The "Translating Soil Biodiversity" project is dedicated to making the importance of soil biodiversity accessible to a broad, international audience - especially children and young people between the ages of 8 and 15. Coordinated by Romy Zeiss, Elisabeth Bönisch, Dr. Rémy Beugnon and Malte Jochum, the project brings together scientists from the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE) in France and the universities in Leipzig and Würzburg. Evangelia Chronopoulou, Ioannis Constantinou, Vrinda Dabas and Amelie Hauer were also involved in the project.
The project focuses on a collection of 33 English-language articles on soil biodiversity that were published in the online journal "Frontiers for Young Minds". The articles were initiated and edited by iDiv alumni Malte Jochum, Dr. Rémy Beugnon and Helen Phillips. These works have been made available in more than 183 translations in 28 languages in collaboration with volunteer translators and can be viewed on the iDiv website.
The project has set itself the task of not only teaching children and young people about the fascinating world of soil life, but also encouraging them to actively contribute to the protection of our soils. This innovative approach presents the often invisible and little-noticed topic of soil biodiversity in an understandable and exciting way.
Translating Soil Biodiversity" was honored for its outstanding work in science communication aimed at a broad audience and helping to highlight the urgency of protecting soil ecosystems worldwide. The laudatory speech was held by Willi E. R. Xylander, a renowned soil zoologist and long-time director of the Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz. The Werner and Inge Grüter Prize for Science Communication, endowed with 10,000 euros, is awarded annually for outstanding work in the natural sciences with the aim of making scientific findings known to a wider public.
The background
As a central element of their public relations work, the team of authors initiated a comprehensive collection of articles on soil biodiversity research for 8 to 15-year-olds for the online journal Frontiers for Young Minds, some of which they wrote themselves, fully edited and translated into 26 languages with a network of 85 authors. To ensure that the articles are also understood by children, the team has the texts reviewed by 60 children and young people and improves them in response to their suggestions.The range of topics is broad: the researchers explain the effects of drought and overfertilization on soil organisms, report on little-known soil organisms, the defence strategies of plants against nematodes and the problem of microplastic pollution. The researchers also explained soil biodiversity at the Children’s University and at the Leipzig Book Fair.
The team of authors was awarded the Leipzig University Transfer Prize for their work on January 27, 2025.
Publication on the project:
"Communicating soil biodiversity research to kids around the world", Rémy Beugnon, Romy Zeiss, Elisabeth Bönisch, Helen R. P. Phillips, Malte Jochum; doi: 10.25674/413Save the date:
At Leipzig University’s #WissKomm HappyHour on March 27, 2025, 11 a.m., Elisabeth Bönisch and Romy Zeiss will be guests and talk about how they explain biodiversity to children worldwide.
How we want to give children around the world access to science
15.08.2024
