Save our soils: what you need to know about the earth beneath our feet

We at CPRE have long campaigned for better care to be taken of that unassuming brown stuff that we often take for granted. Explore why soils are so essential and what we can do better.

The thin layer of soil covering the earth’s surface is the difference between survival and extinction for most terrestrial life.

For almost all of our food – 95% according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) – we rely on rainfall falling on a thin layer of soil, often only a few centimetres thick. This living planetary skin is proportionally 10,000 times thinner than our own.

But we’re taking soils for granted.

We’ve created an immersive story, including insights from expert farmers like John Cherry, to help us all better understand why it’s going to be so vital for us all to care for the muddy stuff in years to come.

Read Save our Soils