16 kumppania, joilla on yhteinen intohimo maaperään

ECHO on 16 kumppanin yhteinen ponnistus. Bolzano-Bozenin vapaan yliopiston koordinoimassa hankkeessa on mukana johtavia yliopistoja, tutkimuskeskuksia, yrityksiä ja säätiötä eri puolilta Eurooppaa. ECHO tutkii 16 500 kohdetta eri ilmasto- ja luonnonmaantieteellisillä alueilta saavuttaakseen kunnianhimoiset tavoitteensa.

SUOMI

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN FINLAND

SAKSA

UNIVERSITÄT HOHENHEIM

KREIKKA

AMERICAN FARM SCHOOL

ITALIA

LIBERA UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLZANO

ALMA MATER STUDIORUM – UNIVERSITÀ DI BOLOGNA

RE SOIL FOUNDATION

PUOLA

PLANTPRESS

PORTUGALI

FCiências.ID – ASSOCIAÇÃO PARA A INVESTIGAÇÃO E DESENVOLVIMENTO DE CIÊNCIAS

FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DA UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA

SOLUTOPUS

ROMANIA

UNIVERSITATEA STEFAN CEL MARE SUCEAVA

SKOTLANTI

THE JAMES HUTTON INSTITUTE

ESPANJA

FUNDACIÓN IBERCIVIS

QUANTA LABS

UNIVERSIDAD DE EXTREMADURA

AMBIENTA

Lisätietoja ECHOn kumppaneista

AMBIENTA INGENIERÍA Y SERVICIOS AGRARIOS Y FORESTALES S.L.  

AMBIENTA is a small private Spanish company (SME) created in October 2006, working in the fields of consulting, works and services, training, engineering projects, research, innovation, transfer, development and innovation in climate change, nature conservation, agriculture, environment, forestry, soil conservation and regeneration, and hydrology. Although our main works are developed in rural areas, nature-based solutions applied to urban environments, gardening and landscaping, are also part of the portfolio of activities.  

AMBIENTA focuses its efforts and enthusiasm on nature conservation, forest management, ecosystems and biodiversity, river restoration, environmental education and land management for an increasingly sustainable agriculture.  

The road travelled is an endorsement for new challenges: collaborating for a rural environment with better social and economic prospects, advancing in digitalisation and new technologies, working with the land to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects, promoting soil regeneration, incorporating green infrastructure and nature-based solutions, or strengthening the resilience of ecosystems for the benefit of safer and healthier cities.  An innovative team that is ready to respond to the challenges   with science, technology, experience, customer service and multidisciplinary collaboration. 

As far as ecosystem restoration is concerned, AMBIENTA has accredited technical and economic solvency, with the highest certification granted by the Spanish Government.   

In the field of agricultural and forestry research, development and innovation, AMBIENTA participates in more than 20 national and international projects, more than half of which it leads. In recent years, in the fields related to hydrology, soil, preservation of biodiversity, adaptation to climate change and mitigation of its effects, AMBIENTA has developed different cutting-edge initiatives and participates in technological projects of high added value.     

Within the framework of Project ECHO, AMBIENTA has a key participation in technological matters to develop tools that improve the communication of citizen science in a field with a high growth potential such as soil science. 

WEBSITE 

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Founded over a century ago, the American Farm School (AFS) serves society by providing all levels of formal education, technical and professional agricultural training, outreach and consultancy, new product development, entrepreneurial support, innovation facilitation, demonstration farm services and applied research. The AFS fully operates two 145-hectare demonstration farms which are considered its “Living Laboratory”. We offer a portfolio of boutique products including eggs, pasteurised milk and other dairy products, turkey meat, pasta, wine, aromatic and pharmaceutical plants and oils, honey and vegetables. Over the years, we have managed to create a sustainable niche market in the Thessaloniki and Athens regions. Operating as a boundary organisation, AFS combines long term experience in transferring knowledge and know-how to young scientist and farmers, with the valuable experience of an innovative farm itself. 

Our department, the Innovation and Impact HUB, operates at the center of the American Farm School and aims to achieve its long-term strategic mission and objectives. Our team works intensively to identify, select and utilise opportunities and major projects of strategic importance to the agri-food sector development. The HUB achieves this through an extensive network of collaborations including the primary sector, the market, the scientific community, civil society and policy makers.  

