How planting your pants can raise understanding of soil health

A new citizen science campaign has been launched in the UK by The Country Trust to help develop a hands-on understanding and appreciation of soil.

23 March 2023 • 2 min read

A new citizen science campaign has been launched in the UK by The Country Trust to help develop a hands-on understanding and appreciation of soil.

The Country Trust launched a new campaign called Plant Your Pants on March 20, which seeks to raise awareness to the world of soil and enable everyone to discover why soil health is so vital.

Plant Your Pants is calling on children and adults up and down the country to bury their old cotton underwear (or any cotton) in school grounds, on farmland and at home in gardens, window boxes and plant pots. Eight weeks later, they will be asked to dig their pants up and, putting their scientific analysis skills to use, assess the results. The more holes in the pants, the healthier the soil, according to the charity.

By encouraging children and adults to connect with soil, Plant Your Pants hopes to help build understanding that soil is vital and filled with life which needs to be protected.

Plant Your Pants experiments will take place between March and June with results from experiments being uploaded on the Country Trusts interactive soil health map once complete.

A full overview of the Plant Your Pants campaigns findings will be revealed by The Country Trust at the end of the summer term where participants will be able to compare soil findings and pose questions to some of the UKs leading soil scientists.

Just dirt

Coinciding with the launch of the Plant Your Pants campaign, new survey data from The Country Trust shows that nearly a third (27 per cent) of children between the ages of 7 and 10 years old have never, or hardly ever got their hands dirty in soil. Additionally, half (50 per cent) of children surveyed simply see soil as just dirt.

Jill Attenborough CEO of The Country Trust says: The Plant Your Pants campaign is a fantastic chance for farmers to engage with children on the importance of soil and why we need to look after it. It is quick, easy and free to sign up and youll not only be helping our future generations make that vital connection between the soil, our food and our health you will be finding out more about the health of your own soils in the process.