The ECHO Soil Challenge – Soil Stories aims to raise awareness among students, teachers, educators and citizens about the value of soil as a vital resource for ecosystems, food security and climate. It promotes creativity, scientific experimentation, and science communication, while also contributing to the dissemination of the ECHO SoiLab for Teens kit as an educational tool for hands-on school activities.
The contest has four categories, with separate selection processes:
For each category, 3 winners will be selected.
For Categories 1-3, submissions must be presented by teachers, professors, or educators on behalf of children or young people aged 6–19. Projects may be developed by classes or groups, under the guidance of the submitting teacher or educator. The teacher or educator acts as the official applicant and contact person, and is responsible for submitting the project, communicating with the ECHO team, and ensuring compliance with the contest rules.
Category 4 is open to people who are involved in the ECHO project as ECHO Soil Ambassador.
Participants from all countries involved in the ECHO project are welcome.
We welcome creative, scientific or educational works, developed by classes or groups, under the guidance of the submitting teacher or educator.
Examples of eligible submissions include: drawings, collages, photographs, infographics, experiments, educational projects, videos, reels, musical content and podcasts focused on soil.
Submissions should be inspired by the ECHO sampling kit or the SoiLab für Teenager but may be freely reinterpreted using different creative approaches and languages.
Only one submission per application is allowed. For Categories 1-3, teachers, professors and educators may submit up to three projects as long as they involve different classes or groups; in this case, the submission form must be completed separately and in full for each project.
Submissions may be presented in the language of the participating country or in English. For videos, reels, podcasts and musical content produced in the national language, English subtitles or an English translation of the script are required.
All submissions must be submitted in digital format and comply with the following guidelines:
Submissions must be made through the online form below.
For additional inspiration and support, you can consult the following materials:
Submissions will be evaluated by a jury composed of members of the ECHO consortium with expertise in education, science communication, soil science, and creative communication.
Each project will be assessed using a common evaluation grid (scale 1–5):
For each category, 3 winners will be selected.
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