHIER SOILS IS CO-FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION UNDER GA NO. 101112869 AND BY UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (UKRI) UNDER GA no. 10068004. VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HOWEVER THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ONLY AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, UKRI, OR THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY (REA). NEITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION, UKRI NOR THE REA CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM.

 

Basic information

Coordinator

Free University of Bolzano, https://www.unibz.it/en/

Partners

• Libera Università di Bolzano, Italy
• AgroHorti Media, Poland
• Ambienta, Spain
• American Farm School, Greece
• Ciências, Portugal
• FCiências, Portugal
• Ibercivis, Spain
• The James Hutton Institute, United Kingdom
• Quanta Systems, Spain
• Re Soil Foundation, Italy
• Solutopus, Portugal
• University of Bologna, Italy
• University of Eastern Finland, Finland
• University of Extremadura, Spain
• University of Hohenheim, Germany
• Stefan cel Mare University of Suceava, Romania

Programme

Horizon 2020 (programme-horizon-2020)

Project Acronym

Target groups

college students, education authorities, general public, industry, parents, policy makers, primary school students, researchers, secondary school students, teachers, trainee teachers, under school-age kids, university students, university lecturers, other

Topic

Agriculture, Environmental sciences, Forestry science

Start year

2023

End year

2027

Url

https://echosoil.eu/

Contact person

Tanja Mimmo, tmimmo@unibz.it

The ECHO project aims to engage citizens by increasing their knowledge of soil health, raising awareness of soil-related issues, and inspiring them to take action to protect and restore soils.

It also seeks to empower citizens by encouraging their active involvement in data collection and soil science activities, enabling them to contribute to the generation of knowledge on soil health for the benefit of society.

In addition, ECHO enables citizens to actively participate in decision-making processes related to soil issues, using the knowledge and skills they acquire through the project.

All data collected by citizens within the framework of ECHO will be stored in ECHOREPO, a long-term open-access repository directly linked to the EU Soil Observatory. ECHOREPO will ensure that citizen science data generated during the project are accessible not only to scientists, but also to the general public, policy makers, farmers, landowners, and other end users. By complementing existing datasets and soil monitoring initiatives, ECHOREPO will provide valuable information on soil health across EU Member States and support informed decision-making on land use and soil conservation.

Papers

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ECHO provides a kit containing everything needed to collect a soil sample. Clear and easy-to-follow instructions are available to guide participants through the sampling process, whether carried out individually or in groups, such as school classes, associations, or citizen groups interested in understanding the soil quality at a location of their choice.

To further facilitate the sampling procedure, ECHO has produced explanatory videos that clearly illustrate each step of the activity. In addition, as educational material, ECHO provides the Soilab for Teens, an online resource designed to engage children and teenagers through games and accessible theoretical content on topics related to soil health.

Teaching materials

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