Within the ECHO project, AFS will utilise its internal and external resources in order to expand its experience in Citizen Science methodologies and objectives. Leading the coordination of regional and international Citizen Science Initiatives (WP3), we will join forces with all the relevant organisations and individuals in order to enhance the message of urgency regarding Soil Health and Sustainability.  

What we do not know today, we will know tomorrow.

– Garcia de Orta, 1563. 

The Faculty of Science of the Universidade de Lisboa is an institution of creation, transmission and diffusion of scientific and technological knowledge that promotes a culture of permanent learning, critical thinking and intellectual autonomy. 

Our mission is research and teaching, and the transfer of knowledge and innovation in the areas of exact and natural sciences and techno-sciences, as well as the dissemination and sharing of cultures, stimulating a permanent opening to civil society. 

We embrace these objectives along the following scientific areas: 

  • Chemical Sciences and Technologies 
  • Life Sciences 
  • Earth Sciences 
  • Physical Sciences and Engineering 
  • Mathematical Sciences 
  • Computer Science and Engineering 
  • History and Philosophy of Sciences 

ECHO participants belong to the Plant Biology Department. The Department of Plant Biology (DBV) has the aim of teaching, research, knowledge transfer and innovation in the scientific field of Biology in close partnership with the Department of Animal Biology (DBA). 

Our main tasks in the ECHO project will be to lead the building of the assessment framework for citizen science methods and for citizen-generated soil data quality, to manage the project’s data and ensure the exploitation of the results in compliance with the EU provisions on Open Science. We’ll be also responsible for part of the analysis of soil samples collected during the citizen science activities, besides participating in the design and development of the project’s initiatives. 

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FCiências.ID, is a Non-Profit Private Association, created as a joint initiative of Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa (CIÊNCIAS) – a Higher Education institution – and 6 private companies, in order to support, potentiate and develop Research and Development activities of its associates. FCiências.ID is the legal representative of 19 CIÊNCIAS research centres, including cE3c and BioISI, covering all CIÊNCIAS scientific fields from Biology to Philosophy and History of Sciences. 

The Center for Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Changes (cE3c) is an Excellent Research Centre that develops fundamental and applied research in ecology, evolution, environmental science, and related societal issues. cE3c facilities (Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Azores University) provide conditions for quality research, with shared labs (Genetics, Stable Isotopes, Microscopy), online databases and a unique Field Station. cE3c’s mission includes producing fundamental and applied science that integrates life and climate sciences at all levels of biological organisation to promote sustainable development. ECHO agrees with cE3c’s mission to “transform knowledge into action” and “integrate science with education and with society”.  

The Biosystems & Integrative Sciences Institute (BioISI) research is mostly conducted at the FCUL campus. Other participating institutions include: the National Institute of Health the reference Portugal health institute and thus strategic for BioISI health goals, and Universities of Porto, Minho and Trás-os-Montes (in Northern Portugal), with 1 plant lab each ensuring an inter-regional plant biology network. Main research areas are Molecular Systems Biology; Integrative Sciences; Agent and Systems Modelling and Biological Physics. 

Our main tasks in the ECHO project will be to lead the building of the assessment framework for citizen science methods and for citizen-generated soil data quality, to manage the project’s data and ensure the exploitation of the results in compliance with the EU provisions on Open Science. We’ll be also responsible for part of the analysis of soil samples collected during the citizen science activities, besides participating in the design and development of the project’s initiatives. 

Websites  

fciencias-id.pt 

ce3c.ciencias.ulisboa.pt

https://bioisi.pt 

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Ibercivis is a private nonprofit foundation that has carried out, promoted and made citizen science visible for more than 10 years. To achieve these objectives, also in collaboration with different scientific and social communities, the Ibercivis Foundation conducts research in very different areas of scientific knowledge, at the regional, national and international level. It provides technical support, as well as dissemination and training activities, so that anyone can participate in scientific research, depending on their interests and abilities. As of today, the Ibercivis Foundation has led and participated in more than 35 regional and European projects. 

Regarding research, the Ibercivis teamwork develop our own citizen science projects, where we theorize, model, assess impact and develop technology. Then we publish those results or share resources and experience derived from our own activity. With respect to dissemination, we share knowledge about the citizen science concept through the development of projects, events, exhibitions, publications, reports, awards and training, among other activities. 

Ibercivis carries a heavy weight in the ECHO project, mainly focusing on managing aspects related to citizen science. We lead numerous tasks throughout the entire duration of the project, some of them standing out for enabling high-impact citizen science for soil monitoring, or for developing the citizen science platform and the participatory digital technologies. We also participate in maximising the impact of ECHO through tailored dissemination and communication measures. 

