ROOTS

ROOTS: Raising Our Offspring Through Soil

Location of activities and scope

Italy, Performance

Italy – Festival animation – Performance

Executive Summary

The project proposes a shared residency between artists, scientists, and educators leading to the creation of an artistic performance for the Italian Soil Festival in Bologna (2027). Its main objective is to celebrate the ecological, cultural, and scientific significance of soil, translating
complex knowledge into accessible, engaging, and family-friendly experiences. The primary target group is children (6–14 years old) and their families, empowered as soil ambassadors through participatory workshops. The approach combines artistic creation, scientific dissemination, and school-based activities, ensuring inclusivity and interdisciplinary collaboration. Expected outcomes include a co-created performance, playbill, video documentation, and educational workshops, contributing to soil literacy, cultural awareness,and long-term community engagement.

Motivation Statement

Soil is much more than the ground beneath our feet: it is a living foundation that sustains life, culture, and memory. It feeds us by nurturing 95% of our food, shelters biodiversity, and stores more carbon than forests and the atmosphere combined. Yet it also holds stories, rituals, and the traces of generations before us. For us, soil is both ecological and cultural heritage: it is the invisible common good that connects science with daily life, and tradition with the future. To care for soil is to care for ourselves, for our communities, and for the generations to come.