Soil Smart is an innovative and collaborative project between Western Sussex Rivers Trust, Southern Water, S. Woodley Crop Services, Cranfield University, and the Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI), focused on engaging small groups of farmers in citizen science through data collection and monitoring. The initiative was unique in that it provided the opportunity to learn from farmers and adapt tests to address their concerns, specifically the time and resources required for specific tests.
Moreover, the project inspired meaningful partnerships between the Rivers Trust and Southern Water.
This is an example of innovative and evolving citizen science that adapts to real-world concerns, becoming cheaper, faster, and easier for all citizen scientists, and ensuring more efficient intervention.
Empowering farmers as key contributors
Through the Soil SmART project, a small cohort of farmers participated in a citizen science trial focused on soil health. The collaborative effort provided an opportunity to both assess data collection and monitoring initiatives, and to assess the practical validity, robustness and user-friendliness of citizen science tests for farmers. The project provided an invaluable opportunity for farmers to share their genuine insights, which directly informed researchers, enabling them to tailor the tests for greater applicability in real-world scenarios, taking into account vital factors such as timing and capacity constraints.
Who
This project is supported by a network of dedicated organizations:
Where
Arun and Rother Catchment, around the Pulborough area.
The role of soil
Soils can help to prevent flooding. Healthy soils can help prevent flooding by absorbing water slowly and releasing it into rivers, thereby preventing sudden water entry that leads to flooding.
Soils can help limit the release of CO2. Soils can store carbon, a major contributor to climate change in the form of CO2. CO2 acts as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and warming the planet. Soils store more carbon than all trees and plants, acting as a carbon sink, and reducing the amount of CO2 entering our atmosphere.
Soils can tell us about past climate. Climate significantly influences soil formation. By examining soils and soil profiles, we can uncover clues about past climates and weather patterns.
Why are we interested in soils? Both Rivers Trust and Utilities are interested in promoting soil health because pollution from rural areas is one of the main sources of river pollution. Through a stronger, more interconnected structure of roots and fungi, healthy soils are better at preventing erosion, requiring fewer chemical treatments, and regulating water runoff and absorption during heavy rain.
Methods used
Soil citizen science:
This project developed one-pagers for these methods:
- Earthworm Counts,
- Visual Evaluation of Soil Structure (VESS)
- Water Infiltration,
- Soil nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and pH testing
- Bury your undies,
- Soil Texture hand test and jar test.
Method audit – Listing, categorising and evaluating a variety of soil tests that can be monitored in the field.
Engagement techniques – workshops, interviews, WhatsApp group
Industry standard monitoring – Electro Conductivity testing, GPS-positioned soil sampling (25 cores per field parcel). Samples analyzed for: P, K, Mg, pH, Organic Matter, Solvita, Bulk Density, Carbon levels & Textural Classification.
Applications: Vidacycle’s Soil Mentor App, Excel, PES App
98%
Of all calories humans consume comes from food grown in soil
10 billion organisms
can be found in one teaspoon of healthy soil
67%
Waterbodies are impacted by pollution from agriculture in the UK
Areas of Concern
There were three main issues the Soil SmARt project sought to address:
Soil health knowledge – Many people do not fully understand their soils or their benefits. Soils can store carbon, and healthy soils can help prevent flooding by absorbing water slowly and releasing it into our rivers, thereby preventing sudden water surges.
Sediment in the rivers – Agricultural practices can increase soil erosion, resulting in increased volumes of sediment in the rivers, smothering invertebrates and covering fish spawning habitat, decreasing the biodiversity of the rivers.
Chemicals in the rivers – When it rains, plant protection products (like herbicides) attached to sediment can easily wash into river systems. At the same time, nitrates can quickly seep through unhealthy soils, making their way into the water. Phosphates, another key nutrient, also bind to sediment. Once these phosphates reach the river, they over-enrich the aquatic environment, frequently triggering harmful algal blooms. This nutrient overload significantly changes the balance of species living in the river, reducing its overall biodiversity.
Building trust towards co-creation
Trust between organizers, farmers, and landowners was crucial for the success of Soil SmARt.
From the outset, trust was essential to establish meaningful relationships with landowners. Southern Water employed a trusted member of the community, an agronomist, to lead introductions between researchers and farmers.
Unlike traditional projects that rely on cold outreach from outside organizations, this approach used a trusted community advisor to build a lasting, two-way relationship with landowners, ensuring their continued engagement beyond a single project.
Rather than approaching landowners saying “we want to do this test,” Southern Water and WSRT asked them “We want to look at soil health and relationship to water, how would you like to explore this?”
This inspired trust and open discussion where farmers were asked:
- What do you want to know about your soil health?
- What makes a good data platform for you?
- How would you prefer to receive the information?
Lessons for co-creation
- Work together: Don’t presume what citizen scientists want to learn, or what they need; instead, ask them. For example: ask what the best time to meet is, what they’re hoping to learn and what they want to do, instead of creating an agenda beforehand.
- Establish your goals: Decide what you want to monitor as a collective, and provide insight into why some options aren’t viable. For example, while volunteers may want to study bacteria, in-stream data collection can be harmful to the sediment of the watercourse.
- Ask for feedback: Talk to citizen scientists regularly and take their thoughts into consideration.
Community research
The Countryside and Community Research Institute (CCRI) is one of the largest specialist rural research centres in the UK, working at the interface of agriculture, society and the environment on issues relevant to rural and urban development. CCRI collaborates with partners across physical and social sciences, facilitating knowledge exchanges that span soil science, sustainable agriculture, food culture, and the boundaries of the food system.
With Soil SmART, the CCRI focused on social science, with guidance on how to co-create the project with farmers and landowners. From the beginning, CCRI hosted the co-creation workshops for all parties, which sought to determine:
- What did all parties want from the project?
