A 26-year-old from the Isle of Man has taken part in a European project aimed at encouraging young people to learn more about the importance of healthy soil.

Ambrose McCartney was invited to France in July by the EUROPARC Federation as part of SoilSparks, an EU-funded initiative developing an educational campaign about soil health.

The project brought together 31 young people from around a dozen European countries to help shape the campaign and its educational content.

During the gathering, participants took part in brainstorming sessions, created profiles representing different types of teenagers and explored ways of reaching young people with information about soil health.

They also developed ideas for short educational ‘micro-challenges’ designed to encourage young people to learn about soil through practical activities.

EUROPARC will use ideas developed by the participants to help shape the SoilSparks educational content.

The initiative aims to raise awareness of the importance of soil, including its role in food production, climate and ecosystems.

‘Once it’s live, it will be around forever, so it could become quite a big deal,’ Ambrose said.

‘It’s cool that I was invited and that someone from the Isle of Man was there.’

The SoilSparks programme is expected to launch later this year, with organisers aiming to have more than 1,000 people take part and more than 250 complete the full programme during its first year.

The project is intended to remain available after its launch, with organisers hoping it will provide a long-term educational resource.

The gathering in France followed an online summer school covering topics including soil science, soil degradation and conservation, and communicating scientific information to young audiences.

More information about SoilSparks is available through the EUROPARC Federation website.