Barcelona, June 13, 2025 — After having actively contributed to the design of the first prototypes last autumn, twelve first-year high school students from the Montserrat Institute in Barcelona have taken a new step in their involvement with the LOESS project by testing a beta version of the virtual and augmented reality application (the +AR APP) on soil health.

This activity, which was carried out within the framework of the school subject Biology and Geology Challenges on June 12, was facilitated by representatives from the Catalan Association of Public Universities (ACUP) and Justinmind.

Working in small groups, students explored the beta version of the +AR APP and interacted with its five chapters: “Soil: the foundation of life”, “Soil health”, “Sustainable practices”, “Threats to soil”, and “Call to action!”.

After testing the app, students completed a questionnaire that gathered feedback on their experience and on each of its five chapters. Among other aspects, they were asked whether they had found the activity interesting, whether it had been fun, and whether they had learned anything new about soil health. The session ended with an open discussion, where students shared their thoughts aloud and offered valuable suggestions for improving the tool.

This participatory pilot activity is part of the iterative development process of the +AR APP, which aims to incorporate feedback from young users to ensure the final version is educational, engaging, and effective in raising awareness about soil health among students and the general public.