World Soil Day celebrations in Brussels

Children and teachers at the European School of Brussels in Laeken explored the magical world of soils during a workshop organized by the FAO Liaison Office in Brussels, with the support of technical experts from the FAO Land and Water division and UC Louvain’s Earth and Life Institute.

Some 60 pupils and their teachers participated in the interactive workshop, which introduced the children to the value of soils for healthy nutrition and allowed them to engage in hands-on experiments with different types of soil.
The workshop took place on the occasion of World Soil Day, which was commemorated this year under the theme: “Soils: where food begins”.

Activities were conducted simultaneously in three classrooms, with a virtual connection to the FAO technical expert in Rome. After an introduction to the topic, the UC Louvain researchers invited the children to explore the different characteristics of soils through three experiments, which enabled them to discover how soil textures affect infiltration rates and nutrient uptake, and why it is important to protect soils from erosion.

The workshop focused on teaching the children what they can do to protect soils. This includes eating sustainably produced food, reducing food waste and joining in the global efforts to raise awareness of the importance of soils.

At a separate event held in Brussels to mark World Soil Day – the Soil Health Conference: Harnessing biodiversity for better agronomy – FAO Brussels Director Raschad Al-Khafaji delivered the opening remarks, explaining how soils are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals. The audience was encouraged to become involved in the Global Soil Partnership, which is open to governments, academia, farmers’ associations among others.

Organizers of the conference included the Flemish Research Institute for Agriculture and Fisheries and Wervel vzw – a movement dedicated to creating a healthy food system. The occasion brought together farmers, farm advisors, scientists and policy-makers to discuss mechanisms for soil health restoration through regenerative farming.

You can find more information on World Soil Day here and on the work of FAO on Land and Water here.

A video on Healthy soils being the foundation of healthy food and a better environment can be viewed here.