Celebrating World Soil Day

Whether it’s taking part in a live online Q&A with the Head Gardener of Kensington Gardens or digging up worms for a future AI project, The Royal Parks (TRP) will ensure you unearth the amazing value of the brown stuff beneath your feet this World Soil Day – 5 December.

The ‘Soil is Alive!’ campaign has been running this winter in The Royal Parks to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of good soil health.

To mark World Soil Day the charity is hosting a 60 minute live ‘Ask the Royal Parks’ Q&A on X (formerly Twitter) today - 5 December.

The public are invited to put any questions, pictures or videos related to soil health to the Head Gardener at Kensington Gardens, Russell Stevens, Allotment Food Grower, Kat Wojnar, and Nick Tew, Biodiversity Research Officer. 

The trio can help with anything from what to grow in winter, to which companion plants support insects and improve soil health in a food garden.

The Royal Parks have also been holding ‘Citizen Science’ events for would be ecologists, to come and learn more about soil and take part in pioneering research that could soon see AI play a role in earthworm recognition.

The Royal Parks is evidencing how leaving the leaves under trees when they fall, instead of clearing them away, may benefit earthworm species abundance and diversity, a key indicator of good soil health.

The next event, taking place 12 December, will involve volunteers collecting images of earthworm samples for a national database, that in a few years from now, will hopefully allow scientists and farmers to rapidly identify earthworms via an app, instead of having to take samples back to a lab for identification under a microscope. 

Soil is one of the world’s largest, most biodiverse habitats, but one of the least explored and there are believed to be around 30 earthworm species in the UK, with some of the rarer types being found in Kensington Gardens. However, research and recording on both is limited, despite good soil health being critical for all life.

Alister Hayes Head of Programmes, Volunteering and Conservation said: 

“Soil is an invaluable resource, especially for the parks and we’re keen to share our knowledge of it with everyone this World Soil Day. We’d love as many people as possible to roll up their sleeves and enjoy some hands-on learning by helping us with our vital research. We promise you’ll leave our event with a whole new appreciation for the soil under your feet and the earthworms that inhabit it. There is so much for us to unearth about soil, and we will all reap many benefits from learning more about it.”

The health of soil is now fundamental to the landscape management plans of the Royal Parks which are being tended to in ways, more in keeping with nature. This includes leaving the leaves to nourish the soil where possible as well as mowing and digging less to increase plant and wildlife diversity. 

This campaign is being delivered by TRP’s Help Nature Thrive team an in-house project made possible thanks to players of People’s Postcode Lottery.

Follow @theroyalparks on X between 12noon – 1pm on 5 December to take part in ‘Ask the Royal Parks’.

Unearth more at Royalparks.org.uk/soilisalive