• It's time to learn about soil

    Dirty, smelly, boring and hidden underground… Most people pay little or no attention to our soil or take it for granted when they do, despite the fact that it is a vital for our food, our biodiversity, our health and our wellbeing, a cornerstone of our environment as important as air and water…

  • UK Soils Awareness Week banner
    Check out UK Soils Awareness Week resources

    Check out the online resources - including a soils quiz - that we created for UK Soils Awareness Week, the first ever week dedicated to soils in the UK, hosted by us.

    Discover UK Soils Awareness Week
  • Earthworms are soil heroes!

    Take a look at this short video by Tinmouse Animation Studio to find out why.

    Watch the video
  • Living Labs and Lighthouses

    Register your soil health Lighthouse, Living Lab and Soil Assessment Network to keep engaged with others across the UK, the EU and globally.

    Find out more
  • Join the conversation

    Discover our SoilTalks series of online debates, then continue the conversation online via our SoilTalks Forum.

    Find out more

The community hub for all things soil

Life on earth depends on healthy soil and yet it is often forgotten about and taken for granted. We're here to help change that. uksoils will bring together information to inspire us all to learn more about soil and help build communities to take action to improve soil health.

We launched on the 4th December 2020 in support of World Soil Day. PleaseThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out more, offer suggestions or to become a partner. 

Painting by Edward Hutchison, soil and microbes

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  • “To be a successful farmer one must first know the nature of the soil”

    Xenophon, Ancient Greek philosopher and historian

  • “In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt"

    Margaret Atwood, Author

  • “To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves” 

    Mahatma Gandhi, Indian activist

  • “... I cannot conceive of the time when knowledge of soils will be complete. Our expectation is that our  successors will build on what has been done, as we are building on the work of our predecessors” 

    R.S. Smith, Director of the Illinois Soil Survey

  • “We know more about the movement of celestial bodies than about the soil underfoot”

    Leonardo Da Vinci

  • “A nation that destroys its soil, destroys itself"

    President Franklin Roosevelt, America’s longest serving president

  • “My papa made me taste soil at the age of seven. That soil was incredible. It was gritty and it sucked the life out of my mouth, but there was acidity, sourness and sweetness”

    Raymond Blanc, Chef

The community hub for all things soil

uksoils is a consortium of scientific, campaigning and awareness raising organisations, all with a specialist knowledge of soil health, founded by UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Sustainable Soils Alliance, Earthwatch and University of Sheffield.

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