WEBSITE

website

SOCIAL MEDIA 

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James Hutton Institute

The James Hutton Institute has been at the forefront of rural, agricultural and environmental science for 90 years, delivering products and expertise to benefit society and is one of the main research providers for Scottish Government. The Institute is one of the world’s leading scientific organisations undertaking research focused on land, crops, pests, crop protection, food security, sustainable agriculture, water and the environment. The Institute brings together a broad range of science disciplines that interconnect to deliver a research strategy of finding solutions to the global challenges of providing food, forestry-based goods, energy and water from finite land and natural resources under changing environmental conditions. A key aim of the Institute is to ensure that knowledge and evidence generated within the research and other communities flows and reaches relevant stakeholders who can make informed decisions on addressing important topics such as the climate nature crisis, and food security. 

Plantpress Sp. z o. o.  is an independent publishing company, specialised in the communication and dissemination of agriculture-based content, addressing mainly farmers and professional fruit and vegetable growers.  

With 30 years of experience, we are one of leading media houses in Poland in the horticulture and agriculture sector – both in printed and digital media. We publish 6 specialist magazines, 1 free delivery newspaper and manage 4 web portals dedicated to horticulture professionals. With a circulation of 800,000 copies of our printed magazines and our digital media activity, we reach at least 3 million people a year. 

We cooperate with Polish and international media, research institutes, universities, agricultural companies, NGOs and groups of producers, representatives of the government and local authorities. We are present at all the largest trade fairs and industry meetings, both in Poland and abroad – often as a co-organiser and media patron. We have mastered fairs, meetings, conferences and training to perfection. We have been co-creating the Orchard Meeting in Sandomierz for 30 years. 

From September 2022, with the support of the European Commission, we are also implementing the Project “New Common Agricultural Policy – an opportunity and a challenge for Poland”, as part of the Program: Information Measures relating to the Common Agricultural Policy (IMCAP). The Program supports information activities aimed at spreading knowledge about EU support for agriculture and rural development under the CAP. 

As one of the leading media houses in Poland in the horticulture and agriculture sector, we’ve joined project ECHO as communication leaders, responsible for communication activities for 16 consortium members. 

Quanta is a private company founded to promote digitization and access to information technologies for responsible and sustainable development. Our mission focuses on innovating and exploiting computer systems and services for advanced computing, data management, and artificial intelligence applications. We firmly believe that improving efficiency and competitiveness in the scientific, economic, and industrial spheres requires adaptation to new digital tools in synergy with technological innovation with a social impact. 

We provide tailor-made solutions for scalable computer systems and consulting services for complex architectures and applications. Our services include operating and automating processes from on-prem infrastructures in the private, public, and hybrid cloud through container orchestration systems to edge solutions. Our data management and analytics solutions provide acceleration, scalability, and simplification of ETL processes and integration with real-time and AI-driven applications.  

We work in close collaboration with research centers and Universities by participating in research, development, and innovation projects funded by the European Union and mentoring students. Our team includes Ph.D. researchers, data scientists, and systems and communications engineering staff with extensive experience in disruptive projects and creating and operating robust systems in large-scale production. 

Quanta is responsible for the ECHO participatory digital technologies with the overarching goal to provide an end-to-end data pipeline, from acquisition to visualization, and a long-term repository of data resulting from citizen science that can be deployed at a large scale along with European Soil Databases to broaden the soil data generation and interpretation capacities in Europe. It involves the development of ECHOREPO, a digital cyber-infrastructure to automate the overall data taking, data management, and data dissemination pipeline that will be integrated into the Citizen Observatory Minka (https://minka-sdg.org), which records and validates observations related to Sustainable Development Goals. 

Social media:  

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Website:  

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Contact:  
Raúl Bardají 
Email: echo@quanta-labs.com  

ReSoil Foundation is a private not-for-profit organisation founded with the aim to protect one of our planet’s most important and neglected natural resources: the soil.

Promoted by University of Bologna, Coldiretti, Novamont and Turin Polytechnic, the Foundation works to enable a step change in soil health and local regeneration. Re Soil plans to foster activities in the sectors of scientific research, technology, education and information to grow the understanding of soil health, quality of life and system decarbonization.

