Why this workshop?
The attention for soil health keeps growing, and rightly so because we know that healthy soils deliver many services that are important for well-being of ourselves, agriculture, and nature. The exact definition of a healthy soil is often a topic of discussion and can differ per location, per use, and per user. Farmers are, as landscape managers, the guardians of soil health. A healthy soil is essential for farmers so that they can produce enough healthy food for people and livestock. Simultaneously, there are societal needs from the soil, like carbon sequestration, water storage, and biodiversity protection.

Goal of the workshop
In this workshop, we will map out different perspectives on soil health. We will do this with stakeholders from diverse sectors (farmers, banks, food chain partners, retailers, nature protectors, and government). We will identify the goals for soil health from different perspectives and together we will determine the most promising land use measures there are to reach those goals as much as possible. The farmers will share their perspective to clarify what concrete barriers exist to implementing these measures. The insights from this workshop will be shared with the European commission via the project Benchmarks to influence European soil strategy.

Who is invited?
We invite our partners (+/- 25 people) from diverse sectors to come in conversation together.
See below an overview of some of the parties we have invited:

• Farmers and agriculture: farmers, agricultural nature organizations, ABZ de samenwerking, etc.
• Banks: Rabobank, ABN-Amro bank
• Nature protection: Natuurmonumenten
• Food chain partners: CONO Kaasmakkers, Grutto
• Water boards; HHR Rijnland
• Academia: Wagningen Universiteit (Soil Biology), co-organizer
• Government: Province of Utrecht, Zuid-Holland and Noord-Holland, LNV

Workshop program
9:30 Walk-in

10.00-10.30 Welcome and Introduction

10.30-11.00 Panel: 5 parties from different stakeholder groups share what soil health means from their own perspective.

11:00-12:00 Stakeholder group session about soil health goals, facilitation of those goals, and barriers in reaching them within the stakeholder group.

12:00-12:30 Centrally: One person per group summarizes findings. Spoken word.

12.30-13.15 Lunch

13.15-14.00 Mixed group session about land use measures and barriers from the perspective of landscape managers

14.00-15.00 Centrally: one person per group summarizes findings. Central discussion about removing barriers, what is needed from Benchmarks and the EU, and follow-up steps. Short end presentation about follow-up.

What can you expect?
???? In-depth discussion: Prepare for a participatory conversation in which every perspective will be heard. Together we will think about the future of healthy soils.

???? New partnerships and collaborations: We will enter new partnerships that did not exist before. Where can we connect in working together for healthy soils?

????️ Knowledge exchange: We dive deep and are guided by farmers, soil experts, and experts in sustainable land management for soil health.

???? Future in your own hands: Be a part of shaping the future of the Western Peat Meadow region. Where do we start?

Registration
Anna Adriani (a.adriani@wij.land)

Questions?
If you have any questions, please contact uour own Wij.land-contact or Frederik Hengeveld
(Wij.land project leader Benchmarks, 0628360403, f.hengeveld@wij.land)