Voices from the ground – Episode 1

Credits: “Soul Motion” by Ketsa — Free Music Archive — Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).

 

[00:00:04] Jess

Welcome to Voices from the Ground.

Hello everybody, and welcome to the very first episode of the Voices from the Ground podcast. I’m Jess, the host of this very lovely podcast, and with me is my very lovely colleague Giulia.

[00:00:18] Giulia

Hi everyone. We’re so glad you’re with us today.

[00:00:22] Jess

This is the place where we take you behind the scenes of SOILCRATES — a project working on soil health, Living Labs, and the people helping to restore and protect landscapes across Europe.

[00:00:34] Giulia

But we want to do that in a way that’s much simpler, much more human, and just easier to follow.

[00:00:41] Jess

Exactly. The idea is to avoid complicated jargon and long scientific lectures.

[00:00:47] Giulia

Although of course sometimes we will still talk about scientific topics, because they are important for the work we do.

[00:00:54] Jess

But overall we want to have honest conversations about the ground beneath our feet and why it matters more than most of us realise.

[00:01:04] Giulia

And we want to hear from everybody. We want to open a real conversation, especially with the communities that are directly connected to the land.

[00:01:15] Jess

Since this is our very first episode, we thought we would start with the basics.

[00:01:20] Jess

So: what is SOILCRATES?

Why does this project exist?

And why did we decide to launch a podcast?

And for those who stay with us until the end — which we hope you all do — we will also tell you what you can expect from the next episodes.

So let’s start with the basics. What is SOILCRATES?

SOILCRATES is a four-year project funded by the European Commission, working across several European countries to improve soil health in real, practical ways.

[00:01:57] Giulia

You will probably hear the term Living Labs quite often.

[00:02:01] Giulia

Living Labs are real landscapes — farms, fields, and regions — where people test new ideas, experiment with solutions, and co-create approaches together with the communities who actually work on the land.

[00:02:15] Jess

Exactly. While we deeply value the science behind all this — and of course we would not be here without it — SOILCRATES tries to bridge the gap between science and practice.

Instead of studying soil from a distance, the project brings scientists, farmers, land managers and local stakeholders together.

[00:02:38] Giulia

The goal is really to connect those groups and create better dialogue — which ultimately leads to healthier soils.

[00:02:48] Jess

So the overall ambition of SOILCRATES is quite simple: healthier soils, healthier ecosystems, and more resilient regions.

[00:02:58] Giulia

But while the big picture is important, it’s also essential to remember the smaller, everyday impacts of soil.

Many people think of soil as something abstract — something we simply walk on and don’t think about much.

But soil actually influences many aspects of our daily lives.

[00:03:21] Jess

Food is probably the most obvious example.

We all eat, we all enjoy good food — whether it’s olive oil, potatoes, vegetables or grains. Soil connects all of that.

But soil health also affects broader challenges that we face as societies, wherever we live.

[00:03:44] Giulia

Exactly. Over the next few years, SOILCRATES will look at things like soil carbon, biodiversity, erosion, food production, and climate resilience.

It also explores how communities can adapt to environmental change.

[00:04:04] Jess

And that’s why soil is so important.

Soil isn’t just dirt. It’s a living system.

It grows our food, stores carbon, regulates water, and supports almost all land-based biodiversity.

Quite literally, we wouldn’t be here without it.

[00:04:30] Giulia

But we also know that soils across Europe are under pressure.

From degradation, loss of organic matter, and climate impacts.

Part of the SOILCRATES mission is to help reverse those trends and demonstrate the potential of healthy soils.

[00:04:54] Jess

And that brings us back to the reason for this podcast.

Soil is not only a scientific topic — it is also a human story.

It’s about farmers adapting to new realities.

Researchers discovering new insights.

And communities finding new ways to care for their land.

[00:05:21] Giulia

Podcasts are a great way to share those voices directly with you and to demystify some of the science.

We want to make these conversations accessible — and yes, maybe even a little fun.

[00:05:37] Jess

Some episodes will be short and simple like this one.

Others will feature guests from our Living Labs, researchers, or people with unique perspectives on land, food, and climate.

[00:05:52] Giulia

And speaking of food — for all the food lovers out there — we also have something exciting planned.

We will explore the products and food systems connected to the Living Labs.

Yes, that includes things like olive oil and other foods that come directly from the landscapes where soil health is being improved.

[00:06:16] Jess

So I think that brings us to the end of this first episode.

In the next episodes, we will explain what Living Labs are in more detail, introduce the different regions involved, and dive deeper into these topics.

[00:06:32] Giulia

In the meantime, we invite you to follow the SOILCRATES project, subscribe for upcoming episodes, and share your thoughts with us.

We would especially love to hear your experiences and your own soil stories.

[00:06:49] Jess

Thank you to everyone who has listened so far, and thank you to everyone who will join us on this journey.

And of course, thank you Giulia for joining me for this first episode.

[00:07:01] Giulia

Thanks Jess — and thanks everyone for tuning in.

[00:07:05] Jess

Until next time.

[00:07:07] Giulia

Goodbye!

[00:07:09] Jess

Bye!