Solid Ground

Solid Ground. Garden City, Living Soil

Location of activities and scope

Podkowa Leśna, Poland, Stage Performance

Poland – Festival animation – Performance

Executive Summary

The objective is to raise awareness of soil’s role in sustaining life on Earth and to inspire community action for soil regeneration.

With citizens of Podkowa Leśna and nearby peri-urban areas, we will deliver a process-based, science-informed and permaculture-oriented project, combining performing arts, science, and education.

A theatre performance, preceded by research, interviews and hands-on workshops providing the participants with better understanding of the complexity of soil issues, will be co-createdwith senior actors from a local theatre, young people, ecology, permaculture and soil experts, and artists working with soil. It will engage audiences through clear facts and strong emotional/artistic motifs.

The performance will be presented at the Mazovia SOILSCAPE festival and locally. Outcomes: 2-3 shows with a post-show discussion, a playbill, participation in the podcast, a full-HD recording for reuse, plus 5 short video clips and a simple “what you can do for soil” guide.

Motivation Statement

Soil is life. It supports life. Its unique composition, where organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms work together, enables the growth of plants. However, most of the soil’s life is invisible. In one teaspoon of soil, there are more microorganisms than there are people on the Earth.

Soil is a major component of the Earth’s ecosystem. A habitat. A carbon reservoir. A regulator.

Soil has a strong symbolic notion – it can symbolise life, death, and resurrection. The land of the fathers, a womb and a matrix. It enables growth, provides food, and buries the dead. Soil is vulnerable. It is extremely reactive to human disturbance and climate change. Soil is in danger.

Soil can be built and rebuilt – by organic matter and labour. There is hope, there is a future. Life can be sustained.