Inspired by the pedagogy of the Climate Fresk, the Living Soils Workshop is a fun and collaborative tool that aims to disseminate a common language on soil functioning and the issues related to its preservation.
Through 30 cards and in 1h30, it allows to acquire fundamental knowledge about soils - the life they contain & the cycles of which they are a key element - to understand the impacts of agricultural practices and to open a fertile discussion on the actions to be taken to engage society towards a better management of this finite resource.
Soil is a crucial component of the earth’s system. It is the substrate in which we grow our food, a fascinating nutrient transforming factory and a fantastic reservoir of life. It is also under pressure. It is urgent to build as quickly as possible a common knowledge of soil functioning and soil related issues. Important decisions about our soils need to be made and those must be informed by sound science.
In the first one, the players must place the different components of the soil system and explain how they interact in a natural context. Players are introduced to the following concepts : mineralization, photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, nutrient cycles, mycorrhizae. According to the background of the team we will explore those topics with more or less complexity. Players with more knowledge are invited to explain to the others. The whole game is collaborative.
Then players discover agrictultural practices and their impact on the soil and on the environment.
The third phase is dedicated to understanding the human and environmental costs of those practices and discussing the possible solutions to mitigate them. The players put together everything they have learned so far and put themselves in the shoes of politicians, farmers and citizens to discuss potential options to mitigate the soil related threats.
"The living soil workshop is THE serious game to learn from each other how soils work now and may work in the future"
Gerlinde De Deyn - Soil Biology Group, Wageningen University and Research
"The living soil workshop is not only preaching about the importance of soils but, rather, actively triggering the phantasy and imagination of the players of the game thereby transmitting key information about soils : a modern form of highly effective communication."
Prof. dr. J. Bouma
"The living soil workshop uniquely effective and fun way to engage people, while educating them on the importance of healthy soils."
Rio Pals
The living soils workshop has been co-created by Sparknews and the Ludi Soli association with the contribution of Moët Hennessy, the project benefited from scientific review from Marc-André Selosse and Lydie-Stella Koutika -two internationally recognized soil scientists - and Gaïago, a company specialized in soil revitalization.
It is currently funded through an Erasmus+ grant.
contact@livingsoilworkshop.org
