This week's World Soil Day saw the Save Our Soils campaign celebrate its first anniversary with the release of a special video, which organisers hope will go viral.
The campaign, which boasts more than 50 prominent partners, including NGOs like German Alnatura, the United Nation's FAO and the Youth Food Movement, was launched in Europe in 2012 by Nature & More and will run until 2015, the International Year of Soils.
Initiator and Nature & More CEO Volkert Engelsman commented: 'We're just getting started. Soil is not seen as a sexy subject, but this guerrilla farming video will change that. If you understand the importance of soils, help us to make it go viral. We need more 'soildiers'!'
The Save Our Soils campaign aims to make consumers aware of the worldwide loss of fertile soils and point to 'soilutions'.
'It is our aim to reach millions of people before 2015 about the issue of soils,' said Engelsman. 'With [Indian activist and author] Vandana Shiva as our international patron, our retail partners and our upcoming viral video, we're gaining impact. The best is yet to come!'
Among the successes of the first campaign year were three guerrilla farming actions in Berlin and Cologne, featuring Vandana Shiva, German celebrity cook Sarah Wiener and famous ex-politicians Renate Künast and Klaus Töpfer. These actions reached prime time television and were widely reported in the media.
Another major landmark was the release of the first consumer-oriented campaign product, the Soilmate. This purple 'kitchen garden' box, containing organic tomatoes, compost, basil seeds and information about the soil issue, was developed by Nature & More and successfully introduced onto the European market.
The winning video for the guerrilla farming video contest was submitted by a young American who cycled 5,000 miles through Europe and carried out guerrilla farming at iconic European sites, such as the Eiffel Tower and Buckingham Palace.
'The video swept us off our feet,' said Engelsman. 'We hope it will inspire many others to get involved in saving soils.'
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