Soil is a vital resource, it provides us with nutritious food and other products as well as with clean water and flourishing habitats for biodiversity. At the same time, soils can help slow the onset of climate change and make us more resilient to extreme climate events such as droughts and floods. Soils preserve our cultural heritage and are a key part of the landscapes that we all cherish. Simply put, healthy living soils keep us, and the world around us, alive. Nonetheless, today 33% of soils are already degraded, 20% of soils in Europe are subjected to soil loss, and soil sealing causes an irreversible loss of productive soil amounting to 1,000 Km2/year. Soil degradation is affecting Europe and in particular the Mediterranean Region.

Soil health has been included by the European Commission in the Horizon Europe framework programme as one of the 5 Missions to solve some of the greatest challenges facing our world. In this scenario, Re Soil Foundation aims to raise awareness on soil health and on the importance of restoring organic soil matter by supporting the development of efficient organic waste recycling systems, recycling facilities, monitoring tools, and regulations for soil protection. Education, training, and planning play a key role to support this R&D strategy, starting from schools and youth, with the aim to create the conditions for a virtuous growth of our Country, which starts with the promotion of integrated value chains. Re Soil Foundation believes that knowledge and capacity sharing will be crucial to reach this goal and is open to welcome all the stakeholders who intend to contribute to the transition towards a sustainable future, the only one possible.

As a partner of the ECHO project, Re Soil Foundation is especially involved in developing the state of the art on Citizen Science initiatives for monitoring soil health, monitoring and evaluation framework; activities of communication, dissemination, education to different target groups, including citizens, farmers and schools; development and coordination of citizen science initiatives on soil health across Europe; value of citizen science generated data for farmers, landowners, local decision-makers; use in policy making, policy implications and guidelines. 

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Having as its origin and essential work base the rural space, SOLUTOPUS is available to embrace several challenges that cross different domains of knowledge.  

At Solutopus, we believe that a sustainable future starts with informed decision-making. Our initiatives encompass themes such as agroforestry systems, regenerative agriculture, soil health, sustainability of farms and complementarity between urban and rural areas, mostly related to innovation. By collaborating with renowned experts, we generate valuable insights that inform policy-making, foster sustainable development, and empower stakeholders across the European Union. Living Labs are among our main targets, representing a potential and rich collaboration between the stakeholders across the agriculture and forest value chains. 

In addition to our research, we search to provide strategic consulting services regarding the implementation of sustainable practices, increasing productivity and achieving environmental goals.  We pride ourselves on delivering practical and actionable solutions that drive positive environmental impact while ensuring economic viability. 

In ECHO, Solutopus is responsible for coordinating citizen science initiatives in the biogeographical region Mediterranean/Atlantic. It will improve citizens’ engagement in data collection, discussion and implementation of initiatives to answer identified problems. Additionally, Solutopus will co-promote new opportunities and innovative measures for citizen involvement, grounded on appropriate tools and methodologies, which will also prepare the basis for a deeper discussion. 

WEBSITE

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SOCIAL MEDIA

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University of Bologna (UNIBO) 

Department of Agri-Food Science and Technology (DISTAL) 

Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, founded in 1088 AD, is the oldest university in the world still in operation. Its history is intertwined with that of great figures who worked in the fields of science and literature and is an essential reference in the panorama of European culture. It was the first place of study to use the term “universitas” for the corporations of students and masters, which came to define the institution (especially its law school) located in Bologna. The university’s emblem carries the motto, Alma Mater Studiorum (“Nourishing mother of studies”) and the date A.D. 1088. It has campuses in Cesena, Forlì, Ravenna and Rimini and a branch abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The University of Bologna is made up of 31 Departments and 5 Schools (Economics and Management, Engineering, Arts, Humanities and Cultural Heritage, Medicine, and Science). There are also 7 Interdepartmental Research Centres and 12 interdepartmental research and training facilities.  

The Department is the largest in the University of Bologna with about five hundred employees, and it is organised into specific areas to coordinate the main research activities. Every multidisciplinary group operate on all typical sectors of the agricultural field. The department has strong research activities as it coordinates 12 European projects and is a partner in 34 other projects. It has just won 6 Prima and 12 PRIN. Distal is 2018-2022 Department of Excellence for the Italian Ministry of University and Research and has contributed significantly to the University of Bologna attaining 53rd position in the “Agriculture & Forestry” sector of QS World University Ranking 2023.  

UNIBO contributes to ECHO as leader of WP4 and participate in other WPs of ECHO. The main objective of WP4 is to evaluate the (economic) benefit of improving decisions on soil health with the use of citizen science data. UNIBO main activities include Task 4.3: Use and interest in citizen science data. Survey with end-users to assess usefulness and efforts required for data collection using multicriteria techniques and Task 4.4: Assessing the value of information for farmers and decision-makers.  

