SoilTales: Citizen science and comics
for healthy soils in secondary education
About
SoilTales combines citizen science and comics-based storytelling to raise soil literacy and awareness in secondary schools across urban and rural communities in Greece.
SoilTales brings together students, educators, artists, and soil science experts to:
a) nurture scientific curiosity and understanding of soils, and
b) translate students’ observations into creative, engaging narratives that emotionally and consciously connect people to living soils.
Objectives
By engaging students in hands-on soil exploration and creative narrative-making, the project enables young people to experience, understand, and reflect on the living soil beneath their feet.
- Engage secondary school students in urban (Thessaloniki) and rural (Limnos island) areas in hands-on soil exploration.
- Developing students analytical and observational skills by encouraging them to sample and study local soils using low-cost STEAM-based methods to understand soil erosion and biodiversity.
- Translate soil knowledge into creative narratives by co-creating comics that express both scientific insights and emotional understanding.
Partners
SoilTales brings together Web2Learn, an R&D company specialising in environmental citizen science, and the Athens Comics Library, specialists in art-based learning.
Timeline & Phases
February 2026
Citizen science workshops: Students observe, sample and document soils using STEAM-based methods
February - April 2026
Comics-creation workshops: Students turn soil observations into illustrations guided by professional comics artists.
May - June 2026
Collection, compilation and printing of all students' comics.
June - July 2026
Creation of an open access repository and SoilTales Fest to showcase results.
Our Team
Our team brings together experts in environmental citizen science, art-based learning, and soil research who collaborate with secondary school educators to engage students in hands-on exploration and creative storytelling.
Claire Fragiadaki
Panagiota Fabrikanou
Stefania Oikonomou
Katerina Zourou
Lida Tsene
Olia Dakogianni
Vasileia Vaxevani
SoilTales is implemented within the framework of the project SoilTribes.
SoilTribes aims at establishing, activating, and empowering global ecosystems for soil values, roles, and connectivity through “back to Earth” narratives by bridging science, technology, arts, and community-driven action. Through knowledge-sharing, interdisciplinary collaboration, and community-driven initiatives, the project’s mission is to foster a systemic, glocal approach to soil restoration, ensuring its long-term sustainability as a fundamental resource for future generations.