Soil as a natural resource

CSO: Hungarian Soil Science Society – Magyar Talajtani Társaság (MTT)
Area: sustainable consumption and food production, landscape, soil and water management, as well as the issue of green settlements and households.
Location: NORTH-EAST Hungary

Type of project

Soil, as a natural resource, is invisible to most people. The complex ecosystem services provided by soil and the consequences of soil degradation for society as a whole are difficult for broad sections of society to grasp. This lack of knowledge is a fundamental factor contributing to the fact that 60% of European soils are already degraded.

We believe that by raising soil awareness, the deterioration of soils can be slowed down or even stopped.

The Hungarian Soil Science Society’s current project aims to contribute to raising soil awareness through three pillars:

Soil science exhibition – We are creating a permanent soil science exhibition at the Agricultural Museum in Vajdahunyad Castle, which will showcase the diversity of Hungarian soils, the ‘Soil of the Year’ initiative, and a permanent scientific exhibition of objects donated by the Hungarian soil science profession. We would include the following sections: History of Hungarian Soil Science, Soils of Hungary, Soils and Society, Role of Soils in Climate Resilience.
Art competition and awareness-raising campaign – We are announcing an art competition in which participants can create unique graphics and T-shirt designs for the Hungarian Soil Science Society. The best works will be awarded by a professional jury, and then we will produce sustainably manufactured products based on the winning designs, which will become tools for social communication.
Knowledge sharing and teacher support – We are revamping our website and filling it with digital content that showcases best practices in soil protection and soil science education, with the aim of supporting teachers of geography, biology and environmental science in primary and secondary schools. To conclude the project, we are also organising a professional conference for teachers, which will focus on practical methodology and content to support teaching. Within the topic of knowledge sharing, we consider it particularly important to draw attention to the key role of women in science and everyday practice. We would like to present the situation and examples of women farmers in our country in a video series, and we would also like to encourage young girls to continue their studies in STEM by interviewing female scientists working in the field of soil science.

The aim of the project is therefore to raise social awareness of soil issues through playful, visual and scientific tools, and to provide teachers, students and the wider public with concrete tools that can be used in the long term.

Target (Disengaged)

The main goal of the project is to reach those social groups who currently do not consider the problems of climate change and the environmental crisis to be personally relevant, or who do not have sufficient knowledge and motivation to take action. All activities of the project aim to present the close connection between soil and climate change in an accessible, experiential and understandable way for so-called “non-committed” people and organizations, and to encourage them to change their perspective. The three outcomes and their associated activities aim to address those who have so far remained far from climate-conscious thinking in a scientifically based, yet everyday experience-based way. During the project, we pay special attention to strengthening the role of youth and women, and to showcasing social diversity.

Science – Based

The professional basis of the project is provided by the scientific community of the Hungarian Soil Science Society, which is the defining professional organization of Hungarian soil research. The scientific content is not provided as “raw data”, but in a form that is understandable and placed in a social context.

During the project:

We use information from scientific sources in the exhibition, in educational materials, and in online content.
Scientists and researchers speak in a way that is understandable – e.g. female soil scientists in a video interview, through their own examples.
Part of the project communication is the methodology of “popular science” – the goal of knowledge dissemination is not to transfer deep professional knowledge, but to increase trust in science.
We strengthen scientific credibility not only with sources, but also with the open, accessible, questionable presence of experts (conferences, commentable materials, school forums).

The project continuously measures the effects: through questionnaires, attendance statistics, online activity monitoring, feedback and reports from teachers. The goal is not only to transfer knowledge, but also to shape attitudes towards science.

The project works with interdisciplinary tools: it connects science with art (t-shirt graphics), education (learning materials), narrative (videos), community (events) in order to connect with its target groups on multiple levels.

Gender

The project also pays attention to the active involvement of women and young people. We reach young people not only as a target group, but also as creators through a creative art competition and the associated communication campaign. The role of women is particularly important, as they are the shapers of family and community decisions, so their involvement is essential to strengthen the sustainable approach. We prioritize the issue of equal opportunities and participation in all stages of the project. The project not only respects gender equality, but also actively addresses it. In the issues of climate change and land use, women are often invisible actors, while playing a key role in family, community and professional decisions. During the project:

At least 5 videos will be made about female farmers and researchers who work with the land in a sustainable way. These contents will show women’s ability to act through personal stories, thereby inspiring young girls as well.
We consciously ensure a balanced gender presence among the project participants (jury members, speakers, curators).
We pay special attention to ensuring that the communication of the events does not reproduce gender stereotypes, but rather strengthens the competences and visibility of women.
Female role models will appear in school content and campaigns for girls underrepresented in STEM careers.

During the project, we will keep statistics on the gender ratio, with particular attention to the gender composition of applicants, participants, organizers and speakers. In the closing period, we will separately evaluate the impacts on equal opportunities and publish the gender-aware methodology for civil society and policy partners.

Planned activities

The background of the project is that a significant part of society currently does not perceive the close connection between soil degradation and climate change – especially those people and communities who do not consider the issue of climate protection as a daily problem. The project aims to address these “non-committed” target groups (e.g. small garden owners, large-scale farmers, urban residents, teachers, students) in a scientifically sound yet understandable form and to present good practices that contribute to climate protection and a sustainable future through soil conservation.

Nearly 50% of Hungary’s territory is made up of soils under intensive agricultural use, which are degrading at an accelerating rate every year. The fertility, water retention capacity and carbon sequestration functions of the soil are rapidly deteriorating. Similar problems can be observed in urban environments, where soil life often dies due to the principle of “orderly green space”. All of this exacerbates the effects of the climate crisis and weakens the resilience of ecosystems. However, the available knowledge of soil science, including regenerative management and maintenance solutions, does not reach a wide audience – primarily because the professional content is missing from the approach in everyday language. The project aims to remedy this gap: it aims to strengthen trust in science by presenting the state of the soil, its functions and the effects of human intervention in a simple, visually understandable form.

T1/1 – Organizing a series of events for the “Soil Dweller of the Year” with a tradition-building nature, T1/2 – Avar walk , T1/3 – Installing a compost vivarium, T1/4 – Eco-hero self-page, T1/5 – Mentor program: interactive group on social media, T2/1 – Developing a curriculum-based lesson-type educational activity that can be integrated into NAT, T2/2 – Developing an educational stand-type activity for different age groups, T2/3 – Creating self-developed printed materials for the planned activities: – identification sheet to help with the field identification and monitoring of soil-dwelling organisms, – illustrated soil-dwelling-little ones, T2/4 – Self-developed online materials on our website: quizzes, – story cube, T3/1 – Transferring knowledge in baby-mother circles, T3/2 – Appearing at family events, T3/3 – Building relationships and transferring knowledge to teachers at kindergarten and school sessions, T3/4 – Dissemination of knowledge in teacher and kindergarten teacher training, T3/5 – Workshop, discussion evening.

Action model

The project focuses on soil as a natural resource that is invisible to most people. The complex ecosystem services of soil and the societal consequences of soil degradation are difficult for broad segments of society to grasp. This lack of knowledge is a fundamental contributor to the fact that 60% of European soils are already degraded. The project implementers believe that by improving soil awareness, the deterioration of soil conditions can be slowed down or even stopped.