Soils need you!
17th November 2020
Soils are essential for all life-sustaining processes on our?planet. They support biodiversity, clean water, climate regulation and so much more – and yet they are being degraded at an alarming rate. A recent assessment for Europe suggested that 60-70% of soils are unhealthy. And even amid the ongoing climate crises and awareness of the need to save our natural world, soils rarely find a place in the conversation.
UKSoils aims to change this. A collaboration between the UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, the Sustainable Soils Alliance, The University of Sheffield Institute for Sustainable Food, the British Society of Soil Science and Earthwatch Europe, we are creating an ambitious new initiative that aims to kickstart a nationwide public appreciation and understanding of the economic, societal and ecological importance of soil health. This initiative will bring together everything we need, whether members of the public or soil specialists, to bring about a step-change in soil awareness and secure the future of our soils.
To celebrate this and the upcoming World Soils Day, we want you to get messy! Create your own piece of soil art and send a picture of it to hello@earthwatch.org.uk by Wednesday 2 December to be in with a chance of winning a bundle of books and other goodies to help you become a soil champion in 2021. We’ll also feature your submission on the new UKSoils online hub! Your piece of art can be anything you can dream up! Whether its a painting, a sculpture, a mosaic or anything in between; soils come in all sorts of different colours and textures. We want to celebrate this amazing diversity and see your soil! You don’t just have to use soil – you can use anything you can find outside to create your masterpiece.
Prizes:
- Nick Baker’s Worm World (wormery kit)
- Now You See It, Now You Don’t See Through Compost Container
- Earth Matters: how soil underlies civilization (book)
- Soil (Rock On!) (book)
- Soil (Under Our Feet) (book)
Terms and conditions
- This competition is open to all UK residents.
- The competition will open from 17 November 2020..
- The closing date for receipt of entries is 00:01 on 2 December 2020. Entries received after this date will not be eligible.
- All entries must be original and the entrants’ own work. Earthwatch reserves the right to verify this information.
- Entrants can enter by sending an image of their soil art to hello@earthwatch.org.uk. This can be an attachment, or an upload via www.wetransfer.com.
- Entrants under 16 years old at time of entry must get permission from a parent or legal guardian to enter the competition. Earthwatch reserves the right to verify this information.
- Entry to this competition is not open to children of employees or contractors of Earthwatch or any person directly or indirectly involved in the organisation or running of the competition, or their direct family members.
- Winners will be notified via the contact details submitted. If the entrant is under 16, these details will be those of the parent/guardian.
- A panel of judges, made up of Earthwatch Europe communications and research staff, will select the entries thought to be the most original and creative.
- There is no cash alternative and the prizes must be taken as offered. Earthwatch reserves the right to substitute prize(s) of an equivalent value should the prizes become unavailable for any reason. If any winner is not able (for whatever reason) to accept their prize, Earthwatch reserves the right to award the prize to another entrant.
- Copyright in all entries becomes the property of Earthwatch and the charity reserves the right to reproduce the entries (including with or without attribution) for whatever reason and in any medium at its discretion.
- On entering into the competition, you agree to be involved in media activity regarding the competition. Earthwatch will contact you in advance to seek your permission if any media interviews are requested.
- The judges’ decision is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into in relation to this decision.
- Any contact regarding the competition should be via the email address: hello@earthwatch.org.uk.
- By entering this competition, you consent to Earthwatch Europe storing and processing your personal data on its secure database in compliance with its privacy policy. Please see our full privacy policy at earthwatch.org.uk/privacy-policy.