Contacts 

Davide Viaggi 
davide.viaggi@unibo.it 

Luciano Cavani 
luciano.cavani@unibo.it 

Stefano Targetti 
stefano.targetti@unibo.it 

Nidhi Raina 
nidhi.raina@unibo.it 

University of Eastern Finland is a multidisciplinary university that aims to provide interdisciplinary solutions for a sustainable future. The School of Forest Sciences is in Joensuu campus. Joensuu is one of the most important forest know-how clusters in the world. Our partners Natural Resources Institute Finland Joensuu, European Forest Institute, and Karelia University of Applied Sciences are also located in here in Joensuu. 

Our school is an internationally renowned research and education unit and has a decades-long history in forest sciences. Our research is of high quality internationally, and is focused on forests, forestry, and the significance of forests in a society. It is associated with the research done on environment and renewable resources, which is one of the core strengths of our university. Our main fields of research are forest ecology, forest management, forest planning, remote sensing forests with laser scanning, logistics of logging, and wood materials science. Forest zones cross borders and forest industry operates globally. Forest researchers have always sought international contacts, because local forestry no longer exists. Climate change and biodiversity loss is relevant to all of us.  

We participate in multiple projects financed by the EU, and our research and development partnerships include many companies and practical organizations. Our researchers participate in the product development of the forest sector and university-business cooperation with other natural resource sector actors. In ECHO we contribute by bringing expertise on boreal forest soils, experiences on participatory action research and broad collaboration network including forestry educators, students, forest owners and forest professionals. 

Links:

University of Eastern Finland 

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School of Forest Sciences 

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The University of Extremadura (UEX, Universidad de Extremadura) is the main public research institution in Extremadura (Spain) with 4 university campuses: Badajoz, Cáceres, Plasencia and Mérida. It has over 24,000 students and 2,405 researchers and professors. UEX is ranked 628th amongst universities all over the world (Scimago Institutions Ranking, SIR 2018) from over 5637 institutions surveyed; and has been awarded Campus of International Excellence since 2011 in association with two Portuguese universities. The Campus addresses high levels of excellence in teaching and research activities, transfer of knowledge towards the productive sector and entrepreneurship, as well as dissemination of science and innovation to the society, producing a high socio-economic impact. UEX provides extensive, state-of-the-art, research laboratories and infrastructures, including high-grade containment facilities for research. UEX also has university research institutes (Spanish initials, IUI) engaging in all fields of science, engineering civil technology and humanities, as well as artistic creation and embracing all the areas of knowledge covered by the University. 

Within the ECHO Project framework, the main role of UEX is being the responsible partner for the best success of WP2, which main goal is to create a citizen science platform (ECHO mobile app and website) to gather soil science data that will be mostly generated by WP3 activities. It is also involved in other tasks from other WPs and in the steering committee of the project. Its team member is composed by 7 soil scientists that teach Pedology in the degrees of Geography (Cáceres campus) and Agronomy (Badajoz campus): Susanne Schnabel, Joaquín Francisco Lavado Contador, Manuel Pulido Fernández, Juana del Socorro Labrador Moreno, Luis Francisco Fernández Pozo, María de los Ángeles Rodríguez and Antonio López Piñeiro. During the project post-doc and pre-doc researchers will be recruited to support a perfect development of WP2.  

UEX official website (English version – link)

The University of Hohenheim is an international research university with a strong presence in the region and in the State of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. 

Founded in 1818 after devastating famines, the University of Hohenheim is not only engaged in intensive basic research but has traditionally also been committed to developing innovative solutions for urgent social matters. Today, it is Germany’s leading university in agricultural research and food sciences, as well as strong and unparalleled in natural, social, business, economic, and communication sciences.   

Sustainability and resilience are overarching concepts which are of major relevance for many areas in teaching and research at the University of Hohenheim and in the operations of the university itself. The goal of Hohenheim research is to create a basic understanding of the interrelationships and to then channel these findings into the shaping of concrete actions in practice.  

The department of Sustainable Development and Change, which also shares the university’s research goal and places a strong emphasis on sustainability, is the one involved in the ECHO project. Within the department, our research focuses on sustainable behaviour, especially in consumption and in the workplace, the associated incentives and barriers, and the underlying individual environmental motivation and competence. We are interested in their development across the lifespan and their links with education for sustainable development and nature connectedness. In addition, we are internationally recognised in the longitudinal measurement of environmental competence with computer-based approaches of item response theory. 