- Who needed to be engaged?
- How to engage with these parties.
This process was incredibly helpful as the CCRI provided proper language and questions to get helpful responses that would shape an in-depth, useful study and create an environment for collaboration and trust.
Adapting tests for real-life
Farmers and landowners provided feedback for organizers, asking for ‘cheaper, easier and faster’ methods. Below are three specific examples of adaptation:
Vidacycle platform
- Originally, Vidacycle apps were used on smartphones to record soil data collection. However, farmers noted that while the guides were good, it was difficult for them to handle their phones to enter data in the middle of a muddy field.
- With CCRI, Soil Smart created laminated cards that could be used on-site. The cards were practical, waterproof and sturdy and eliminated the potential of damaging a phone
Recording sheets
- Some participants were able to fill in a plethora of information during testing, including the data they recorded. In contrast, some busier participants didn’t have time to fill in the forms completely.
- WSRT designed a simple recording sheet that enabled farmers to fill in data forms easily and accurately, and allowed WSRT to add the data to online platforms with ease.
PH Litmus tests to probes
To address this, Soil SmARt introduced the use of probes, still utilising citizen science but also adapting testing to inform practices.
Initially, researchers used litmus tests for testing purposes. However, many farmers and landowners wanted to learn more about their soils in greater detail.
‘Cheaper, easier, faster’
The Soil SmARt project was created to engage farmers in citizen science, but it was the feedback from the farmers that was crucial to the project’s success. One of the greatest lessons from the Soil SmART scheme was that farmers and landowners needed soil tests to be faster, easier, and cheaper.
To address this, researchers adapted the soil tests and methodology, including:
- Trialling of a Soil SmARt Buddy Scheme, where trained volunteers are matched with farmers to assist with sampling to address capacity concerns.
- Measuring soil in landscapes as opposed to water courses, as farmers were more interested in these results.
- Returning to the same testing sites instead of investigating new sites each time, to provide a fuller understanding of the changes in one area.
Such information provides crucial insight not found in labs. It highlights the necessity of farmers’ knowledge in citizen science.
Bridging relationships
One of the greatest benefits of CaSTCo was the opportunity for relationship building between NGOs and water utilities.
CaSTCo conferences brought together researchers, farmers, landowners, trusts, water companies, politicians, and NGOs to learn, discuss and explore water issues and solutions across the UK.
Notably, it brought together multiple communities with the same passion for water and showed how this passion circumvented differences in work and previous biases. Reputationally, it helped make people understand that many people are working across the water sector, including utilities, who are engaged and passionate about good water quality.
Ultimately, CaSTCO was able to bridge gaps between communities and organizations and encourage stronger relationships and better work.
Benefits of CaSTCo
Finding partners – CaSTCo meetings and demonstrations allowed for opportunities to meet, engage and collaborate with numerous organizations across the UK.
Building capacity – The Soil SmARt project began with three part-time employees on site. At present, they have ten staff. CaSTCo was a catalyst for growing as a trust, as it provided opportunities to build confidence in the project and recognition of the organization, allowing for more funding.
Conference knowledge – CaSTCo conferences an opportunity to learn what other projects were doing, and the tests and methods they were using. Such exposure to new and innovative methods allowed Soil Smart to consider what to add to their own study, notably soil monitoring and mentorship capabilities.
Cutting down silos – . As researchers are constantly approaching many communities, there is a risk of attrition in engagement and repetition of similar experiments. Through CaSTCo, organizations can ensure they are engaging different communities and researching different questions.
CaSTCo across the tiers
The project aimed to compare tier 2 and tier 3 methods with those that farmers and volunteers could implement across tier 1 (see above methodology).
The Tier 2 and 3 high-precision methodology below is used to test multiple dimensions of soil samples, both in the field and in the lab. Such tests included:
PES Soil Health in Field Sensor – an onsite five-minute soil sensor which measures nutrient movement through soil is helping farmers make better-informed fertiliser timings to optimise nutrient use efficiency
NRM Carbon Check Plus Report – Used to calculate the carbon stock and soil organic matter, as well as active carbon to assess the portion of organic matter readily available to soil microbes.
Cranfield University soil repirometer measurements – measures the biological activity of soil by quantifying the rate of carbon dioxide (CO2) or oxygen (O2) consumption. These measurements help assess soil health, microbial activity, and the impact of various factors on soil’s biological processes
Double-ring Infiltration test – a field method for measuring how quickly water penetrates soil.
What comes next
Timing and length of experiments
Soil health monitoring in the Spring and Autumn, when the soil is moist and warm gives the most representative indication of soil health status. During this project, organisers experienced a very wet Autumn and a very dry Spring. Only long-term trends from a baseline can be used to confidently assess improvements or decline in soil health.
Cranfield University report
Cranfield University’s report, due out in the fall of 2025, will offer advice on fixing low organic matter in soils, reducing compaction, and provide an overview of different approaches for soil health management.
Training, information sheets and events
Following the report, Southern Water will invite participants to meet with specialists for unique training opportunities and advice visits at the original catchments. Additionally, Western Sussex Rivers Trust will ensure that all information sheets are made available on their website for easy accessibility for all.
Soil Guardians
WSRT aims to continue its involvement in the project by establishing Soil Guardians, which will work with a select group of farmers to demonstrate the testing methods employed during Soil SmARt. The goal of this is to make these tests accessible for all, notably by using online videos for easy access and sharing.
” At Southern Water our goal is to work with farmers to explore opportunities to improve soil health. The soilsmART project has helped inform our approach to Citizen Science soil monitoring methods and what motivates participants to get involved.”
– Robert Iddeson, Farming Knowledge Exchanger Officer, Southern Water