The SOILCRATES Podcast : Voices from the ground

The SOILCRATES Podcast is a space for open, grounded conversations about soil health, sustainable farming, and community-led innovation across Europe.

Through short, accessible episodes, we bring together farmers, researchers, Living Lab practitioners, policymakers and local actors to share real experiences from all of our stakeholders and beyond! If you’re not a SOILCRATES stakeholder, spoiler alert : Soil impacts your life, regardless.

This podcast is rooted in practice. It highlights on-the-ground realities, lessons learned, and emerging solutions that support healthier soils, resilient landscapes and stronger rural communities.

What you’ll hear

  • Real stories from SOILCRATES Living Labs

  • Practical insights on soil health and sustainable land management

  • Conversations bridging science, policy and farming practice

  • Local challenges, innovations and community perspectives

  • Honest reflections on experimentation, transition and impact

Who it’s for

Farmers, land managers, researchers, advisors, policymakers, community organisations — and anyone interested in the future of soils, food systems and rural innovation.

Why it matters

Healthy soils are the foundation of food security, biodiversity and climate resilience. By sharing voices directly from the field, the SOILCRATES Podcast aims to make knowledge more accessible, connect communities, and support informed action across Europe.

🎧 New episodes coming soon.
Follow @SOILCRATES to stay updated.

Episode 1

Introducing SOILCRATES

In this first episode of “Voices from the ground”, we lightly introduce the SOILCRATES project and how this podcast will bring together the pillars of the Soil health network, from the food we eat, to the local officials, to the communities that work around it.

Episode 2

The What, the How & the Who

A simple look at the main challenge SOILCRATES addresses and why current soil practices need new approaches that connect knowledge with real action. This is also a chance to finally get to the “Voices” part : the people involved in and affected by SOILCRATES. Who is this project for? How does it work? What is it trying to change? Why soil matters in everyday life?

Episode 3

Is soil health just “good soil”?

Soil health is often reduced to the idea of “good soil”. If it’s good then it’s good, right? It actually goes far beyond that. This episode explores soil as a living system and why its condition quietly shapes the food we eat, the water we rely on, and the landscapes around us. What does soil health even mean and what is the impact, truly?

Episode 4

SOILCRATES Living Labs: Where Change Meets Reality

This episode is dedicated to Living Labs — the spaces where ideas meet real conditions, where local actors are part of the process, and where soil practices are tested, adapted, and shaped by reality. This marks the start of the “Living Lab” spotlight series, where we introduce each LL and their work.

Episode 5

Living Lab spotlight series: Granada Tierra Viva

For this first Living Lab Spotlight Series, we step into the Spanish Living Lab in Granada, where climate variability and water scarcity shape soil practices. Here, the focus is on building resilience, from organic matter restoration to drought-adapted crops.

Episode 6

Living Lab spotlight series: Ireland

A simple look at the main challenge SOILCRATES addresses and why current soil practices need new approaches that connect knowledge with real action. This is also a chance to finally get to the “Voices” part : the people involved in and affected by SOILCRATES.

Episode 7

Living Lab spotlight series: Landes

The Landes Living Lab brings us to a region where water retention, biodiversity and sustainable practices are at the forefront, mixing cutting-edge research with everyday farming needs.

Episode 6

Living Lab spotlight series: BodemBakens

In the BodemBakens Living Lab in the Northern Netherlands, we explore diverse soils and the realities of intensive agriculture, tackling compaction, salination and biodiversity under changing conditions.

Contact

For press inquiries, contact the communications team : natalia.brack@iid-sii.org  and jessica.bailloux@iid-sii.org