Our main role within the project ECHO involves developing and implementing a project monitoring and evaluation framework from a psychological perspective and at the participant level. Through qualitative and quantitative research methods, we will assess the ability of the project’s citizen science initiatives to evoke changes in participant’s intellectual and motivational abilities in relation to soil (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, perception of soils). Our main tasks therefore will include the development of relevant and appropriate measurement scales, the collection, analysis and integration of the evaluation data and reporting the findings.  

We will also be engaged in various other tasks, including for example, the identification of previous and current EU citizen science initiatives that monitor soil health, to help find the target population and inform the development of the ECHO initiatives.  

Websites 

University of Hohenheim

Department of Sustainable Development and Change

The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (Libera Università degli Studi di Bolzano in Italian, UNIBZ) is a public research university located in Bolzano, Italy. Established in 1997, the university stands out for its distinctive trilingual curriculum, offering courses in German, Italian, and English, reflecting the unique cultural and linguistic context of the South Tyrol region. Committed to fostering an inclusive and innovative learning environment, it has gained recognition for its interdisciplinary approach, research excellence, and engagement with both local and international communities. The university has five faculties: i) Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences, ii) Faculty of Design and Art, iii) Faculty of Economics and Management, iv) Faculty of Education and v) Faculty of Engineering. The university believes that sustainability and interdisciplinarity constitutes the starting point for the solution of complex issues related to the use of natural and human resources for agricultural and horticultural production in mountain territories and the transformation of raw materials into final food products. 

The Competence Centre for Plant Health of the UNIBZ focuses on the research of abiotic and biotic stress factors in order to understand their role on the health of plants, to research changes and to predict future challenges, as well as to develop innovative solutions and recommend them in practice. At the centre we develop practical solutions in order to create an important basis for the future challenges facing South Tyrol’s agriculture and forestry. The Competence Centre is an active member of Euphresco among other 70 organisations from more than 50 countries worldwide and member of the European ERIAFF network with 50 member European Regions and 38 observers from 21 European countries for Innovation in Agriculture, Food and Forestry. 

In ECHO, UNIBZ is foremost coordinating and managing the project to engage and make citizen aware of the importance of soil health to motivate them to actively protect and restore soils.  Moreover, the UNIBZ is involved in several work packages. UNIBZ will help to create an assessment framework for citizen science methods and a citizen-generated soil data quality assessment framework. Furthermore, UNIBZ will participate in developing and validating a citizen science toolbox and app used for the citizen science initiatives. UNIBZ will coordinate citizen science initiatives in Italy, Austria and Switzerland. Finally, UNIBZ will help in identifying end users and in providing an end-to-end data pipeline, from acquisition to visualisation, and a long-term repository of data resulting from citizen science. 

USV is an innovative and complex public higher education institution with 11 faculties, which offers undergraduate, master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral programs and conducts scientific research in the fields of economics, technical sciences, engineering and computer science, natural sciences, humanities and health. USV offers a comprehensive curriculum of over 120 education programs involving nearly ten thousand students studying under the coordination of approximately 600 full-time and associate teachers and with the administrative assistance of 400 people.  

USV is the first university in Romania in terms of the number of patents and inventions in the last decade (with 285 innovation patents in 2012–2022), and plays a key role in the development and dissemination of scientific knowledge. Since its establishment in 1963, USV has been a strong presence for the local community in the geopolitical context of regional development and cross-border relations between Romania, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova. 

The ECHO project activities will be carried out by a USV team of researchers from the Faculty of Forestry, with the main expertise in GIS and soil mapping. The USV team will be involved in GIS and soil mapping, collecting citizen-science data, testing and data analysis, writing protocols and guidelines, engaging stakeholders, and disseminating the project results. 

 We are excited as our team ventures on this incredible journey to participate and contribute to the ECHO project. The prospect of engaging directly with the community, collaborating with passionate individuals, and collectively advancing scientific knowledge fills us with anticipation. We eagerly look forward to immersing in the meaningful work of citizen science, leveraging our skills and knowledge to gather valuable data, uncover new insights, and positively impact our communities. Together with our ECHO partners, we are ready to embrace this remarkable endeavour for healthier soils and a more sustainable future.

Links:

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Forestry Faculty (USV) 

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