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Soil Matters: dig into our planet-friendly activities

colinvincent7

Updated: Jan 22

By Gazelle Buchholtz, Climate Change Coordinator at GCVS

Fresh apples being grown in the community garden at Woodlands Community Development Trust
Fresh apples being grown in the community garden at Woodlands Community Development Trust

Soil is easy to take for granted. However, by being an anchor and a nutrient well for plants to exist, soil is also the foundation for most of the life on earth. With two upcoming growing workshops and an opportunity to check your local soil quality, we invite groups and organisations to join our planet-friendly activities.


Health of Earth and Body


At first glance, the human body might not seem to have much in common with soil, but both benefit from healthy growing of vegetables and fruits. By minimising the trail of pollutive elements like pesticides, ultra-processed ingredients and long transportation, we can reduce the emissions connected to our food while avoiding substances we do not want to consume in excess quantities. This is healthy for all living beings, our soil, our air, and our water.


The Soil Association states, “The way we eat and farm can save our soil. Support nature-friendly organic farming, which improves the health of our soil naturally.”


We create change by our actions. By choosing food from places where natural principles are incorporated into production, we point in the direction of where we want to go as a sustainable society. Every step we take to live sustainably at a local level builds knowledge, raises awareness and can help create change on a global scale.


The BBC article Why soil is disappearing from farms sets out the worldwide challenge, “Soils are becoming severely degraded due to a combination of intensive farming practices and natural processes. As the layer of fertile topsoil thins, it gets increasingly difficult to grow crops for food. Without altering agricultural practices and urgently finding ways to preserve soil, the global food supply starts to look precarious.”


The Guardian article More than half of Earth’s species live in the soil, study finds says, “It is where 95% of the planet’s food is grown yet it has historically been left out of wider debates about nature protections because we know so little about it.“


As the charity ClientEarth states, “Soil is at the bottom of the food chain, yet it is the cornerstone of life on earth.


What steps can we take at a community level?


Soil checks


If you are interested in growing food, whether at a community garden,  an allotment or your own home, we invite you to join the ECHO project. All you need to do is take a soil sample which will be analysed, and you will receive the result information about the soil quality.


Dr Karolina Trdlicova, Citizen Science Coordinator for the ECHO Project, The James Hutton Institute, explained goals of the project and the benefits of taking part:“The ECHO Project focuses on both mapping the state of soil across Scotland and Europe, but also on increasing soil literacy. By involving the public in soil sample collection we're hoping to strengthen their relationship to such a valuable and life-giving resource like soil. As a citizen science project we're hopeful we can get participation from communities across Scotland to help us reach the ambitious goal of collecting 1200 soil samples. By collecting a soil sample, citizens are directly contributing to the research and playing a very important role.”


The Glasgow Climate Action Hub have taken on a role as a soil ambassador on the ECHO project to help distribute soil kits to groups and organisations in Glasgow. This includes sharing results once the soil samples have been analysed. Read more about the process on ECHO: what's next?


Please get in touch via info@gcah.scot if you would like to take part or have any questions.


Climate Crumbs Workshops


In February, the Climate Action Hub will be collaborating with Glasgow Community Food Network to offer two 'Climate Crumbs' workshops. The workshops are aimed at community workers to learn how to integrate conversations about climate action into their work.


By completing Climate Crumbs, you will:

  • have a greater understanding of how both cooking and growing food are positive climate actions.

  • have more confidence in bringing in climate activities and discussion topics to your group.

  • take away a resource and activity pack to use with your groups.

  • receive a digital sticker you can use on your website and social media to show you have completed the training.



A beautiful urban mural showing nature and biodiversity by Smug on Ingram Street
A beautiful urban mural showing nature and biodiversity by Smug on Ingram Street

Buzzing activities to feed your inspiration


Healthy soil and natural surroundings also support a flourishing biodiversity. Yorkhill Green Spaces are a group of community volunteers who come together to share greenspace task to improve spaces for both biodiversity and people. Check out the group’s three main sites; Yorkhill Park, Cherry Park and Overnewton Park and the website Monitoring biodiversity by the community in Yorkhill, Glasgow that explains their work and observations.


Glasgow Museums Biological Records Centre holds wildlife data for research, planning applications, conservation and environmental decision making. Your observations can contribute to their data collection.


Official strategies for biodiversity can be found on Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Glasgow City Council’s Biodiversity. In 2022, UN General Assembly declared access to clean and healthy environment a universal human right. We hope the Scottish Government will join the 160 countries that have included this in their constitutions. In 2026, the Scottish Government plans to include this right with a new Scottish Human Rights Bill. Watch the video ‘The human right to a healthy environment’ from Environmental Rights Centre Scotland, which explains what it means to have these rights in place.


By taking part in planet-friendly activities, we are building our collective knowledge and reinforcing the commitment that helps us move in a more environmentally friendly direction as a society. We hope you find some of the suggested activities appealing, fun and relevant to you and your community. Please contact our climate team at Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector if you have questions at climate@gcvs.org.uk.





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