COVERYOURSOIL is a transdisciplinary initiative dedicated to promoting living soils by transitioning agricultural landscapes from bare ground to high-functioning biodiversity. The project establishes a Cover Crop Living Lab network across Poland, Romania, and Spain to address the critical challenges of soil erosion, declining soil biota, and the loss of pollinator habitats. By utilizing a farmer-led, science-based approach, the project co-designs localized cover crop systems tailored to specific pedoclimatic conditions, ensuring that ecological restoration is directly coupled with economic returns and farm resilience.
Objectives
Experimental Design: Develop rigorous scientific protocols for testing localized cover crop mixes that prioritize erosion prevention and biodiversity enhancement.
Benchmarking & Indicators: Define transdisciplinary indicators—including soil health metrics, pollinator counts, and Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) parameters—to measure transition success.
Policy & Strategic Alignment: Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Soil Monitoring Law and Nature Restoration Law (NRL) to ensure all experimental designs meet emerging national and EU standards.
Stakeholder Engagement: Build "relational capital" through a structured convening of farmers, researchers, and SMEs, fostering a bottom-up community of supporters.
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Financing Readiness: Construct a detailed budget and financing plan to secure €180,000 (€60,000 per site) in subsequent funding for the full-scale implementation of three experimental sites.
Consortium Partners
The roadmap is driven by a diverse coalition of experts and practitioners:
Pilot Farms: Three established agricultural sites in Poland, Romania, and Spain serving as the primary Living Lab nodes.
Scientific Institutions: InHort (Institute of Horticulture) serving as soil experts, alongside the Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN), including the Institute of Rural and Agricultural Development (IRWiR PAN).
Technical Advisory: Tech-Mot, providing specialized regenerative agricultural advisory services.
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NGOs & Facilitation: Korowod (KBC) for project management, supported by Eco Ruralis, Grunt od Nowe, and EFFOST for grassroots network weaving and knowledge transfer.
The 6-Month Roadmap (May – October 2026)
May 2026: Kickoff & Digital Convening: Establish the collaborative digital infrastructure (Miro/Zoom) and conduct initial stakeholder alignment meetings to synchronize the Polish, Romanian, and Spanish teams.
June 2026: Baseline & Policy Analysis: Launch the farmer context surveys and map regional/national policies (Soil Monitoring Law/NRL) to define project constraints.
July 2026: Field Engagement (Poland): Conduct physical farm visits in Kłodzko and the UPWr Urban Farm to begin on-the-ground indicator co-design with practitioners.
August 2026: Experimental Design Phase: Finalize the scientific parameters for the cover crop trials and erosion prevention metrics with experts from InHort and PAN.
September 2026: Economic & Financing Sprints: Develop the Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) and long-term financing plan to bridge the "transition valley" for participating farmers.
October 2026: Final Roadmap Publication: Formalize the implementation strategy, recruit 1–2 additional farmers, and initiate the €180,000 funding drive for the pilot sites.
Impact
Ecological Recovery: Measurable increases in soil biota health and above-soil biodiversity, particularly for pollinators, through a shift from bare ground to year-round cover.
Economic Stability: Enhanced economic returns for farmers through data-backed regenerative practices and a clear path to resiliency credits and transition funding.
Knowledge Sovereignty: Creation of a Knowledge Transfer network—including Peer-to-Peer (P2P) pairs and seed banks—that empowers farmers to drive their own agricultural innovation.
Social Welfare: Strengthening local food security and community resilience by repairing degraded ecosystems and preserving regional agricultural traditions.
