Background

Healthy, living soil is essential for all life to thrive. In recent human history quality and care of soil has been largely ignored and misunderstood and due to mismanagement soils are under serious threat. Soils must be understood as a complex, living creation formed as a result of a multitude of inter-related micro and macro-organisms working together in a web of nutrient exchange. The complex, living nature of the soil is still largely unstudied and misunderstood. 

The vital role that living soils play in our ecosystems needs to be recognised, protected and restored. Soil is where 95% of all our food comes from: living, biodiverse soil means healthy food and healthy people. Soil and access to land are directly linked to the right to local, food sovereignty.  Human health is directly linked to the food we consume and the environment, which is founded on the ground we live on and the living soil that fulfills our need for nourishing, nutritious, vital food. 

Living soils, and the microflora and macroscopic organisms that form them, are not only the foundation for vital and life-sustaining food, but they are also the main source of fuel, fibre and medicinal products. Living soil is essential to all ecosystems, playing a key role in the carbon cycle and all other nutrient cycles, storing and filtering water, improving resilience and mitigating the impact of floods and droughts. Indeed the soil microbial flora serves as important carbon sinks, which have a direct impact on climate change mitigation. The ecosystem services that soil offers are vital and immeasurable!