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For Participants

Are you participating or considering participation? Learn more about your role in ECHO!

ECHO: what's next?

The Project opens to participants starting from the spring of 2024. 

Starting from spring and summer 2024
First Open Call for ECHO Ambassadors!

The Project begins recruiting ECHO Ambassadors: soil health specialists, teachers, farmers, NGO representatives, artists, bloggers, and more! 

The Open Call launches for the following countries: Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain.

BECOME AN ECHO AMBASSADOR

April 2024 to January 2025
In Progress / Coming Soon...
In-Person and Online Workshops for ECHO Ambassadors

ECHO Ambassadors and some prospective participants will get a chance to participate in an ECHO Workshop focused on understanding the goals of the project, the most relevant aspects of soil health, the ECHO soil kit and their next steps in ECHO as Ambassadors.

January 2025 onward
Coming Soon!
Recruiting Citizen Scientists, Soil Sampling Toolkit distribution, ECHO App and training materials available

Starting in January 2025, ECHO will start recruiting Citizen Scientists in the initial participating countries (Finland, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Spain). Consider signing up, whether you are a soil health enthusiast, a student (high school and university), or a community member.

More details available soon!

Spring / Summer 2025
Coming Soon!
Soil Sample Collection and Analysis

Citizen Scientists will use their kits to collect samples for analysis, during individual or collective field trips.

Exact dates will vary by country to account for local climate and weather conditions.

Spring / Summer 2025
Coming Soon!
Results of sample analysis

Collected data will eventually become available through ECHOREPO, a long-term repository of information.

Early 2026
Coming Soon
Second Open Call for ECHO Ambassadors in more countries

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

Follow us on social media to receive regular updates!

Spring 2026 onwards
Coming Soon
Workshops, recruitment, soil sample collection, analysis, and results for all countries in the Second Open Call

Starting in January 2025, ECHO will start recruiting Citizen Scientists in additional countries (France, Slovenia , Austria, Switzerland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Croatia, Czechia, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania). Consider signing up, whether you are a soil health enthusiast, a student (high school and university), or a community member.

The Citizen Science Toolkit

Explore the tools of the ECHO’s citizen science toolkit! This all-inclusive kit is designed to empower you to contribute to valuable environmental research. Inside, you will find: clear and detailed instructions to walk you through each step of the citizen science journey, a shovel for soil sampling, a variety of containers to store and analyse the soil samples, pH evaluation strips, and sterile gloves for better sample handling. With these tools and our user-friendly app, you will become an essential member of the ECHO citizen science initiative, helping to deepen our collective understanding of the environment. Happy exploring!

Soil collection kit: what's inside?

  1. Precise guidelines for conducting soil sampling activities
  2. Protective gloves to be used during the sampling procedure
  3. A metal shovel for soil sampling
  4. A wooden spoon for soil handling
  5. A plastic container for measuring soil sample pH
  6. Paper strips for measuring soil sample pH
  7. A plastic container for collecting soil samples for biodiversity analysis
  8. A small biodegradable plastic bag for collecting soil samples for heavy metal analysis
  9. A large biodegradable plastic bag for storing both soil samples to be returned
  10. Contact information of designated person and lab for returning the kit

Soil collection kit: what's inside?

  1. Precise guidelines for conducting soil sampling activities
  2. Protective gloves to be used during the sampling procedure
  3. A metal shovel for soil sampling
  4. A wooden spoon for soil handling
  5. A plastic container for measuring soil sample pH
  6. Paper strips for measuring soil sample pH
  7. A plastic container for collecting soil samples for biodiversity analysis
  8. A small biodegradable plastic bag for collecting soil samples for heavy metal analysis
  9. A large biodegradable plastic bag for storing both soil samples to be returned
  10. Contact information of designated person and lab for returning the kit

Soil health indicators

As a citizen scientist, you will learn about many indicators used to assess soil health:

  • Presence of pollutants, excess nutrients, and salts
  • Soil organic carbon stock
  • Soil structure including soil bulk density and absence of soil sealing and erosion
  • Soil biodiversity
  • Soil nutrients and acidity (pH)
  • Vegetation cover
  • Landscape heterogeneity
  • Forest cover

What comes next?

Sign up as an ambassador today, or follow ECHO on social media until the Citizen Scientist open call! More information on ECHOREPO and the mobile app coming soon.

PROJECT ECHO – ENGAGING CITIZENS IN SOIL SCIENCE: THE ROAD TO HEALTHIER SOILS IS FUNDED BY THE EUROPEAN UNION UNDER GA NO. 101112869 AND CO-FUNDED BY UK RESEARCH AND INNOVATION (UKRI).

VIEWS AND OPINIONS EXPRESSED ARE HOWEVER THOSE OF THE AUTHOR(S) ONLY AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THOSE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, UKRI, OR THE EUROPEAN RESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY (REA). NEITHER THE EUROPEAN UNION, UKRI NOR THE REA CAN BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR THEM.

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