The Sustainable Soils Alliance was born out of a meeting that took place on 16 December 2016 attended by participants representing agriculture, government, NGOs, retail and banking. It was our initial sounding of expert opinion about the nature of the crisis facing our soils.
The Soils in Crisis Commitment Meeting concluded that, despite decades of activity, knowledge and study around soil health, there was a need for a new, inclusive approach based on interdisciplinary and inter-organisational collaboration to galvanise action for real change. Attendees signed up to the common goal of restoring our soils to health within the space of one generation.
The high level of informed debate and contribution during the day, the initial funding secured and firm commitments made by participants following the event have provided the impetus to continue to build momentum towards the formation of the Sustainable Soils Alliance and the initiatives that followed.
The Commitment Meeting, Chair:
Rebecca Pow MP, Member of Parliament for Taunton Deane
Chief Scientist:
Prof Chris Collins, Environmental Chemistry, Reading University
Commitment Meeting Attendees:
Yeo Valley
Rebecca Pow MP
University of Reading
Eden Project
Woodland Trust
Triodos Bank
Soil Association
Barclays Bank
Pukka Herbs
Royal Forestry Society (RFS)
Natural England
National Farmers' Union (NFU)
Wessex Water
Agriculture & Horticulture Development Board (AHDB)
The Organic Milk Suppliers Cooperative
Graham Harvey
The Story Group
Better Food
Innovations in Agriculture
Burges Salmon LLP
Pasture for Life
The Gaia Foundation