Unearthing Stories

UNEARTHING STORIES
Soil Care and Human–Soil Relationships in
Environmental Education for Regenerative Agriculture

#ecosocialeducation
#nonformalenvironmentaleducation
#more-than-human
#soilcare

How can individuals support children’s understanding of soil care and nurture the perception of soil as a living entity within environmental education?

Unearthing Stories is a workshop format designed for children aged 6- 10, centered on soil care and the human-soil relationship, structured around four interconnected open-source modules. Accompanied by a facilitator handbook and an accessible project website, the workshop aims to empower individuals to independently host and deliver the sessions. The initiative addresses the urgent issue of soil degradation and the broader Anthropocene crisis by emphasizing humanity‘s integral role within natural ecosystems. Recognizing soil care as a long-term, culturally rooted practice profound for future generations, the project seeks to reconnect children with soil through reciprocal relationships.

The workshop content and design drew from ethnographic-inspired field trips to agroforestry and regenerative farms across Austria, Greece, and Italy, alongside urban reflections on personal soil relations. In addition, it was developed collaboratively with soil and regenerative agriculture experts, literature research, educators, a local social cooperative, farmers, and children. The four modules incorporate sensory exploration, play, storytelling, and shared drawing. Direct insights from children got collected through field testing across South Tyrol including 60 children. These testings revealed enthusiastic engagement in complex ecological concepts and the expansion of perspectives towards more-than-human approaches.

Results highlight the workshop’s effectiveness in bridging scientific, cultural and experiential knowledge and practices within a nonformal environmental education setting. Unearthing Stories demonstrates the potential of interdisciplinary soil education to cultivate a deeply interwoven relationship among diverse entities in young learners. By offering an open-source format, the project supports broader dissemination of the educational materials as well as free accessibility, community exchange and support through online and offline formats.

Further Information & Project Website:
www.annalienbacher.com