World Soil Day 2025!

Has our connection with the earth shifted? We buy our food from the supermarket, spend most of the day indoors, engage less with nature. Its so easy to forget that the soil beneath our feet plays a vital role in humanity’s survival.

Everyday we are dependant on the delicate ecosystem provided by soil. In fact soils supply 15 of the 18 naturally occurring chemical elements essential to plants. It forms a complex community of bacteria, fungi, micro-organisms, worms and insects, which by working together makes life possible on earth.

Despite its obvious benefits soil quality and care is often neglected. Today 33% of soils have degraded as a result of climate change and human activities. Consequently this decline has led to poor water filtration, flooding, decreased nutrients in our food and could have a detrimental effect on thousands of animal species.

To raise international awareness about soils and challenges in management the UN general assembly, endorsed by the FAO, designated December 5th ‘World Soil Day’ in 2014.

You can learn more about the challenges facing soil management by clicking the link below.

Our Soils Under Threat

Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities

This years theme ‘Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities’ shines a spotlight on urban landscaping, which is a global initiative that we support and build upon.

After dominating vast areas of the natural world with concrete, cities have steadily created an environmental imbalance by suffocating the soil. Unable to function effectively cities have consequently become more vulnerable.

However by tapping into the natural resources beneath our feet, permeating the soil and growing more plants we would see improved air quality, regulated temperatures and better drainage of rainwater.

‘World Soil Day 2025 reminds us that healthy cities begin with soil that can breathe. Soil as a living foundation. Soil is not a material – it is an ecosystem’ – Eduard van Vliet, Green Art Solutions

So ‘Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities’ is an opportunity to re-consider our urban spaces. How can we shape them to be healthier, greener and more resilient places to live? We believe our foam is one of the answers to this question.

There is a growing demand for alternative substrates, like our foam, that behaves similarly to other soils such as peat.

Peat soil is one of the most impressive examples of a living soil ecosystem but its composition is formed very slowly in wet conditions. If these conditions are met then peat acts as a water buffer, a temperature regulator and a biodiversity hotspot.

Besides forests, peatlands are an incredible ally against climate change storing around 30% of the carbon on Earth. But if peat drains of water then it dies, unable to replenish quick enough and the ecosystem disappears. That is why peatlands are protected worldwide.

Following considerable damage to peat and other soils, Fytofoam is an exciting solution to future demands.

City Specific

Our product, Fytofoam, is designed to be an extremely light, porous substrate making it perfect for urban landscaping.

Firstly its ultra-lightweight properties significantly reduces stress on building structures. Fytofoam’s low bulk density, approx. 22-30kg/m^3 dry, is far lighter compared to traditional soil mixes. Instead we can use it in compact, unique spaces such as vertical walls without damaging the supports, and also giving us greater possibilities for urban garden designs.

Secondly Fytofoam’s capacity to retain high levels of water (up to 60% by volume) drastically reduces the need for irrigation, leading to substantial water and cost savings – a model for water efficiency in dense urban areas.

One of our partners at the forefront of urban landscape designs is Pritchard&Pritchard.

Deep in the city, nestled between Lambeth Mission Church and a new Premier Inn Hotel in south London you will discover a tranquil roof garden.

The design brief was to create an outdoor recreational garden for residents using sustainable technology. To achieve this, besides incorporating other green technologies such as installing a blue roof, the team used Fytofoam throughout the podium garden.

They mixed it with natural soils as a supportive layer, providing improved airflow to the plant’s roots and ensuring better water retention. Fytofoam also builds a living environment when combined with natural substrates allowing micro-organisms and roots to thrive.

Fytofoams’s ability to retain water and its lightweight composition make it uniquely qualified for these type of projects.

It significantly reduces weight on the building structure and the plants stay happy and healthy by using less irrigation. Ensuring the garden is stable for a longer period of time.

‘A lighter garden that drinks less water? It’s a win-win for sustainability and design!’ – Tom Collins, P&P

After building the main structure the team lastly placed seating areas for residents and raised planter gardens for increased biodiversity. A perfect example of a sustainable urban space, Pritchard&Pritchard completed the 220m² project in the autumn of 2024.

Watch the video below to see how P&P planted tree borders using Fytofoam.

Many of our partners around the world, from America to Australia, are exploring exciting and innovative technologies in urban landscaping.

And through those collaborations our products have been used in several award winning projects and designs. Last year Fytogreen Australia won 2 awards at the World Green Infrastructure Congress 2024 for urban landscaping projects!

Each country has unique requirements and environmental challenges from variations in weather, temperature and soil types. However our partner’s successes demonstrates the foams unique versatility and why it is a strong solution to the decline of soil ecosystems.

Please join us in celebrating their achievements! You can read more about their successes through the button below.

Although it is an innovative product, our foam is designed to work in harmony with living soils not become a sole replacement. Fytofoam is designed to support living soils, especially in places where natural soil is absent or has insufficient space.

But there is no substitute for natural soil ecosystems around the world.

Collectively, and individually, we can improve the world’s soil with better management, care and new ideas.

Cities, much like flowers, love reaching up towards the sky, but the future of the city isn’t found in the stars, instead it begins from beneath our feet. In the soil. That is where the real magic happens.

Written by Elle King, with contributions (and thanks) to Green Art Solutions and Fytobooster.Green