SOB4ES Organises First Mini Public in Dublin
On May 11, 2025, the SOB4ES project invited citizens to a one-day community conversation on soil health. This deliberative citizens’ engagement event explored the question: “How can we improve soil health in our city and country?”
The event was jointly organised by the SOB4ES consortium partners University College Dublin (UCD), Airfield Estate as well as the University of Gent (UGent), which is leading the project task on citizen engagement by setting up citizen participation processes during the whole duration of SOB4ES.
This 1st SOB4ES mini public took place at the premises of the SOB4ES partner institution Airfield, a 38-acre working farm in the Dublin suburbs. During the event, soil experts from SOB4ES shared insights on life in soil and soil health followed by discussions among the participating citizens to reflect, ask questions, and to work together to develop recommendations.
The event also included a Farm walk and visit to the World of Soil exhibition at Airfield where participants could discover a lived experience of soil life.
With 17 citizens from all walks of life joining this first mini public and engaging in lively discussions, the event was a great success. Together, the participants explored how to value and protect soil biodiversity
Participants were concerned about their own impact on soil health, and were curious about what solutions could be proposed at the city and national level. They raised questions related to their own situation and about the topics raised by the expert speakers.
Two important conclusions and recommendations came out of the process:
First, citizens agreed that improving soil health is the responsibility of everyone in society.
Second, citizens agreed that governments, at local and national level, need a more coherent and coordinated approach to sustainability overall.
SOB4ES project partners identified several other important themes and key messages that will inform the organisation of future citizen engagement processes, and guide research, including:
• the importance of citizen education on soil health
• the importance of tackling consumption waste
• the need to identify how to support or pay for sustainable farming practices
• the need to support more research and to make research results more accessible
• the importance of stimulating change at multiple levels, while emphasising the local level: neighbours will follow neighbours
