Highland brings soil experts ‘down to earth'

This May, people in Highland will get an opportunity to take part in a Festival with a difference.  The Highland Soil Biodiversity Festival comprises nine days of illustrated talks, field visits and guided walks to raise awareness of the importance of our soils for nature and wildlife.

Janet Bromham, Biodiversity Officer with The Highland Council is co-ordinating the Festival.  She said: “We have put together a very interesting programme of events all over Highland to try to answer the questions: Why does soil matter? What does it do for us? and What lives in and on it?

“We are holding this Festival during Scottish Biodiversity Week because soil and soil biodiversity is receiving more attention from the press and the policy makers – the State of Scotland Soil Report was produced last year – and yet very few people have a clear understanding of how soils work and why they are important to us.  It fits in very well with the Scottish Biodiversity Week theme “Biodiversity is Life – Biodiversity is Our Life” and we hope lots of people across Highland will take this opportunity to find out about soil and associated wildlife.

“There will be something for everyone, from a Soil Biodiversity Forum at Great Glen House in Inverness, to walks, talks and site visits looking at the animals that live in and on the soil, how soil influences vegetation and land use, and how we can manage our soils better to benefit wildlife and people.  We are running a BioBlitz event in Dingwall, where people will get a chance to spot as many different species of plant and animal as they can in 24 hours, and a Worm Charming Championship in Lairg, which, of course, will be judged according to strict International Worm Charming Championship rules!”

Professor Sir John Lawton CBE FRS said: “It’s the little things, the creepy crawlies, that make the world work, but for most of us, out of sight is literally out of mind when it comes to the creatures that live in the soil.  And yet they are vital for our well-being, and we ignore the health of the soil environment and the creatures that live in soil at our peril.  I applaud this important initiative.”

Professor Richard Bardgett, Lancaster Environment Centre added: “Soil, and the multitude of organisms that live in it, play a vital role in controlling all the biogeochemical cycles on which the functioning and future health of the Earth depends.  This festival is a fantastic opportunity for people to learn about the many, often unexpected, ways that humans depend on soil, both knowingly and unknowingly."

The Festival is co-ordinated by The Highland Council on behalf of the Highland Biodiversity Partnership, which was set up in 2005 to provide guidance and support to a network of local biodiversity groups, and make progress on the key strategic biodiversity issues in Highland. It is funded by the Scottish Government and the European Community Highland LEADER 2007-2013 Programme, with match funding from The Highland Council, Scottish Natural Heritage and RSPB Scotland.

Events run from Saturday 19 to Sunday 27 May, visit the Highland Biodiversity Partnership’s website www.highlandbiodiversity.com for a detailed programme and further information or contact Janet Bromham or Jonathan Willet on 01463 702274 for further information.

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