HUMUS sapiens retreat 2019

With your help, HUMUS sapiens will dig even deeper!

After our successful wemakeit campaign in 2018 (https://vimeo.com/258892378 ), You too can become part of our «open soil research» project.

Soil creation and regeneration requires a tightly intertwined and interwoven network of organisms and matter, from microbes to animals and plants. The crosstalk between all of those compounds enables seeds to sprout on fertile soil.

We believe that this diversity is always the key to creativity and innovation: HUMUS sapiens creates interdisciplinary crosstalk and collaboration from scientists, biohackers, artists and ecologists to farmers and gardeners, to share and build knowledge and tools for soil analysis and regeneration, that can be available for the society.

With your help, we will meet from 25.10. - 27.10.2019 at Project draussen ~ http://projekt-draussen.com ~ near Munich, Germany, to share everything we have learned from 18 months of HUMUS sapiens.

Who is HUMUS sapiens?

We are a group of citizen scientists interested in microbiology and the environment. The Global Hackteria Network, Gasthaus: Fermentation and Bacteria and the mikroBIOMIK society joined forces to bring citizen science and the hacker spirit into soil ecology. We built a network of soil enthusiasts for long-term collaborative research and invite YOU and everyone else to join us in our quest for a better understanding of the role of microorganisms in keeping the soil healthy.

2018 was very intense: we ran a successful crowdfunding campaign, we organised 3 wonderful multi-day retreats and 6 additional workshops to learn with participants.

2019 it goes on!! In the first half of the year alone we already had 6 events: in Berlin, Vienna, Tel Aviv, Paris, Vilnius and Munich.

You support will be used to:

1. Invite more curious people to join our network of soil enthusiasts for long-term collaborative research.

2. Make the «HUMUS sapiens soil retreat» happen. We want more brilliant minds (including yours) to come together to work on DIY scientific methodologies and participate in workshops on the topic of soil ecology. The event will take place from 25.10.–27.10.2019 nearby Munich. Come and contribute with your enthusiasm and competence, sharing knowledge while hanging out with inspiring people.

3. Bring «open soil research» to you. Contact us before booking, especially if you have a specific need or schedule.

4. Organization of the «HUMUS sapiens - soil symposium» - focused on connecting cutting edge academic research in soil ecology with practical agricultural knowledge

For more information, please visit: https://mikrobiomik.com/humussapiens or send us a message: humussapiens@mikrobiomik.org

DIY (do it yourself), DIT (do it together) or DIWO (do it with others)? - It doesn’t matter: let’s do something amazing!

Why is soil so imortant?

Far more than just the dirt under our feet, soil is a truly complex and dynamic ecosystem. It is a constantly changing mix of minerals, living organisms, decaying organic matter, air and water. It is the living skin of our planet, allowing new forms of life to come into being, incorporating the nutrients left there by organisms of the past.

Soil is bursting with life and can be vastly different from one square cm to the next. From plants, earthworms, insects and fungi to the invisible amoeba, nematodes, algae and bacteria – each creature provides their own essential role in the soil ecosystem.

It may take hundreds or thousands of years for fertile topsoil to be formed naturally, but it can be eroded almost instantly. Human impact on the soil, including intensive agricultural practices (deforestation, overgrazing, use of agrochemicals) and urbanization, leads to compaction, loss of soil structure, nutrient degradation and contamination, breaking down these ecosystems and reducing the soil to infertile desert.

In their ’Global Land Outlook’ (2017) the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification stated that «in Europe alone, poor land management practices account for an estimated 970 million tons of soil loss due to erosion each year; worldwide, the annual loss of soil is estimated at 24 billion tons.»

For more information and the full report, please visit: https://unccd.int/actions/global-land-outlook-glo

It is time to better understand and preserve our soil.

It is time to save our means of life.