Soil is home to a quarter of all Earth’s species. It can hold 65% of the world’s fresh water. And it provides 95% of the food we eat.

It is one of our most precious resources – and when we look after it, soil can also make a huge contribution towards tackling climate change.

Healthy soils act as a carbon sink by drawing carbon down into the soil and storing it –they have the potential to store more carbon than all the world’s plants and forests combined!

A lot goes on in healthy soil. Tiny micro-organisms work together to recycle plant debris and organic matter. Worms create channels that boost oxygen levels and soak up water. And a network of fungi transports nutrients, binds the soil together, and helps capture carbon.

But when we don’t look after it, soil can easily be eroded and washed away, or damaged by the overuse of pesticides which can wipe out organisms living below the surface. What remains is less able to store carbon, withstand drought or flooding, or provide nutrients to help plants grow.

One third of the world’s soil has already been destroyed, and we’re losing it up to forty times faster than it can be created.

The time to act is now - and we need your help.

We need to treat this precious resource with the care and respect it deserves.

We must stop the use of harmful pesticides, so that soil biodiversity can thrive again.

We must help farmers discover methods that enhance soil – giving back to the earth as much as we take from it.

And we must make government give soil the protection and recognition it needs in farming legislation.

These things are at the heart of everything we do - working with farmers on grass-roots research, presenting the evidence to government, and championing farming systems that have healthy soil at their core.

You can help us continue this important work.