First Annual Demonstration Meetings Completed Across All Five LivingSoiLL Living Labs

A major milestone for the LivingSoiLL project has been achieved. All five Living Labs have now held their first annual demonstration and information meetings. These gatherings brought together farmers, researchers, and local stakeholders. Together, they shared soil health findings and co-created solutions.

The completion of these meetings marks an important step for LivingSoiLL. In particular, it strengthens its mission to promote sustainable soil management across Europe. Although each Living Lab followed a different timeline, all meetings were completed by the end of January 2026. This variation reflected differences in maturity levels and in the availability of soil analysis results.

The Loire Valley and Beaujolais Living Lab (France) was the first to meet on 14 October 2025. Next, the North-western Italy – Piemonte Living Lab met on 11 November 2025. After that, the Grójec Living Lab (Poland) met on 27 November 2025. Then, the Luso-Galician Living Lab (Portugal/Spain) met on 19 December 2025. Finally, the Andalusian Living Lab (Spain) closed the series on 14 January 2026.

Following the inclusion of new partners through an open call, field meetings took place in two locations. First, Beaujolais hosted a meeting on 18 March. Later, the Loire Valley held its session on 9 April.

A shared format, rooted in co-creation

Although the Living Labs operate in five European regions, all meetings followed a shared structure. This reflects LivingSoiLL’s commitment to a harmonised and participatory approach. The discussions focused on soil health threats identified through regional soil analyses. They also compared these findings with concerns raised by farmers during the first co-creation meeting. In addition, participants reviewed proposed solutions and assessed their relevance to local conditions.

One highlight of the meetings was the first version of a user-friendly decision support tool. This tool is one of the key deliverables of Work Package 4. Where feedback was already available, participants also reviewed how it was being integrated into the tool’s development.

The sessions also covered new topics for many participants. These included qualitative and quantitative assessments from SOILL evaluation questionnaires. They also addressed the role of facilitators in the co-creation process. Furthermore, participants discussed how to strengthen these elements in future cycles.

Building bridges between science and practice

These meetings reflect the core principle of the Living Lab model. Scientists, farmers, and local actors exchange ideas continuously through co-creation cycles. By using real soil data from each region, the project links scientific results with farmer experience. In this way, LivingSoiLL supports practical soil management decisions. Ultimately, it helps build knowledge and tools for healthier soils across Europe.