ECHO

Active

from 01/06/2023 until 31/05/2027

ECHO is a Research and Innovation Action co-funded by the European Union under the Horizon Europe programme, and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). It will last 4 years – from June 2023 to May 2027.

The project aims to engage citizens in protecting and restoring soils by building their skills and enhancing their knowledge on soils. Citizens will actively contribute to the project’s data collection, promote soil stewardship, and foster behavioural change across the EU.

ECHOREPO, a long-term open access repository with a direct link to the EU Soil Observatory, will enable the citizen science data collected during ECHO to be available for use not only by scientists, but also by the general public, policy makers, farmers, landowners and other end-users, providing added value to existing data and other relevant soil monitoring initiatives. ECHOREPO will provide valuable information about the state of soil health across EU Member States, helping citizens make informed decisions about land use and conservation.

With 16 partners from Europe and Scotland, including 10 leading universities and research organisations, 4 SMEs and 2 Foundations, under the coordination of the Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, ECHO aims to collect data from up to 16,500 sites across Europe and Scotland in different climate and biogeographic regions.

Aim

To engage citizens through increased knowledge, stimulate their interest in soil health related issues and motivate them to protect and restore soils
To empower citizens by inviting them to take an active role in data collection and soil science to generate knowledge on soil health for the benefit of all
To enable citizens to take an active role and directly participate in decision-making on soil issues based on acquired knowledge

How to participate

Join ECHO:

You can join it as an Ambassador, through our Open Call, or as a Citizen Scientist, through the already-engaged local Ambassadors:

Starting from Spring 2025, ECHO opens up to Citizen Scientist participants in the following countries: Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain.

Early 2026, the Ambassadors Program will become available in more countries: France, Slovenia , Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Czechia, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania.

Download the EchoSoil App:

Download the EchoSoil app to your phone from Google Play Store (Android) or Apple Store (iOS).

Receive your ECHO Toolkit, conduct soil sampling:

Your ECHO Ambassador will hand you or send you a Toolkit containing everything you need for soil sampling.

Plan and conduct your soil sampling once you're ready. Remember to take your mobile phone and a bottle of water with you!

Please remember to fill in the survey in the EchoSoil app before sampling. Some time after sampling you will be asked to fill in the survey again, so please don't delete the app after sampling.

Return your soil sample to your ECHO Ambassador:

Return your soil sample to your ECHO Ambassador. They will send it to us for further processing.

After collecting your soil sample, store it at room temperature.

View results of sample analysis:

Collected data will eventually become available through ECHOREPO, a long-term repository of soil data. You will be able to find your own soil sample and see how you have contributed to the project.

Needed equipment

Soil collection kit: what's inside?

Precise guidelines for conducting soil sampling activities
Protective gloves to be used during the sampling procedure
A metal shovel for soil sampling
A wooden spoon for soil handling
A plastic container for measuring soil sample pH
Paper strips for measuring soil sample pH
A plastic container for collecting soil samples for biodiversity analysis
A small biodegradable plastic bag for collecting soil samples for heavy metal analysis
A large biodegradable plastic bag for storing both soil samples to be returned

Remember to take your mobile phone with the ECHO App!