Blog by Ellen Fay, co-founder and co-Executive Director,
This year鈥檚 快猫短视频‘s annual conference was imbued with real sense of momentum about where soil science is heading: in practice, policy, and public attention. Throughout the conference it was unmistakeable that soil is no longer a niche concern, but rather forms the nexus between climate resilience, nature recovery, food security, and public wellbeing.
Tony Juniper CBE set the tone early on with urgency, clarity, and the reminder that soil health must sit squarely at the heart of our environmental efforts and communications.
鈥淎nd so all of these things in the end, these big issues linked with nature and with climate, they all circle back in quite fundamental ways to the state of soils.鈥
Opening remarks by Tony Juniper CBE
That message carried through everything that followed. The science was sharp and forward-looking as you鈥檇 expect from this eminent community, but what stood out most was the shared determination to turn evidence into actionable change.
A major strength of the conference was the tangible policy engagement. This wasn鈥檛 academia speaking at policy makers, a conversation shaped between researchers (natural聽and聽social science) and decision-makers with shared environmental priorities.
It鈥檚 especially encouraging for example to see Natural England speaking out about their systemic approach to put soil data at the heart of their work, treating it not as a nice-to-have but as a core foundation for environmental protection and nature restoration.
Another really positive thread was openness and resource-sharing across the community including moves to open up access to key datasets. That kind of practical collaboration is critical to rising to the environmental challenge: it lowers barriers, accelerates research, and helps everyone build progress from a stronger common evidence base.
There were plenty of standout sessions, but a few in particular crystallised the wider story of what soils can do. They were:
- Professor Pete Smith: Challenges for Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of Soil Carbon Change for Atmospheric Greenhouse Gas Removal
- Dr Panos Panagos and Dr Nils Broothaerts: EU Mission Soil: Leading the transition towards healthy soils through innovative research
- William Blake, Diana Mangalagiu and Bruce Lascelles: Placing soil Health on a Global Stage 鈥 Bridging the international gap
- Dr Karolina Trdlicova: The Language of Soil: Learning the lessons from climate change
- Philip Wright: Regenerative Agriculture – Putting research into practice
The BSSS and current president, Paul Hallett, deserve real credit here. Their leadership, which builds on the upscaling and advocacy work of past presidents Jack Hannam and Bruce Lascelles is creating a space where collaboration feels normal, not incidental – a community where scientists, practitioners, and policymakers create common purpose on an equal footing. That same community spirit is clearly supporting early-career researchers too, with mentoring and encouragement woven into the conference rather than tacked on the side.
With this kind of shared purpose and practical focus, soil can be recognised for what it is: essential to climate resilience, nature recovery and societal wellbeing.
The golden-brown thread connecting us all!
Photo credits: 快猫短视频
