In December 2017 a workshop was held in Sheffield UK, with the title Rediscovering soils. This led to an analysis of the importance of observing soils from various points of view, innovating and broadening soil science.
Organized by researchers working across the social sciences and the humanities, this workshop set soils on the agenda of the social sciences and the humanities, but did so by reaching across the social sciences/natural sciences divide. At the heart of this effort was a desire to establish a constructive, critical, empirically-grounded exchange about soil and scientific practice.
One outcome of this workshop was the creation of the “Soil Care Network“ whose sole guiding principle is the protection and care of the soil.
The Soil Care Network is an interdisciplinary, global community of scholars and practitioners animated by the love of, fascination with, and dedication to soils. They believe that soils are key to addressing current challenges to human and ecological flourishing. Moreover, they believe that improving the state of soils and ensuring an abundant future for all life requires action across academic disciplines. The Soil Care Network is a place for soil scholars and those interested in soil research to find one another, and a space of supportive and creative exchange of ideas. The Soil Care Network has nearly 250 members including researchers from social and natural sciences and the humanities, growers and farmers, artists, NGO members, and many others.
This “rediscovery” of the soil calls for a rethinking of conceptual and practical frameworks for knowing and acting in a more-than-human world that goes beyond scientific realms and traditional spaces of soil practices.
Are we ready in Italy to embrace this new vision of the soil? The SIP Forum put forward the idea in its most recent General Meeting in Milan on 12 October …
Gruppo Suolo Europa 