About LOESS
"LOESS places soil health at the center of interest to take care of the planet and its inhabitants"
Soil an indispensable ally for climate change mitigation and adaptation
Soil hosts more that 25% of all biodiversity on the planet and is the foundation of our food chains and above ground biodiversity, it feeds and filters drinking water reserves. Healthy soils are also the largest terrestrial carbon pool on the planet which together with their sponge-like function to absorb water and reduce the risk of flooding and drought, makes soil an indispensable ally for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
To value soils, people need more than scientific information
People need to understand how healthy soils impact their lives. For that, it is important to involve all strata of the European population. It is crucial to start from people’s existing practices, values, and concerns in order to build increased awareness, understanding, and engagement. All in all, we must improve soil literacy.
To reach this aim, LOESS is mapping, connecting, and engaging with multiple actors to providing an overview of the current level of soil related knowledge in different educational levels and to develop teaching programmes and materials. LOESS aims is to co-create and test pedagogical techniques to encourage effective knowledge flows and discourse between educators and learners and between different knowledge systems (scientific, political, individual local and collective cultural knowledge).
EUROPEAN UNION
LOESS
EU MISSIONS:
A SOIL DEAL FOR
EUROPE
EU Missions are a new way to bring concrete solutions to some of our greatest challenges. They have ambitious goals and aim at delivering concrete results by 2030. In this context, LOESS is being funded by the Mission ‘A Soil Deal for Europe’.
Life on Earth depends on healthy soils. Soil is the foundation of our food systems. It provides clean water and habitats for biodiversity while contributing to climate resilience. It supports our cultural heritage and landscapes and is the basis of our economy and prosperity. However, it is estimated that between 60 and 70% of EU soils are unhealthy. Soil is a fragile resource that needs to be carefully managed and safeguarded for future generations. One centimeter of soil can take hundreds of years to form, but can be lost in just a single rainstorm or industrial incident.
The Mission leads the transition towards healthy soils by:
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ABOUT THE MISSION
20 partners in 16 different countries
There are 20 partners in 16 different countries, as LOESS includes regions from different geographical areas and will address regional and local soil health challenges and create tools suitable for successful communication on local issues. LOES will use easy language, barrier-free technology, hands-on activities, workshops, teaching modules to ensure content will be widely accessible.